The Miraculous Medal: Emblem of Love in Action

I want to dedicate this entry to the blessing I received from wearing a Miraculous Medal.  Raised as an Episcopalian I was unfamiliar with the medal until I stumbled upon a copy of a book about Mary's intercession through Christ.  I have faced a lot of trauma and as I heal from that trauma I felt drawn to wearing the medal along with my cross as a reminder to follow after Christ's heart and to obey God as Mary did. 

What is the Miraculous Medal?
The medal was commissioned after St. Catherine Laboure had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1830 in the Chapel of Apparitions in France.  Mary instructed Catherine to create a medal to call people to the Immaculate Conception.  The Immaculate Conception is the belief that Mary was conceived without sin in order that she may remind stainless as a perfect vessel in giving birth to Christ.

The Blessed Virgin Mary instructed that the medal have a picture of Mary on the front with radiant light streaming from her hands - which symbolize the graces Mary gives, through Christ, to those who ask her for help.  This image reminds us of the fullness of mercy we are called to give as human stewards of Christ - both in flesh and spirit - it reminds us of Christ's never-ending love and the great love of Mary for her son and for his adopted children. 
The image is paired with the prayer: O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.'  I find this prayer calming because I am only human - and having Mary as a motherly example is a great peace as we realize the grace God Himself placed on Mary in carving out the plan for salvation.  God is at work in all of us - he is desperately waiting for us to call and accepting his help.

The back of the medal has the symbol of the cross and M interconnected as a reminder of the Immaculate Conception and Mary's love for her son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

The medal is said to have miraculous protective powers on those who wear it - but the protection does not come from the medal - but the message of hope and God's spiritual protection. The miracle comes from Christ's death on the cross and the resurrection.  Christ is always calling us into his flock and this medal is not only an outward sign of devotion -but a way we can invite others to engage in learning about our faith. 


I will follow up with a history of the medal and its purported miracles, but for the sake of this post I'll discuss my healing journey.  I know that in may traditions wearing a medal is seen as superstition but this is the same concept of wearing a cross - the Miraculous Medal is a living prayer from our hearts as we use this token to remember God's intercession and care in our lives.  The power is not from the medal, but the love of Christ HIMSELF - the medal is just an outward display of this grace.

History of Miraculous Medal link.

My Story:

Last week, my mother and I were robbed at gunpoint at a mall in Durham North Carolina.  Several masked thugs demanding our purses and threatened our lives.  This was a gang robbery that no doubt would have stolen our lives had it not been for God's intercession.  I also believe that while wearing the Miraculous Medal did not magically protect us - I do think it kept us spiritually guarded - our eyes set on Christ in this crisis situation.  I also believe that The Blessed Virgin Mary did create a wall of healing protective light - the gunman seemed unable to draw closer to us and I can only attribute that to heavenly help. 

I wear the medal every day as a reminder to stay close to Christ and my need for Jesus and all heavenly help to be my armor and protection.  The greatest protection we have is peace of the spirit - if we have peace of the spirit - even in difficult times - even unto death - we can rise out of the fear and allow God to take control.  We live in a broken world - but nothing is too broken for Christ.  Those who die in crisis - I still believe in God's healing grace and Divine Mercy.  I am so grateful to God and the Virgin Mary and St. Michael for the heavenly protection to fight against these snares of the night.  I pray for the robbers that they will repent.  The gunmen took a purse full of prayer cards - perhaps they can find healing from this - I hope they turn inward and stop the cycle of violence.

Being faced with the possibility of death - our heart can only turn inward and look into the core of our soul and feel compelled to trust in God and ask HIM for help.  Some lash out in this process - feeling God is not present in crisis, but God is always with us in Christ and though we may not like HIS help at the time - God's help is always the best help - I also think so many of us close ourselves off to God's goodness because we cannot trust - we feel wronged and cheated, abandoned.

God never abandons us - while he may lead us through difficult times, God will lead us through it - even if we must sacrifice the flesh in the process - God never forsakes a soul - thirsty for HIS mercy.

Mary is the mother of mercy, she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit - and bore the life of God incarnate - The Word made Flesh.  The Miraculous Medal - not only reminds me of the heavenly protection we have in the Blessed Mother as an intercessor of Christ - the medal reminds me that God calls the most unsuspected to partake in his purpose to fill the world with grace and light.  We all have a purpose on this earth and God is calling us into communion with Him.  When we get caught up in the snares of the world - we will never be full - we will never be fed - we will always hunger - the medal is an extension of grace - the power is not in the medal itself - but the spiritual depth it represents.

When you wear a sacramental, a devotional article, be it a cross or a prayer medal, it is not a dead idol, but rather a living prayer igniting the The Holy Spirits flame in an everlasting fire in our soul to keep us alive in the light of Christ even in dark places.

 Christ is my anchor in life's storms.  When I set my eyes on the Sacred Heart of Jesus I am at peace and able to navigate even dangerous situations with fortitude and faith.  I mention the Sacred Heart of Jesus because Jesus is our life force, Jesus's life pumped forgiveness, hope, love and second chances into the hearts of those who repent and seek the kingdom of God.

The flesh often forces us to forget Christ and his life-giving sacrifice - his life is a testimony of the glory of Living with God, while HIS death is a call for us to 'die' to our hang ups in the physical world and allow the Holy Spirit to invigorate us in the ways of eternal, guiding us in the ways of knowing God.  
 
Problems arise when I forget to cast out the anchor of Christ during times of turmoil - I instead clutch the anxious quaking fear and angst.  When we don't set our eyes on Jesus we lose sight of the beauty of of life and the perspective of our sojourn towards heaven.  This life is meant to be an amazingly beautiful experience, but life is also marked by darkness and despair.  We have to decide which wolf to feed; do we give into the fear of the flesh or do we rise up in the hope of the Spirit that is a light for the darkest of places?

I have straddled the fear and hate of my flesh - the lingering doubts in faith and the trepidation - My soul wants to move closer to Christ and let go of the chains of unworthiness, fear of lack, fear of abandonment, fear of failure, the list of fears I have could be infinite....yet so often I have fallen into despair even though I knew Christ was reaching out - if I just let go of the fear and taken the steps closer to HIS loving heart and fullness of HIS mercy then no matter how treacherous the turmoil - I'd be able to have the strength to endure any obstacles in my path. 


With my hectic job working in customer service,  I often feel overwhelmed when I came home from work.  I have dealt with toxic people over the past six months - as the conditions at work worsened I turned more deeply in prayer and out of this chaos my life is on a path towards healing.  I believe that God allowed this trial to occur - to push me into a deeper prayer life.  God knew I needed his loving care more than what I accepted.  It took things being so bad at work that all I could do was turn to my heavenly Father's loving arms.  In this process I have grown tremendously in faith and resolve - particularly with the help of the rosary.

I wear the medal as an outward show of praise for God's work through the human race for reconciliation and healing. God's calling Mary into HIS service to be a mother to HIMSELF is glory and might of God's search for communion with humanity and Oh what sweetness and fair love that the Virgin Mary gave up the flesh to serve God.

So whether or not the medal offers miracles worthy of the 5 o'clock news - realize the miracle of the forgiveness of sins and our ability to communion with God and God's faithfulness to us - even in times of uncertainty.  The fact God loves us even in our unworthiness - is the greatest miracle of all!