The title “Our Lady of the Way” (Madonna della Strada) comes from a beautiful picture painted in Rome in the fifth century. This lovely fresco, to which Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, was devoted — and before which he and his early companions used to assemble when first they came to the Eternal City — is now kept in the Church of the Gesù, in Rome, the main church of the Society of Jesus.
Prayer to Our Lady of the Way
Our Lady of the Way,
stay with us when we grow weary of the journey;
for the road is long and our hearts are weak.
Strengthen us with the patience and fortitude to continue on in pursuit of a whole and just world; in pursuit of a whole and just self.
Come, be our guide.
Our Lady of the Way,
lead us when we cannot see the path.
Take us by the hand as a Mother; whispering comfort in our ears, steering us through the dark, guarding us from the terrors of the night.
Infuse us with your courage, with your refusal to bow to fear and the unknown.
For in you we find the Light that moves us forward.
Our Lady of the Way,
show us the mystery you revealed to Ignatius so many years past: the mystery of letting go.
That we would not cling to our packs nor our sandals nor our cloaks but release to the path what the path requires.
Because for all that we lay down, we pick up something greater; we pick up freedom.
Our Lady of the Way, show us the way.
Amen.