The Gift of Mary that is the Miraculous Medal 
The Miraculous Medal is a medal like the others. - It is the work of some genius who has created such a harmonious and artistic context, - neither a learned theologian who has learned in so little space in a wonderful way to symbolize and summarize all the divine beauty of Mary, - nor a saint who wanted to glorify some privilege of Mary, explaining some of the many titles that remind us of His holiness, His greatness, His power or commemorate some work of his goodness to his children.
No, those medals, all valuable in their meaning, or for paintings or statues depicting venerable, are the expression of Christian love for Mary, instead of the Miraculous Medal is an expression of the love of Mary for us . The others are the work of men, albeit inspired by God, this is the work of Mary, is the medal of Mary, the Medal for excellence.
The Gift of Mary. - Each parent shall obtain a photograph of the child away and keep it jealously in her prayer book or hanging in his room so that it can often look and kissing. Mary, our Mother, the most successful of the mothers of the earth, has always before their eyes, symbolized in this world who held hands as Regina Mundi and follows us with her pimp look everywhere, but we we need something that we calls frequently beneficial memory of Mary, remember that it will be our consolation in sorrow, strength in the struggle and stimulus to virtue. Well
Mary herself, to tell us what is dear to you and helpful to us to live in his presence, would come from Heaven to take his picture, so that its white dress, the snake that crushes his head, his features were virginal us to continue condom against all unrighteousness.
wanted to show various appearances with his attitude in which it is continuously and in which he wants us to succeed we represent, namely: 1) the attitude of Mediatrix hill bracccia raised to ask God for mercy for the world and every soul and 2) the attitude of Distributor of grace, with his hands down on the ground while they rain down torrents of grace, the effects of his prayer. The Medal represents Mary in that attitude for you must be a continuous and tacit invitation to do what his attitude means. It must be a constant reminder for us to increase our confidence in the power of his mediation.
The medal is a sign of the love of Mary for us is a pledge of his protection, is the monument of love and continuous noted that it took us and wants us to have you, the Medal for excellence in short, is the Gift of Mary.
The commissioniera Madonna . - The charge of the Madonna to send her gift was a peasant provera, St. Catherine Laboure Zoe, born in the beautiful month of Mary in 1806, as a happy prognostication of devotion that you have always fed and favors that you would receive .
At 9 years old, lost her mother in a boost confidence and love for his mother had chosen Maria SS. Growing up in age on the office of hard-working housewife tasked with special taste for the care of the doves, the symbol of her virtue, innocence and simplicity. At 24
Zoe came from the Daughters of Charity in Paris, calls or from S. Vincent himself with a mysterious dream and took the name of Sister Catherine. It was not yet three months since he was in the novitiate, that God would fulfill his ardent desire to see Madonna.
The Madonna of the Chair. - On the night of 18 to 19 July 1830, the novice is awakened by his guardian angel who leads her into the chapel where the Blessed Virgin. the looks and also sat near the altar, allows Catherine to support you in his arms on his knees and contemplate the face that had so longed to see. The Virgin 1) predicts the calamities that are about to hit France and the whole Church, 2) crying about them not being able to speak almost, to indicate that she takes part in our tribulations, 3) promises his special protection , 4) the foretells a mission from God
Our Lady of the Globe. - After four months of waiting, Nov. 27, at 5 pm, the Virgin appears again, dressed in white, with a long veil on her head, and with feet resting on a globe, the act of trampling a serpent, the hold hands raised another smaller globe, surmounted by a croce, simbolo, come le disse la stessa Vergine, del mondo cristiano e di ogni anima in particolare, che ella stringe maternamente fra le mani, poggiato sul suo cuore. La Madonna, fissando lo sguardo al cielo e intensamente pregando, offriva quel globo al signore. Il suo volto, dice la Santa, spirava inesprimibile gioia celeste e profonda commozione materna.
La Madonna dei Raggi . - Ad un tratto le mani della Madonna si ornano di anelli, le cui gemme piovono raggi sul globo sottostante. Poi il globicino scompare e le mani della Madonna, quasi cedendo al peso delle grazie ottenute colla sua preghiera, si abbassano con gesto grazioso, coprendo, con i raggi che da esse partono, il globo su cui poggia i piedi.
Domandò la Veggente perchè mai alcuni anelli non mandavano luce e la Madonna rispose che essi erano simbolo delle grazie che Ella tiene fra le mani e che vorrebbe concedere ma che noi non le domandiamo.
Una scritta in oro, quasi cornice attorno alla figura della Madonna, dice:
O Maria, concepita senza peccato, pregate per noi che riccoriamo a Te .
Il Rovesio della Medaglia . - Il quadro allora si volta e appare il monogramma di Maria che sorregge una croce; sotto, i Cuori SS. di Gesù e Maria; attorno una corona di 12 stelle. Una voce interna ordina alla suora: FA CONIARE UNA MEDAGLIA SECONDO QUESTO MODELLO, CHE HAI VISTO, TUTTI QUELLI CHE LA PORTERANNO BENEDETTA, specialmente al collo, reciting the quick ejaculation, SPECIALISSIMA WILL BE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD AND RECEIVE BIG THANK YOU. Big thanks for what will be the questions with CONFIDENCE.
Our Lady appeared once more above the high altar, a little 'back. Again showed her the two sides of the coin, and he repeated the order to strike it and then almost giving her a farewell event in the sky and told her she would no longer seen on earth, but that he felt the his invisible presence in his prayers. Sister Catherine
community, according to the order of Our Lady, everything in her confessor, Father Aladel, Priest of the Mission, who, after waiting almost two years to ensure that the Sister was not the victim of illusions, with the permission of the Archbishop of Paris, Monsignor De Quelen, took charge of minting the coin. The sister lived until 1876 while maintaining, without quite unique in history, his secret for 46 years. In 1947 he was elevated to the altars by Pope Pius XII.
Madonna's book. - The Miraculous Medal is therefore not a medal as another: it is a significant reminder of our Mother, is a token of his love, a gift of his heart. It must be a flag, a spiritual shield and a weapon, but especially for us to be the book of Our Lady, in which we read:
- what Maria SS. is itself;
- what Maria SS. is for us;
- what Maria SS. We wish for you
a) What is Mary itself. - Medal reveals the dignity, privileges and greatness of Mary. The color of his clothes, the serpent crushed under his foot, and especially the short prayer teach us as clearly as the privilege of her Immaculate Conception and that 24 years before it was defined by Pius IX. The monogram
that supports the cross reminds us of the divine maternity of Mary. It was she who brought us Jesus, his knees are the most precious throne. The 12 stars remind us of his royal privileges and its main and virtue, still indicate that the saints, because of its protection, now in heaven above surrounding his royal throne.
b) What is Mary for us. - So no less clear on the medal read what Mary is for us. all his privileges were granted to be the mother of our Redeemer and to Him do the work of our redemption making it our spiritual Mother.
Maria won the snake not only for himself but also for us. The cross held up by 'M., her heart pierced by a sword next to that of Jesus show us the part you have had enough of our salvation: Notre COREDEMPTRIX. The attitude of his hands, rings, bundles of rays, the symbol of His grace, well manifest his office of Mediatrix of all graces.
c) What we have to be for you . - From all this derive our duties to Mary duties of children to be a young mother, of subjects to ensure a powerful Queen, servants to a Mistress so benign. Mary helps us to see what the cost is the demand that we love and in his boundless generosity and love in her service. - Maria is a mother and wants to love, and Mistress Mary wants obedience, Queen Mary and wants to fight for the honor and we know her, Mary is immaculate and is a mirror of every virtue and wants to imitate, especially in its purity. Love, honor, easements and imitation here is what Mary asks us with his medal. A powerful prayer
. - Mary herself came to teach us how to move her care and snatch any grace. If you send me a king by his servant the formula with which they present my petition, I fear not being heard? Well, Mary has taught prayer infallible, irresistible prayer with which she herself wants to be prayed and almost lovingly forced to hear, with the aspiration that he wanted engraved on the medal. We repeat, then, if possible, with every breath: " O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee ."
Propaganda Mariana, Casa Madonna - Casale Monferrato (Aless.) - Apostolato della Medaglia
