If someone close to you is grieving the loss of a loved one, I invite you to send them the new Memorial Remembrance Card. It will remind them of the prayers being offered for comfort in their time of sorrow.
Life is full of beauty and goodness. But as we know, with the good comes the not-so-good. Though suffering is an inevitable part of our humanity, God does not ask us to face it alone. He sent his Son as Redeemer to take away our suffering through eternal communion with him. And from the cross, Christ gave his mother to be our Heavenly Mother, who now intercedes for us and models Christian living for all her sons and daughters.
Our Blessed Mother has given us reason to confidently trust in her tender, maternal care, especially when experiencing the pain of losing someone we dearly love.
In the year 1830 in Paris, France, Mary gave the image of her Miraculous Medal to a young religious sister, who also knew a thing or two about grief, Saint Catherine Labouré.
Catherine, at the tender age of nine, personally experienced the pain of losing her mother to a terminal illness. Catherine and her mother were extremely close, and no one knew exactly how the young girl would adjust to life without her.
Just days after the funeral, in the midst of extreme sorrow, little Catherine made her way into her parents’ bedroom. She climbed up on a chair, reached high, and brought down from the shelf a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thinking that no one was watching, though the family’s household servant was viewing her from around the corner, Catherine wrapped her arms around the statue of the Blessed Virgin, as if hugging one of her dolls, and said,
“Now, dear Blessed Mother. Now you will be my mother!”
At such a young age, Catherine demonstrated complete trust in Mary’s maternal care for her. Our Blessed Mother recognized this confidence and rewarded Catherine with the image of the Miraculous Medal and the following message to be shared with all the world.
"Come to the foot of the altar. Graces will be shed on all, great and little, especially upon those who ask for them. You will have the protection of God and Saint Vincent. I shall be with you myself. Always, I have my eye upon you. Have a medal struck after this model. All who wear it will receive great graces; they should wear it around the neck. Graces will abound for persons who wear it with confidence."
Like little Catherine, when you or a loved one cries out with confidence, asking for our Lady’s help, Mary hears you and begs God to protect those for whose protection you have asked.
To help you share this beautiful truth with others, I invite you once more to share the new Memorial Remembrance Card as a spiritual benefit and a caring concern for someone close to you who has lost a loved one. In doing so, you will imitate our Blessed Mother, who heard the cry of little Catherine and gave her the comfort she needed.
I also invite you to send me the name of your departed loved one so he or she can be remembered in the prayers and daily Mass 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 the enclosed card will inspire others to realize that she stands by them in their sorrow just as she stood with little Saint Catherine, and of course, how she stood with Jesus at the foot of the cross.
Another way to offer assurance of your prayers is to burn a Votive Light at the Miraculous Medal Shrine.
Any contribution you send will support the Association in its work of spreading devotion to our Blessed Mother, by whose intercession Jesus brings mercy and salvation to all the world.
Thank you! 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