The Miraculous Medal Gift of the Blessed Virgin

On the front of the medal appears Our Lady with Her hands outstretched. The words, "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee", encircles Her image. On the reverse side, the capital letter M appears with a bar surmounted by a cross, like this: . Under these is the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Twelve stars frame the images on this side of the medal.

The Miraculous Medal comes directly from the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother. It is a gift from Heaven that has never ceased to work wonders of grace throughout the world. It is a simple and very efficacious way of benefitting from the protection of Mary in all our spiritual and temporal needs.

On November 27, 1830, in the Chapel of the Daughters of Charity, Rue du Bac, Paris, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Catherine Labour (1806-1876) for the second time. On that day, the Queen of Heaven manifested Herself with a globe beneath Her feet, and holding in Her hands, at the height of Her breast, another smaller globe which She seemed to offer Our Lord in a gesture of supplication. Suddenly Her fingers were covered with rings and very beautiful gems; the rays that shone from them darted in all directions.

The Blessed Virgin lowered Her eyes to the humble novice nun who was contemplating Her. She said to her, "Behold the symbol of the graces I pour upon those who ask Me for them..." Saint Catherine Labour writes: Saying this, She made me understand how generous She is towards those who pray to Her, what graces She grants to those who ask Her for them, what joy She experiences in granting them. "The gems that remain in the shadows symbolize the graces people forget to ask of Me."  Our Lady manifested the pattern of a medal to Catherine.  Mary promised that "All who wear it will receive great graces; they should wear it around the neck.  Graces will abound for those who wear it with confidence."

In 1832, the first medals were made and distributed in Paris with the approval of the Church.   The medal quickly became known as the "Miraculous Medal" because of the many miracles of health, peace, blessings, protection, and conversion that were worked through the medal.

The medal itself has no power; however, God acts through the medal just as He worked through Moses' rod for the Israelite victory (Ex. 14:15-31), and handkerchiefs touched to Paul for healings (Acts 19:11-12)

Wearing the medal is like having a picture of our parents or grandparents in our home: it reminds us of our love for them and their love for us.  Just as we don't worship the pictures of our parents or grandparents, we don't worship Mary or the medal.  Rather, wearing the medal is a sign that we are thankful to Mary for giving us the greatest Treasure in our lives: Jesus Christ.

In Heaven, Mary prays for us and loves us as her children.  In return, we should love her and show our love for her and her Son by wearing her Miraculous Medal and praying the prayer on it every day.  Mary will always keep us close to her Divine Son and lead us safely home.

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