November 27 marks the feast of the Miraculous Medal, otherwise known as the medal of the Immaculate Conception. Though the feast honors the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the memorial commemorates the anniversary of the apparition of the Mother of God to St. Catherine Laboure in Paris in 1830, wherein Our Lady showed the nun the medal she wished to be made for those to wear seeking her aid and protection. The Blessed Virgin spoke to Catherine: “Have a medal struck upon this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck.” Countless miracles followed, hence the name, the Miraculous Medal. The story here.
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"O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."
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In 12 days the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
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Thanks Terry..
ReplyDeleteI wear that medal around my neck- even when I have to go to an event that requires fancy dress.
ReplyDeleteWe went to the MIA today to see the Louvre exhibit (lackluster) and then had to run up to the third floor to see the Immaculate Conception painting...alongside the painting of St. Augustine and St. Monica. I asked my son what the Blessed Mother was standing on in the painting and he kept saying a ball! Had to explain to him it was like Our Lady of Guadalupe with the crescent moon under her feet. But, on a positive note, he does know the story behind the Miraculous Medal. We learned about it the first (and only!) year I taught Vacation Bible School!
ReplyDeleteI had the privilege of offering Holy Mass in honor of our Lady of the Miraculous Medal today in the Extraordinary Form...she has been such a wonderful patroness for me and our community. Thank you for posting this reminder of her feast day!
ReplyDeleteNazareth priest - where have you been? We missed you around here. Thought you may have become a hermit. Is there a desert near where you live?
ReplyDeleteSome years ago, I returned home from a healing service. A passage from the Gospel reading during Mass prompted me to give my very sick and bed-ridden mother-in-law a ‘miraculous’ medal. Lily wasn’t a Catholic or a religious woman in any sense of the word, but she willingly accepted the medal.
ReplyDeleteThe next day, she called out to me from her room. She was in a lot of pain and said the medal didn’t seem to be working! :)
Not many weeks afterwards Lily died very suddenly in bed – on her birthday, November 27 – the Feast of the Miraculous Medal!
“These days, I want you to pray in a special way for the salvation of souls. Today is the feast day of the miraculous medal, and I want that you pray, in a special way, for the salvation of those people who are carrying this miraculous medal. I want you to spread the devotion and carrying of this medal, so that more souls may be saved, and that you pray in a special way.” Message of Our Lady given to the Medjugorje visionary Maria, November 27, 1989
Why on earth do we need to pray for those who wear miraculous medals? Wearing the medal itself confers graces; our prayers are nothing compared to those of Our Lady.
ReplyDeleteI guess for the same reasons we pray for anyone.
ReplyDeleteIf people feel the need to wear a medal or accept a medal from someone, then there is no harm in praying for them. Many people are given ‘miraculous’ medals when seriously ill. Giving out medals is a prayer in itself. It’s a charitable act and most times well received.
Our prayers have value. They fill water jars and miracles happen.