A Mhuire na Dea-Chomhairle, Guí Orainn
Today, April 26th, is a very special day for our school. It is the feast day of Our Lady of Good Counsel. Our Lady of Good Counsel watches over our school and she also watches over all of us. The word ‘counsel’ means ‘advice’. Our Lady of Good Counsel is ready to listen to our problems and to give us good advice.
The picture of Our Lady of Good Counsel shows Mary holding her son, the baby Jesus. The story of the original painting of Our Lady of Good Counsel goes back to the 15th Century.
At that time the people of Albania were devoted to Our Lady and they prayed to her for help when they were in trouble. In 1467, the Turks invaded Albania. Two men were running away from the Turkish army and they stopped at a church to pray. They knelt in front of a picture of Our Lady and asked for her help. To their surprise, the picture suddenly floated off the wall and out of the church.
It is said that the men followed the picture all the way to Rome, in Italy, where the picture suddenly disappeared. Around the same time, the people in a small town near Rome were building a new church. On April 25th, everyone gathered in the town square to celebrate the Feast of Saint Mark.
At about four o’clock in the afternoon, in the middle of all the celebrations, the crowd saw a cloud coming down over the unfinished church. The bells of the church began to ring by themselves and beautiful music was heard. The crowd fell silent and the cloud parted. There was the picture of Our Lady. The painting came to rest in the church and if you visit the town of Genazzano, you can still see it there today.
The painting was named after the church, and became known as Our Lady of Good Counsel. The words on the painting mean: “Most Holy Mother of Good Counsel, pray for us to Jesus your Son.” The Pope decided that the feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel should be celebrated on April 26th so that it would not clash with the feast of Saint Mark.
