When loved ones lose a family member or close friend, we want to reach out to them. Our care and concern reflect the compassion of our Blessed Mother for those who suffer pain and loss. She intercedes for them to obtain God’s grace. Mary, through her Miraculous Medal, has brought consolation and hope to tens of millions of people since she gave the medal to Saint Catherine Labouré in 1830.
To share Mary’s compassion, I am offering a Memorial Remembrance Card that you can use to provide a spiritual benefit and a caring concern for someone close to you who has recently lost a loved one. In doing so, you imitate Jesus who wept at the grave of his friend, Lazarus, and comforted Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary.
Jesus still comforts people today, sometimes in miraculous ways. A longtime Association member from Kentucky sent us a note telling us about the death of her mother...
“I was able to be with my mother before she passed away. Mom and I prayed the rosary together, all four sets of mysteries, and the novena to our Lady just before she died. Mom and I held hands the whole time we said the rosary. Her hand was very warm. The miracle, I guess, is this—for the last 20 years mom’s hands have always been ice cold. The last time I saw her, she had a smile on her face. I know the most Blessed Virgin Mary was with her before she died. And I just have a feeling mom is enjoying a very happy and joyous homecoming in heaven with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.”
Such miracles of grace happen more often than we might realize. But most often, Jesus comforts the bereaved through his followers on earth. We are the Body of Christ, and Jesus wants us to bring his presence, comfort, and peace to others.
If you would like to bring Mary’s motherly concern and the love of Jesus to the bereaved in a special way, please use this Memorial Remembrance Card as a gift for those who are important to you. Use it to offer prayer and comfort for someone suffering the loss of a loved one.
Please send your Remembrance names and intentions to the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. Fill in the name of the departed on the form, and that person will be remembered in prayers and Masses here at the Shrine for one year.
The Association of the Miraculous Medal promotes devotion to Mary and encourages people to wear her medal. Mary’s image on our new Memorial Remembrance Card will inspire others to realize that she stands by them in their sorrow just as she stood by Jesus as he died for us on the cross.
Another way to offer the assurance of your care and your prayers is to burn a Votive Light at the Miraculous Medal Shrine for the departed person and for the intentions of the bereaved.
Any contribution you send will support the Association in its work of spreading devotion to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. The Association is a ministry of the Vincentian community of priests and brothers, who follow in the tradition of St. Vincent de Paul working with the poor and educating the laity and clergy. Your gift will help them bring the good news and love of Jesus and Mary to people around the world.
May Jesus bless you, and may Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal watch over you and your loved ones.
Sincerely yours in our Lady,
Fr. Kevin McCracken, C.M.
Spiritual Director