Congress on the Mother of Perpetual Help in Madrid (May 3-7, 2017)
The Redemptorists of the Madrid Province hosted a European Event on the Mother of Perpetual Help at the Parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Madrid. The preparatory commission, consisting of Fr. Seamus Enright (Dublin), Fr. Marek Kotyński (Warsaw) and Fr. Jorge Ambel Galan (Madrid), organised the event. Eighty confreres and Partners in Mission took part from Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, Dublin, Naples, London, France, Lisbon, St. Clement, St. Gerard, Munich-Vienna, Ľviv, Michalovce, Albania and Bratislava-Prague. Some participants also came from Canada, Peru, Mexico, Madagascar and Indonesia. Also attending the meeting were the Fr. General, Michael Brehl, the General Consultor, Pedro López, the Coordinator of the Europe Conference Fr. Jacek Zdrzalek and the Rector of St. Alfonzo in Rome, Fr. Arturo Martíne, as well as the Provincial of Madrid, Fr José Luis Bartolomé, the Provincial of London, Fr. Ronald McAinsh and the Vice-Provincial of Michalovce, Fr. Metod Lukáčik.
The Event began with a Solemn Mass at the parish church. Fr. General in his homily urged us to see in Mary, “not only a young woman invited to the mystery without fully understanding all that this would imply, but also the experience of all those who today who search for meaning and are confused in a society that seems to be changing faster than we can understand. Youth and young adults who look for direction and seem lost, parents and families struggling to understand each other, our older brothers and sisters who often feel discarded and abandoned and do not understand why”.
The Prayer of the Faithful was prayed in nine languages which was, as Fr. General pointed out, “a symbolic sign of the Pentecost that happened when Mary was praying with the disciples.”
After the Mass a short video of greeting from Manila was shown in which Redemptorists, who had just finished a similar Congress, wished a blessed and a successful outcome to the present gathering in Madrid.
On Thursday the day started with contemplative songs, to open participants for the full day of inspiring presentations, discussions and sharing.
That day Fr. Víctor Chacón, Redemptorist of the Province of Madrid, presented a session on the theme “From St. Alphonsus to Perpetual Help: Roots of Marian Spirituality in the Redemptorist Order”. He brought out different aspects of Marian devotion in the life and work of St. Alphonsus and in the spirituality of the Congregation. He said that when Alphonsus was preaching one got the sense that he was praying. He finally presented the Mother of Perpetual Help as an icon of redemption. The next presentation was given by Teresa Domínguez del Campo, a specialist in iconography, who talked about “The meaning of the icon today”. She showed how the perception of the artist and the viewer has been changing over the centuries. She did this by showing some of the early Christian icons – then The Trinity of Andrej Rublov (1411), the recent Nati Cañada (2015) and the secular art of Kandinsky, Pollock, Hirst and Schnabel.
The second session was given by Fr. Marek Kotynski, a Redemptorist confrere of the Warsaw Province, who talked about “The spiritual meaning of the Icon of Perpetual Help”. During his presentation he spoke about the icon in terms of its signs, colours, words and characters so that it becomes for us a sign of mercy. The day ended with the celebration of the Eucharist presided over by P.Jorge Ambel, during which Fr. Seamus Enright preached the homily, talking to us about the devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ireland. He spoke of his experience during the Pilgrimage of the Icon: “Many people expressed their feelings of having a strong sense of Mary looking at them from the Icon.”
The following day (May 5th) the participants were given the opportunity to pray several times before the Icon. The day started with a Byzantine Liturgy in the morning. Then Fr. Metod Lukáčik, in his brief introduction before the individual prayer of participants, spoke about our attention to God and the primacy of venerating Him.
Then followed presentations from each Unit about the fulfilling of the missionary phase of the 150th Anniversary of the handing over of the Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help to the Redemptorist Missionaries. In the evening the Eucharist was celebrated in the Byzantine rite. Four priests of the Byzantine rite led us in the Eucharistic liturgy assisted by a choir. Fr. Jacek Zdrzałek in his homily spoke about our own conversion: “Many people come and admire the painting of Caravaggio ‘The Conversion of Saint Paul’. Very often when I am there I am thinking about our own conversions, not only of Saint Paul’s…I wonder how many people, looking at this painting, are thinking about their personal conversions…So when we are gathered here today we should look at Mary as our Help because we want to be closer to Jesus.” In the evening there was a Vigil before the Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Some people stayed in prayer until midnight. All the Units prayed in their own languages. The Partners in Mission of the Madrid Province accompanied the Vigil with songs. Fr. Jorge Ambel Galan and his team of young Partners in Mission had prepared the evening and led it for us.
On the last day of the Congress (May 6th) the participants prayed and shared together. In the afternoon there was a chance to visit the City of Madrid. The Congress closed with the final Solemn Mass at 19:00 and Gaudeamus in the Monastery Garden.
Most of the participants depart from Madrid on Sunday, May 7th.
Fr. Rastislav Dluhý, Communications Director of Bratislava – Prague Province
