Vancouver, British Columbia: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish

My Relationship to Mary

Fr. William Comerford, CSsR
Edmonton-Toronto Redemptorists:

Mary is the patroness of our Congregation and we love her and honor her. At St. Mary's College,

for example, each evening before supper we recited the Rosary together, and, in the beautiful month of May, one hundred aspirants
to the priesthood processed joyfully to the well- decorated, outdoor shrine to Mary, while singing hymns of Praise acknowledging Mary as "Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May".

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My Life with Redemptorists

Fr. Brendan Boland, CSsR (1924-2017) Edmonton-Toronto Redemptorists:

I cannot think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, without thinking of the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. There's couldn't be a Redemptorist place without that picture. Where ever you went, you're always welcomed by the picture of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.

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Marriage with Mary

Jim (1936-2020) & Marilyn Cameron
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Vancouver, BC:

The name Our Lady of Perpetual Help is profound-she is always there for us, holding our hands and understanding our deepest needs. I sincerely believe that with much prayer Mary will be our intercessor to Jesus, and peace and calm will come in our world.

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Perpetual Help

Agata Kroondyk
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Vancouver, BC:

When I think of Mary, the image that often comes to mind is a picture of a
young woman with child. And as my family grows, and I am challenged as a mother and a wife every day, I look to Mary as a role model for how I'd like to be. I think of all she had to go through and all she had to sacrifice in her life - all the seemingly unexplainable and difficult tasks God gave her, and suddenly my situation doesn't seem half as hard as I originally thought.

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Mary as Mediatrix

Derek Carr
Prof. Emertius, Dept. of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies, UBC:

The story reminds us that, like it or not, we are all prone to sin of one
kind or another, no matter how devout we strive to be, and that none of us can claim the privilege of casting the first stone. Sin may cause us social strife or rejection in this world, but true repentance will greatly improve our lot in the next. And Our Lady, time after time after time, is there to help.

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Mary as My Guide

Amber Zolk
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Vancouver, BC:

Being in the presence of Saint John Paul the great really changed the
direction of my life. It was one year later that I began to work as a
full time lay missionary on university campuses. As a woman in the church,and particularly as a leader in ministry, I now often to look to Mary as aguide.

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Early Thoughts on Mary

Katia & Alessandro Tewfik
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Vancouver, BC

Mother Mary is my Mother because she is Jesus' mother who sacrificed himself for our life and made us free. I have always loved her but now that I am older I feel I know more about her and thinking about her makes me happy. I pray to her everyday and she makes me feel that everything is good in heaven. If I pray to her I feel she will make me have a great day.

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My Journey

Dimitrios Nikolitsas
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Vancouver, BC

When the angel Gabriel comes to Mary and tells her she will bear a Son
through the power of the Holy Spirit, her reply forms the model for my
relationship with God in doing His will. She says, "Here I am, the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to thy word.

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Contemplating Mary

Bertilla Watanabe
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Vancouver, BC:

Mary wasn't mad at me. Her eyes were sympathetic, understanding, forgiving, non-judgemental, accepting. I felt her attention solely focussed on me. I felt I could tell her my side of the story, she would be listening. After that my troubles just melted away. My heart was not bitter and angry anymore.

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