Our Lady of Perpetual Succor

 

Our Lady of Perpetual Succor and my Conversion

A Happy Feast of Mother of Perpetual Succor to All 

We celebrate the Feast of Lady of Perpetual Help today. I had a special encounter with this image when I was 10 years old but not more than 12. In those days during holidays or school vacations, we used to go to my mother’s home to stay.  In weekends I used to take my Papa’s Bicycle and ride to my mothers maternal home, 4 KM away from my home.  During our schools summer vacation We all cousins and aunties stay there for some days or weeks. were about 30 children. During nights, we all cousins(about 30 of them), boys were sleep together in the main hall except girls. I always get a place to sleep is, under the images Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. Whenever I look up before sleep I see the image of Mother Mary as there is a small light down those images, to venerate while praying. She looks gently and sharply towards me which always made me to pray at least one Our Father before I sleep. Every night it was same experience I had while I was Staying in my mother’s home. There was another image next to it was a Word of God from 1Th 5: 17 ’Pray Constantly’ and those letters were surrounded by flowers and fruits(Apple and Grapes)I was asking myself, how can a person can pray constantly. Her unwavering looks on me lead me to pray at least few minutes before I sleep. Later when I came into the Lord, I realise her intercession made me to convert to Catholicism. Apart from that my wife’s prayers also is there for my conversion. Whenever she asks for my conversion I tell her, when Mother Mary appear to me I will believe in her. 

Another incident was happened in Muscat. When the early years(late 70’s in Muscat I used to go to Sunday Mass in Mar Thoma Syrian Church. Usually I go to the Church with my neighbour, Varghese, a Marhomite in his Pick Up Car. Most of the time he invites me to go with him to the Church which I was doing almost every week in the early years in Muscat. Once I was in a deep depression, and he knew and understand my situation. I was just 20 years old at that time. He took me to his studio apartment where he stays alone. He started talking and asking me, what had happened to me and why I am in such kind  of depression. I told him that I feel lonely and wants to go back to India and do some job there. He started reading Bible and explaining about some verses from Bible to encourage me and tried to strengthen me. I don’t remember any of those Verses or any Word of God from that time. But I remember while he was reading the Bible(he was using a Catholic Malayalam Bible and it very unusual for non Catholics) he took a picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help from his Bible and explained to me how she was interceded for  him to overcome the difficult times and he started crying while holding the image in his hands. But I still not remember why he has cried. He was  a Marthomite and they don’t venerate Mother Mary. But my neighbour was different. These two incidents were came into my mind frequently before my conversion and even now I ponder those moments with a gratitude. I make story short. After many years immediate after the marriage the very next year in 1991 I aattended the retreat in Divine Retreat Centre. After many retreats in 1999 I got my conversion after I met Jesus in the Eucharist and Mothehr Mary and that was the day my real conversion was started and I embraced Catholic Chuch in 2000. The very next year I met our Brothers and experienced Jesus the Word of God, and Mary Mother of God and experienced the communion of saints. in one of talk of Br Victor, he said “all of you should recollect the moment or day you  experienced a spiritual encounter with Jesus or Mary or a Word of God you heard from someone which touched you very deeply. For me the above two  incident of the encounter with the image of Mary the Perpetual Succor was touched me then the Word of God touched me was The eye which looks jeeringly on a father, and scorns the obedience due to a mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, and eaten by the vultures. (Proverbs 30:17, NJB) Which was given me by my dad’s pastor friend when I was at 11 years old.