THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL
The first appearance.
Caterina Labouré writes: "At 23,30 pm on July 18, 1830, while I was asleep in bed, I hear myself called by name:" Sister Labouré! " Wake me up, I look where the voice came from (...) and I see a boy dressed in white, from four to five years old, who says to me: "Come to the chapel, Our Lady is waiting for you". The thought immediately came to me: they will hear me! But that little boy answered me: “Don't worry, it's twenty-three thirty and everyone is sleeping soundly. Come and wait for you. " Dress me quickly, I went to that boy (...), or rather, I followed him. (...) The lights were lit everywhere we passed, and this surprised me a lot. Much more astonished, however, I remained at the entrance of the chapel, when the door opened, as soon as the boy touched it with the tip of a finger. The wonder then grew in seeing all the candles and all the torches lit as at midnight Mass. The boy led me to the presbytery, next to the Father Director's chair, where I knelt, (...) the longed-for moment came. The boy warns me saying: "Here is Our Lady, here she is!". I hear the noise like the rustle of a silk robe. (...) That was the sweetest moment of my life. To say everything I felt would be impossible for me. “My daughter - Our Lady said to me - God wants to entrust you with a mission. You will have much to suffer, but you will willingly suffer, thinking that it is the glory of God. You will always have his grace: manifest everything that happens in you, with simplicity and confidence. You will see certain things, you will be inspired in your prayers: realize that he is in charge of your soul ".
Second apparition.
"On November 27, 1830, which was the Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent, at half past five in the afternoon, doing meditation in deep silence, I seemed to hear a noise from the right side of the chapel, like the rustle of a silk robe . Having turned my gaze to that side, I saw the Most Holy Virgin at the height of the painting of Saint Joseph. Her stature was medium, and her beauty such that it is impossible for me to describe her. He was standing, his robe was of silk and white-aurora color, made, as they say, "a la vierge", that is, high-necked and with smooth sleeves. A white veil descended from her head to her feet, her face was quite uncovered, her feet rested on a globe or rather on a half globe, or at least I saw only half of it. His hands, raised to the height of the belt, naturally maintained another smaller globe, which represented the universe. She had her eyes turned to heaven, and her face became shining as she presented the globe to Our Lord. All of a sudden, his fingers were covered with rings, adorned with precious stones, one more beautiful than the other, the largest and the other smaller, which threw luminous rays. While I was intent on contemplating her, the Blessed Virgin lowered her eyes towards me, and a voice was heard that said to me: "This globe represents the whole world, in particular France and every single person ...". Here I can't say what I felt and what I saw, the beauty and splendor of the rays so bright! ... and the Virgin added: "They are the symbol of the graces that I spread on the people who ask me", thus making me understand how much it is sweet to pray to the Blessed Virgin and how generous she is with the people who pray to her; and how many graces she grants to people who seek her and what joy she tries to grant them. At that moment I was and was not ... I was enjoying. And here a somewhat oval picture formed around the Blessed Virgin, on which, at the top, in a semicircle way, from the right hand to the left of Mary we read these words, written in golden letters: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who turn to you. " Then a voice was heard that said to me: “Have a medal coined on this model: all the people who bring it will receive great graces; especially wearing it around the neck. The graces will be abundant for the people who will bring it with confidence ". Instantly it seemed to me that the picture was turning around and I saw the flip side. There was the monogram of Mary, that is the letter "M" surmounted by a cross and, as the basis of this cross, a thick line, or the letter "I", monogram of Jesus, Jesus. Below the two monograms, there were the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the former surrounded by a crown of thorns pierced the latter by a sword. Questioned later, Labouré, if in addition to the globe or, better, in the middle of the globe, had seen something else under the Virgin's feet, replied that she had seen a snake of greenish color speckled with yellow. As for the twelve stars surrounding the downside, "it is morally certain that this particularity was indicated by the Saint by hand, since the time of the apparitions". In the manuscripts of the Seer there is also this particularity, which is of great importance. Among the gems there were some that did not send rays. While she was surprised, she heard Maria's voice saying: "The gems from which rays do not leave are a symbol of the graces that you forget to ask me". Among them the most important is the pain of sins.
An exhortation to the apostolate, written precisely by Fr. Aladel, confessor of Santa Caterina and first pro-engine of the coinage and diffusion of the medal all over the world. We hear his words addressed to each of us:
“Oh, the cult of Mary conceived without sin grows and extends, this cult so sweet, so suitable to make the blessings of Heaven descend on earth! Oh, if we knew Maria's gift, if we understood her great love for us! Bring the Miraculous Medal! Bring it children, this dear Medal, this sweet remembrance of the most tender of the Mothers. Learn and love to repeat his short prayer: "O Maria concei-ta ...". Morning Star, She will be happy to guide your first steps and keep you in innocence. Bring it young people and often repeat among the many dangers that surround you: "O Maria conceived-ta ...". Virgin without blemish, She will protect you from all dangers. Bring it to you fathers and mothers of the family and the Mother of Jesus will pour abundant blessings on you and your families. Bring it to you, the elderly and the sick. Relief of Christians, Mary will come to your aid to sanctify your pains and to console your days. Bring it, souls consecrated to God and never tire of saying: "O conceived Mary ...". Queen of virgins and virgins, She will make the flowers and fruits which must be the delights of the Bridegroom sprout in the garden of your heart and form your crown on the wedding day of the Lamb. And you sinners too, even if you had plunged into the abyss of the greatest miseries, even if despair had taken hold of your soul, look up towards the Star of the Sea: Mary's compassion remains for you. Take the medal and seize from the bottom of your heart: "O Maria conce-pita ...". Refuge of sinners, She will take you out of the abyss in which you have fallen and will lead you back on the flowery paths of justice and good. "
We sow the Medal with faith in its divine origin and with confidence in its miraculous power. Let's sow it with courage and constancy without human respect, without ever getting tired. The Medal is our most effective medicine, our favorite gift, our memory and our most sincere thanks, for everyone.
LET'S SPREAD THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL
One of the first to receive the Miraculous Medal was Saint Catherine Labouré herself, who, when she had it in her hands, kissed it, and then said: "Now we must spread it".
From these words of the humble Saint, the little Medal took off, and swift as a tiny comet, went around the whole world. Consider that in France alone, in the first ten years, seventy-four million were minted and sold. Why this prodigious spread? For the fame of "Miraculous" which he soon earned from the people.
Graces and miracles multiplied gradually by carrying out conversions and healings, aids and blessings for souls and bodies.
Faith and prayer
The roots of these Graces are basically two: the Faith and the prayer ring. First of all, faith: there must be at least in the one who donates the medal, as happened to Alfonso Ratisbonne, incredulous, who received the medal from a man full of faith, Baron De Bussières. it is clear, in fact, that it is not the piece of metal of the Medal, even if of pure gold, that works miracles; but it is the fervent faith of those who await everything
from whom the metal depicts. Even the born blind man, of whom the Gospel speaks (Jn 9,6: XNUMX), was not the mud that Jesus adopted but obtained his sight, but the power of Jesus and the faith of the blind man.
We must have faith in the medal in this sense to have faith, that is, that Our Lady with Her merciful omnipotence uses that tiny means to give her graces to the children who ask for them.
And here we remember the other root of the Graces: prayer. From the examples that we have reported and that we will still report, it is evident that the Medal is centered and works Thank you when it is accompanied by prayer.
St. Maximilian, when he distributed the Miraculous Medals to unbelievers or to people who would not have prayed, he would start praying with ardor and fervor as a saint. The medal, let it be clear, is not a magical talisman. No. it is an instrument of grace. Grace always wants man's cooperation. Man cooperates with his faith and his prayer. Faith and prayer, therefore, ensure the "Miraculous" fruitfulness of the famous Medal. Indeed, we can say that the Medal never works alone, but requires the cooperation of man by asking to be accompanied by the Faith and by the prayer at least of someone or who gives the Medal or who receives it.
Another example among many
We report it from a missionary magazine. In a Mission hospital in Macau, a poor pagan had been abandoned by the doctor: -No more to do, Sister. The night will not pass. The Missionary Sister of Mary contemplates the agonizing man on the bed. Therefore, nothing to do for the body; but the soul? For three months in hospital, the unhappy man has remained obstinately closed and hostile; a little while ago he once again rejected the catechist nun who was trying to break through that soul. A medal of the Madonna, stealthily placed under the pillow, had been angrily and hostilely thrown to the ground by him. What to do? It is 18 pm. The face of the sick person already reveals some symptoms of agony. The Nun, having seen the rejected Medal on the bedside table, murmurs to a pupil in the ward: - Feel: try to hide this Medal from her, when you adjust the bed, between the sheet and the mattress, without her noticing. Now all that remains is to pray, and ... wait. The Religious slowly shells the Hail Marys of her crown.
At 21 pm the agonizing man opens his eyes, and calls: -Sister ... The religious bends over him. -Sister, I'm dying ... Battez-zami! ... Trembling with emotion, the Sister takes a glass of water on the bedside table, pours a few drops on her wet forehead, pronouncing the words that give Grace and life. The face of the dying person changes inexplicably.
The anguish that ruffled his mind-lines fades away, while a slight smile is now on those parched lips: -Now I am no longer afraid of dying-I murmur-I know where I am going ...
Let's spread it too
The mission entrusted by Our Lady to St. Catherine Labouré, to spread the Miraculous Medal, does not only concern St. Catherine, but also concerns us. And we should all feel honored to make this same mission of Grace our own. How many generous souls have moved with tireless fervor to take this gift of Our Lady everywhere and give anyone! Let's think, first of all, of St. Catherine Labouré who became a zealous distributor of the Medal for more than 40 years! Among the old and the sick, among the soldiers and the children, where the Saint passed with her angelic smile, giving everyone the Meda-glina. Even on her deathbed, just before the agony, she was still preparing packets of Medals for distribution! Her faith, hope and charity, her prayer and her candor as a consecrated virgin made every medal she distributed to heal, enlighten, help, convert many needy even more fruitful than grace.
Even St. Teresa ...
Another kind and bright example is that of Santa Teresina. This dear Saint, since she was a girl, had to understand the value of the miraculous Medal well if she really tried very hard to distribute it. Once, in his home, he managed to get the Medal to a maid who did not behave well, making himself promise that he would carry it around the neck until his death. Another time, still at home, while some workers were working, the an-gelica Teresina took some Medaglines and went to put them in the pockets of their jackets just ... The holy industries of those who love! Think of the S. Curato d'Ars which he always wore when he left the town
the swollen pockets of medals and crucifixes, and he always returned with deflated pockets ... We think of the great St. John Bosco who had his boys wearing the medal around his neck, and on the occasion of the outbreak of cholera he ensured that cholera would not have infected anyone those who wore the medal. And it was just like that. We also think of St. Pius X, B. Guanella, B. Orione and many other zealous apostles, so careful to use every means to make the Madonna known and loved. With much affection, they took an interest in this dear Medaglina! Another extraordinary apostle, P. Pio of Pietralcina, was not inferior to the others in the diffusion of the holy Medaglines. Rather! He kept it in his cell and in his pockets; he distributed them to spiritual children, penitents, guests; he sent them as a gift to groups of people; he once sent fifteen to a family of fifteen people, parents and thirteen children. Upon his death,
in his pockets they found a pile of those Medagline which he gave with such zeal. Everything is for those who love. Do we too want to do this little apostolate of love for Our Lady?
S. Maximilian Kolbe
A giant model of apostle of the Immaculate Conception and of the Miraculous Medal was undoubtedly Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe. He could also be called the Saint of the Miraculous Medal. Just think of its great Marian movement with a worldwide radius, the Militia of the Immaculate Conception, marked by the Mira-colosa Medal, which all its members have the obligation to wear as a badge.
"The Miraculous Medal - said the Saint - is the external sign of the consecration to the Immaculate Conception".
"Miraculous Medal must constitute a first-rate means in the conversion and sanctification of others, because it reminds us to pray for those who do not resort to Mary, do not know her and blasphemy".
The Saint said that Miraculous Medals are like `bullets', 'ammunition', 'mines'; they have a mysterious potential, capable of breaking through walled hearts, obstinate souls, in the hardened and chained wills of sin. A medal can be a laser beam that burns, penetrates and heals. It can be a reminder of Grace, a presence of Grace, a source of Grace. In all cases, for each person, unlimitedly.
For this reason San Massimiliano always carried the Medagline with him, he gave it to anyone he could, he placed it everywhere, on shopkeepers' benches, on trains, on ships, in waiting rooms.
“The Miraculous Medal must be distributed wherever it is possible for the fan-ciulli…, the old and, above all, the young people, so that under Maria's protection they have sufficient strength to resist the innumerable temptations and dangers that threaten them today. Even those who never enter the Church, who are afraid of Confession, scoff at religious practices, laugh at the truths of the Faith, are immersed in the mud of immorality…: all of them absolutely need to offer the Medal of the 'Immaculate and urge them to bring it willingly, and, at the same time, pray fervently to the Immaculate for their conversion ".
Personally, San Massimiliano did not start any business, even material, without relying on the Miraculous Medal. So, when he finds himself in need of procuring a larger ground to build the City of the Immaculate Conception (Niepokalanow), as soon as he has spotted a suitable ground, first I throw you of the Miraculous Medals, then he brought you and placed a figurine of the Immaculate -lata. Due to an unexpected hitch, it seemed that the shipwrecked; but almost by magic, in the end, everything was resolved with the complete donation of. land in San Massimiliano. At the school of these Marian Saints of our times we must also learn to move armed with these `bullets'. The Immaculate Conception wants us to contribute effectively to the implementation of what was a very lively hope of St. Maximilian, namely that "over time there will be no soul who does not wear the Miraculous Medal".
TESTIMONY OF HOW THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL HAS JUMPED AN ATHEIST
The story I am telling has an in-credibility and only if one has faith can believe it. I am an elementary school teacher, I live in the province of Fro-sinone, I am married and I take great care of the religious and human education of my children. I too have received an excellent religious education and now I understand better than then how important it is to pray from childhood. To my children I speak a lot about Jesus and Our Lady, I convey to them not so much my convictions, but what the Lord and his Mother objectively are, in the light of the Gospel and of these two thousand years of Christian history.
My pupils love me very much, they notice that I really love them and that my reproaches and exhortations only want to help them. Among the various devotional practices, I am committed to spreading the Miraculous Medal to everyone I meet. I have a blind faith about its effectiveness and power. On the other hand, Our Lady said it in the apparition in 1830 to Santa Caterina Labouré: "Those who wear it around their neck will receive great graces". For the love I have for Our Lady and the conviction on the importance of the Medal, every month I buy 300 Miraculous Medals and I give them to everyone I meet.
One day, upon leaving school, I met an acquaintance whom I had not seen for years, a man engaged in politics, of an anticlerical family. A non-believer who always condemned the Church and found priests on almost every occasion to defame the Priests. I remember him several decades ago not as a good person, he had a great cult of his person, he considered himself the best in everything. But Jesus came and died for him too, indeed, Jesus himself wants to save. It was the lost sheep.
Meeting this friend, in an instant I thought it was useless to give the medal, it was wasted, but immediately afterwards I thought where my Faith had gone. I kept the badges just for sinners. I remembered the incredible conversion of the Jew Alfonso Ratisbonne in the Church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte in Rome, precisely because he had received the medal and wore it.
So, after the pleasantries, I took the Medal with love and so much Faith to give to my friend. He looked at the medal, then looked at me in amazement, as if to ask me if I had really remembered his irreligiousness. He very politely told me that he couldn't take it because he didn't believe in anything, and refused it. I brought out my beliefs, I showed my Faith all in front, to the point of saying: "Even if you don't believe in God, because you reject the idea that this God exists, he loves you and wants to save you from hell ? How can you be sure that God doesn't exist? Who told you and who can say this with certainty? ".
Listening to my words, his eyes lit up, he remained silent, but replied that he could not accept the medal. I insisted, inviting him to take her because the Madonna loves you and wants to save you from eternal perdition. Why are you scared of this little medal? ". Only at these words did he take it, without saying anything. But it was just not to mind.
I didn't see him for a while, almost two months, before the incredible happened. One morning I enter the classroom and a child invites me aside to tell me something. These are his words: “Mae-stra, I had a dream last night. I saw a man and he told me to tell you that his name is Alberto and that he received a Miraculous Medal from her and that he immediately didn't want to accept it, but then he took it. Holding the Medal on him, he began to feel an attraction for the Medal and recited the prayer that is written on it (O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who turn to you). He began to recite this prayer and to tell Our Lady to pray for him. Last week he died and thanks to the medal he had received from her, he did not go to hell, but was saved. Thanks to the Medal of the Madonna. She told me to say all this to her and that he thanks her and prays from Purgatory for her. "
I didn't know whether to cry out for joy or pass out on the ground for what had happened. In a moment I thought of everyone I had given the medal to. Where are they all? Our Lady will then have saved them all! I was sorry for not having done a stronger apostolate with the Miraculous Medal. Now I will do more.
The boy knew neither my friend nor the episode of the medal given to him. Actually Our Lady had saved my friend and with her dream she had manifested it to me, so that I could continue to spread this holy and blessed Miraculous Medal. I discovered even more the power of the Miraculous Medal and now I spread it with greater conviction. is the means of Thanks. Our Lady gives us immense blessings and thanks for this medal! Let's tell everyone! We offer everyone this holy and well-known medal and have it worn.
My purpose is to buy 75,00 of Miraculous Medals every month and to spread them to everyone I meet. Why don't readers do it too? Even fewer, fewer ones can spread, the important thing is to offer this holy Medal. Above all, to give every family member, relative, friend, acquaintance, connect, to everyone, the Medal that removes the devil because it is a means of protection from the devil, because the Medal is blessed.
is it better to keep these little money in the bank or spend it on useless things, or buy Miraculous Medals to do good and receive great Thanks also from the Madonna?
But I ask myself: is it enough to wear the medal on me? Is it not necessary to have Faith who receives it? Is the fact that a person accepts the medal already a consensus towards Our Lady? How I would like to understand everything better, but it is enough for me to have the conviction that Our Lady as Queen of every human being, wants to save everyone, and those who hold the Miraculous Medal on them and lend Faith to Our Lady, in one way or another, the Mother of God will save them from perdition.
it is true that the effectiveness of the Medal depends on our Faith, our prayer and our sacrifices.
This is the victory of Maria San-tissima, the advance of the triumph of her Immaculate Heart.
NOVENA OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL.
O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and our Mother, with the most lively trust in your powerful intercession, we humbly beg you to want to obtain the graces that we ask you with this Novena. (Short pause to ask for graces) O Madonna of the Miraculous Medal, who appeared to Saint Catherine Labouré, in the attitude of Mediatrix of the whole world and of every soul in particular, we put in your hands and entrust our supplications to our heart . Deign to present them to your Divine Son and fulfill them, if they are in conformity, with the Divine Will and useful to our souls. And, having raised your pleading hands towards God, lower them on us and wrap us with the rays of your graces, illuminating our minds, purifying our hearts, so that guided by you, we will one day reach blessed eternity. Amen. Final prayer: Remember, oh most holy Virgin Mary, it has never been heard that anyone has resorted to your patronage, implored your help, asked for your protection and has been abandoned. Animated by this trust, I too resort to You or Mother, Virgin of the Virgins, to you I come and, repentant, I prostrate myself before You. Do not reject my plea, O Mother of the Word, but listen benignly and hear me. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who turn to you.
CROWN OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL.
O Immaculate Virgin of the Miraculous Medal, who, moved with pity by our miseries, came down from heaven to show us how much care you take to our pains and how much you work to remove the punishments of God from us and obtain his graces, help us in this present of ours need and grant us the graces we ask of you. Ave Maria. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who turn to you. (three times). O Immaculate Virgin, who made us a gift of your medal, as a remedy for so many spiritual and corporal evils that afflict us, as defense of souls, medicine of the bodies and comfort of all the poor, here we grasp it gratefully on our heart and we ask you for it to answer our prayers. Ave Maria. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who turn to you. (three times). O Immaculate Virgin, who you promised great thanks to the devotees of your Medal, if they had invoked you with the ejaculatory taught by You, we, full of trust in Your word, turn to You and we ask You, for Your Immaculate Conception, grace which we need. Ave Maria. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who turn to you. (three times).