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Friends of the Rosary:
Today, we commemorate Our Lady of Czestochowa, also known as the Black Madonna.
It’s traditionally believed that this icon was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist on a cypress wood panel from a table used by the Holy Family in Nazareth.
The painting was discovered by St. Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine. The icon was then enshrined in the imperial city of Constantinople, where it remained for the next 500 years.
Brought to Czestochowa, in Poland in the fourteenth century, the holy image is associated with several miraculous events. Among them is the liberation of Poland from Communist rule.
Pope John Paul II visited the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa four times during his pontificate.
Today, the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa attracts millions who love and honor Our Lady’s intercession. The holy painting enshrined at Czestochowa has been a lighthouse of hope during centuries of hardship and defeat.
It is known as the “Black Madonna” because of the soot residue that discolors the painting. The soot is the result of centuries of votive lights and candles burning in front of the painting.
Also, today is the commemoration of Our Lady Health of the Sick, celebrated on the Saturday before the last Sunday of August.
This is one of the titles in the Litany to Our Lady of Loretto, and there is also a shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Health of the Sick, La Salud, in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, in Mexico.
In New Mexico, she is Our Lady of Santa Fe.
Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!
Our Lady of Czestochowa and Our Lady Health of the Sick, Pray for Us!
To Jesus through Mary!
+ Mikel A. | RosaryNetwork.com, New York
