Our Lady of Prompt Succor offers us hope for new year

By Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond
Clarion Herald, Archdiocese of New Orleans

Certain events change the course of human history. Sometimes those events are accomplished in a rather short period of time. Other events go on for a very long time – sometimes days or months or generations.

One of the questions asked about the Battle of New Orleans 207 years ago is this: How long did it take? We don’t really know, but the estimate is that it took no less than 45 minutes and no longer than two hours. And yet, for more than 200 years, we have spent thousands upon thousands of hours retelling this miraculous story.

And we should.

We will tell it again on Jan. 8, 2022, not for the sake of human history, but to thank Mary for her prayers with us and for us, and to thank God for the victory that was made possible. When we look at the story of the Battle of New Orleans, it was really a story about fear.

On Jan. 7, 1815, General Jackson knew quite well that he had a very small and weak army. Nobody would ever fool him. He knew he was facing the forceful British army in the battle, but defeat was not in the heart of General Jackson and his army, nor was it in the hearts of the wives and the children and mothers of the soldiers and the people throughout the city.

These people decided to spend the night in prayer, asking for God’s protection, asking for the intercession of our Blessed Mother under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor.

They gathered at the chapel of the Ursuline convent on Chartres Street. The Ursuline Sisters invited people to come and spend an evening in prayer for God’s protection through Our Lady of Prompt Succor. They prayed before the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, asking for her prompt and speedy assistance and her motherly love.

They prayed for their loved ones who were fighting in battle. They prayed for the preservation of the city. They prayed for peace and for justice. And, the very next day, on Jan. 8, while Msgr. Dubourg, later Bishop Dubourg, of New Orleans was celebrating Mass at the altar of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, he was interrupted in the middle of Communion. A messenger ran into the chapel and said, “The victory is ours! The victory is ours!”

General Jackson was not a particularly spiritual man, but he himself admitted that this had to be God’s intervention. So, he went to the Ursuline convent to thank the sisters for their prayers and to thank Mary for assisting him in this miracle.

It is in thanksgiving that you and I gather 207 years later to give thanks to God and to ask for Mary’s continued prayers in our journey of life.

We gather to honor Our Lady of Prompt Succor and fulfill a promise that the sisters made on that day, that they would celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving and sing the “Te Deum,” which we will do to fulfill that promise.

The Jan. 8 feast reminds us that Mary is indeed our mother. She cares for us, she prays for us and she goes to her Son to bring our needs to him, just like in the Gospel when Mary saw the needs of the young couple on their wedding day in Cana and wanted to save them from embarrassment. So, she asked her Son to help them. Her Son said, “It is not yet my time,” and Mary then said, “Do whatever he tells you. Trust him.”

Mary continues to remind us today that we are to trust God and that we need God, just as she needed God. We need Mary’s example and her prayerful support as we face some of the battles and the challenges of today in our world. For nearly two years, everyone across the globe – especially our health-care workers – have fought the battle brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, there are forces in society today that say that any discussion in public of God and religion is not politically correct. Atheism is in – it is becoming more popular. We have taken God out of our schools and businesses. Religious feasts have become secular.

More than 200 years after the Battle of New Orleans, we ask Our Lady of Prompt Succor to bring all these concerns to her Son, and we promise to do whatever he tells us, that we may trust him and persevere and win the battles that are before us.

Mary calls us to be bold and courageous, not to be ashamed of our faith or of living our faith in the public square. Mary reminds us that we must do whatever her Son asks of us and be a voice for justice and peace and faith in our lives.

In our personal lives, there are also challenges. There is tension or disappointment or infidelity in the family, illness or simply misunderstanding. In those challenging moments, Mary walks with us as Our Lady of Prompt Succor. Once again, when we ask for her, she brings our concerns to her Son and calls us to persevere and to trust in him.

As we remember the battle of 1815, there is a new battle today in this great, historic city of New Orleans. The battle of today looks very different than it did 200 years ago. It’s not soldiers on the field in Chalmette. The battle of our day is rooted in a lack of respect for human life, in a society where at times people show their revenge. Arguments are not settled by words or compromise but with a gun or a knife. This new battle of New Orleans has resulted in murder, in violence and, when hearts are turned to hatred, in racism.

Innocent children are killed by a stray bullet. There has been so much blood spilled on our streets. In the midst of this darkness, in the midst of these challenges, we once again go to Our Lady of Prompt Succor, knowing that she walks with us, she listens attentively to what we ask of her to bring to her Son Jesus. In response, she says, “Do whatever he tells you. Trust in him. Persevere.”

On this day, we remember the past with much gratitude and thank Our Lady of Prompt Succor for her prayers, her love and her maternal concern. But we also to look at the present to ask that same Our Lady of Prompt Succor to pray with us today that we will be able to face with perseverance the challenges of our personal lives, the challenges of our world and especially the challenges of our great city.

The Battle of New Orleans lasted less than two hours. Some battles of today last longer.

Mary says, “Persevere, never give up.”

We say, “Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us.”

Questions for Archbishop Aymond may be sent to clarionherald@clarionherald.org.