Nov. 27th - Miraculous Medal

 

Today is the feast day of the Miraculous Medal. It was the second apparition of Mary to St. Catherine Laboure when she gave her the miraculous medal. It was Saturday November 27, 1830, the eve of the First Sunday of Advent, St Catherine saw our Lady with an aureole around her, on which was written in golden letters “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” Our Lady’s command was: “Have a medal struck on this model. Those who wear the medal around their neck will receive great graces; my graces will be very abundant for all those who trust in me.”

Sr Catherine with the help of her Spiritual director got the medal produced and it was originally called the "Medal of the Immaculate Conception". Since there was a plague in France at the time and there was many cures through the medal the people of France just called it the "Miraculous Medal".

On the front of the medal we see Mary standing with her heel crushing the head of the serpent, Satan who is on top of the world. Mary is showing us that she is the immaculate "New Eve" who was never conquered by Satan to sin. During the apparition Catherine could see rays coming from Mary's hands down onto the world. These are the graces that Mary obtains for us from her Divine Son Jesus to help us conquer Satan and his temptations for us to sin. This helps us to know that Mary is the "Mediatrix of all Graces".

Catherine saw gaps in the rays coming from Mary's hands and she asked Mary the reason for that and Mary told her the missing rays were to symbolize the graces she could get for people but they do not ask her to get them. Around the border of the medal during the apparition Sr Catherine saw the prayer "O Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee" which again shows that Mary is the sinless New Eve.

Around the border of the back of the medal we see 12 stars which symbolize the Church which Jesus founded on the 12 Apostles. It also represents Mary’s Queenship as we see in the book of Revelation in which Mary is crowned with 12 stars.

The center of the medal we see a Cross on top of an Altar with a large M underneath. The Cross reminds us of Our Lord’s suffering and death which brought about our redemption. The "M" beneath the Cross symbolizes Mary our Mother who stood and suffered at the foot of the Cross at Calvary as her Divine Son suffered for our sins. It symbolizes Mary’s co-redemption and this large "M" beneath the Cross also symbolizes Mary’s spiritual motherhood.

Underneath the large M there are two hearts burning with Love for mankind. On the left is the Sacred and Divine Heart of Jesus which is on fire with so much Love for mankind that he died on the Cross for all of us. His Heart is crowned with thorns by our sins but also by the pain He suffers because so many of us do not really believe that He loves us even though He suffered so much to prove that to us.

The Heart of Mary is also on fire with love for us because She became our Mother, when She became the Mother of Jesus. Her heart is pierced with the tremendous Sword of suffering and Sorrow of Calvary which was predicted to her by Saint Simeon when Jesus was presented as a child in the Temple. Mary loves us so much because Jesus Loves us so much.

Today, may we repeat the words of the miraculous medal often, seeking Mary’s intercession, “O Mary, Conceived without sin, pray for us, who have recourse to thee.”