Sacramental Spotlight: The Miraculous Medal
Myself and the Paul's have discerned that it is indeed God's will (props to the Holy Spirit) that we begin highlighting various sacramentals; vessels of God's grace that pour into our lives. These will be sacramentals that either we use, or are acquainted with through other means.
Before I became actively committed to living out the faith knew very little, if anything, of what sacramentals were, or what purposes they served. I find that to be an unfortunately common theme in today's society, but I suspect that wasn't the case maybe some 50 or 60 years ago when practicing Catholics and their homes were decorated with these modes of the Heavenly grace.
Without further ado, let us begin with a favorite sacramental of mine, The Miraculous Medal.
First, a sad, yet humorous story of my experience with this beloved medal:
I have had a miraculous medal for several years. I purchased it back home at a local Catholic goods store because at that point in my faith, I began desiring the protection of Our Lady. She is the most perfect mother and without sin; I recognized my need for her constant intercession and guidance in my life, so I wanted to get a chain/medal. I've never taken the medal off, except for going through airports and being required to remove it for TSA purposes. Other than that, it's always been a very real and connected part of me.
However, just this month, while my family and I were down in Navarre, FL, I wore it in the ocean (as I had done before on my honeymoon in the Dominican Republic), and before I realized it, the medal was gone! I didn't realize it for quite some time, as I was so focused on all of the rather playful fish nearby. Once it hit me that I had lost it, I hadn't a clue of when it had fallen off, and I knew I wouldn't be able to locate it, as I was swimming up and down the beach.
I can't help but think/hope that God has providential plans for it. That maybe, God willing, some poor, doubting soul stumbles upon it, and comes to know Jesus Christ through His most perfect Mother. That, or some fish will eat it and it'll be lost forever. Another possible reason that God permitted the chain to fall off was maybe to reflect on the role of the Mother of God in my own life, and how imperative she truly is to the spiritual life as a whole.
I was heartbroken, and I sulked about it for the remainder of the day, and even into the following day. This sacramental has played a key role in the spiritual life all those years. It served as a reminder, spiritual and yes, physical, to live for Christ and do so through Mary.
The Medal: An Introduction:
The Miraculous Medal is a more commonly known name for the Medal of the Immaculate Conception. You can find a brief and succinct history of it here. Long story short, the Miraculous Medal was commissioned to be created to the lovely St. Catherine Labouré through apparitions from the Blessed Virgin herself. Mary, in an apparition on November 27, 1830, said to her:
“Have a medal struck upon this model ['model' referring to the inscription]. Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck.”
Shortly after in 1832, the Catholic Church approved of the medal to be made, and the medal began to become distributed throughout Paris. Immediately, the graces promised by Our Lady began to flood the hearts of the faithful who followed her instructions to wear the medal around their necks.
Why should we, as Catholic men, incorporate sacramentals into our lives? Well, the answer is simple; they're means for God's grace to flow into our lives. And let's be honest, we need it. I've always thought there was something masculine and rustic about a silver/steel chain hoisting a miraculous medal / crucifix around the man's neck. I certainly began to become attached to mine for all the grace that has flooded my life.
I found that shortly after losing my miraculous medal, I fell into sin that I perhaps wouldn't have otherwise. The physicality of the chain and medal bouncing forward and then back onto your chest can be a very real reminder that Jesus Christ is calling you to sainthood, to repent, and to avoid sin.
This is the point of a sacramental: to be a means for God's endless grace to enter into our brokenness, to remind us that we belong to Christ Jesus, and that we ought to repent, avoid sin, and believe in the Gospel with our entire being.
Pax Christi
