China, "Our Lady of Sheshan".
Sunday Gospel Reflection With Fr. Bill Grimm 2015.05.03
Published on 27 Apr 2015
In the Acts of the Apostles, Saul shows what love calls for. He continues to proclaim the fact that he has met the Lord though no one trusts him and some even want to kill him. That is the basic vocation to which all followers of Jesus are called.
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OUR LADY OF SHESHAN PRAYER
FOR THE CHURCH IN CHINA –
Shanghai Basilica of Mary
campus.udayton.edu/mary/resources/.../China-OL-SheShan.htmlCached
... Our Lady of Sheshan was
proclaimed the patron ... The Image of Our Lady of She
... to bring our testimony of love in connection with this chosen
corner ...
proclaimed the patron ... The Image of Our Lady of She
... to bring our testimony of love in connection with this chosen
corner ...
The Shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan
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Location:
Shanghai_-_Basilique_de_She_Shan_Our Lady of Sheshan Sheshan Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians is located on the peak of Sheshan in Songjiang district in Shanghai. It is One of the most prominent pilgrimage shrines in China, it is well-known both far and wide in China and overseas. 
History
The
Catholic faith was introduced in the Songjiang district for a long time. For more than one-hundred years, when the Catholic religion was banned, Catholics had been practicing their faith underground. In 1844, a Jesuit priest Fr. Claude Gotteland, SJ, came to Sheshan and was very much impressed by the serenity and beauty of the area. He decided to build a house of prayer for the retired priests. However, he died in 1856 before his dream was realized. In 1863, his successor, Fr. Joseph Gonnet, SJ came to Sheshan. He purchased the whole hill top as well as the southern slope and began to build religious houses with a chapel half way on the slope for convalescence of missionaries. The following year, Fr. Desjacques Marin built a hexagonal pavilion for the statue of our Lady. On Mar 1 1868, Bishop Msgr. Adrien Languillat, SJ consecrated the chapel and blessed the portrait of Our Lady, Help of Christians, which was copied from Our Lady of Victory, in Paris On the feast day of Our Lady, Help of Christians, hundreds of pilgrims came and participated outside the chapel where Mass was held in a tent. During the Taiping Uprising, the Catholic Church was being attacked. In Shanghai, there were many incidents of prejudice and unrest. The Jesuit Superior Fr. A. Della Corte, SJ climbed up the mountain of Sheshan. He went in front of the statue of Our Lady and made a vow that if the area was spared in this turmoil and danger, he would build a church on the location. The prayer was heard and the diocese stood unharmed. In September 1870, he appealed to the generous Catholics to fulfill his vow and to thank our Lady for her protection.
PRAYER OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
TO OUR LADY OF SHESHAN ON THE OCCASION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH IN CHINA (24 MAY 2008)
Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the
Incarnate Word and our Mother, venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title "Help of Christians", the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection. We come before you today to implore your protection. Look upon the People of God and, with a mother’s care, guide them along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.
When
you obediently said "yes" in the house of Nazareth, you allowed God’s eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption. You willingly and generously cooperated in that work, allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul, until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary, standing beside your Son, who died that we might live.
From
that moment, you became, in a new way, the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith and choose to follow in his footsteps by taking up his Cross. Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter. Grant that your children may discern at all times, even those that are darkest, the signs of God’s loving presence.
Our
Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China, who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love. May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world, and of the world to Jesus. In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high, offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love. Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love, ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built. Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen! |
Jiangsu Province, the Shrine of Our
Lady of.
Lady of.
