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Jesus said to them, "I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you will not have life in yourselves. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day. John 6:53-54 |
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The Medal of the Immaculate
Conception — popularly known as the Miraculous Medal — was designed by the
Blessed Virgin herself! No wonder, then that it wins such extraordinary
graces for those who wear it and pray for Mary's intercession and help.
The First Apparition The story begins on the night of July 18-19, 1830. A child (perhaps her guardian angel) awakened Sister (now Saint) Catherine Labouré, a novice in the community of the Daughters of Charity in Paris, and summoned her to the chapel. There she met with the Virgin Mary and spoke with her for several hours. During the conversation Mary said to her, “My child, I am going to give you a mission.”
Mary gave her this mission in a vision during evening meditation on November 27, 1830. She saw Mary standing on what seemed to be half a globe and holding a golden globe in her hands as if offering it to heaven. On the globe was the word “France,” and our Lady explained that the globe represented the whole world, but especially France. The times were difficult in France then, especially for the poor who were unemployed and often refugees from the many wars of the time. France was first to experience many of those troubles which ultimately reached many other parts of the world and are even present today. Streaming from rings Mary's fingers as she held the globe were many rays of light. Mary explained that the rays symbolize the graces she obtains for those who ask for them. However, some of the gems on the rings were dark, and Mary explained that the rays and graces were available but did not come because no one had asked for them. The Third Apparition and the Miraculous Medal The vision then changed to show our Lady standing on a globe with her arms now outstretched and with the dazzling rays of light still streaming from her fingers. Framing the figure was an inscription: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. |
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| The vision turned and showed the design of the reverse side of the medal. Twelve stars encircled a large "M" from which arose a cross. Below are two hearts with flames arising from them. One heart is encircled in thorns and the other is pierced by a sword. | |
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Then Mary spoke to Catherine: “Have a
medal struck upon this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces,
especially if they wear it around the neck.” Catherine explained the entire
series of apparitions to her confessor, and she worked through him to carry
out Mary’s instructions. She did not reveal that she received the Medal
until soon before her death 47 years later.
With approval of the Church, the first Medals were made in 1832 and were distributed in Paris. Almost immediately the blessings that Mary had promised began to shower down on those who wore her Medal. The devotion spread like wildfire. Marvels of grace and health, peace and prosperity, following in its wake. Before long people were calling it the “Miraculous” Medal. And in 1836, a Canonical inquiry undertaken at Paris declared the apparitions to be genuine. There is no superstition, nothing of magic, connected with the Miraculous Medal. The Miraculous Medal is not a “good-luck charm”. Rather, it is a great testimony to faith and the power of trusting prayer. Its greatest miracles are those of patience, forgiveness, repentance, and faith. God uses a Medal, not as a sacrament, but as an agent, an instrument, in bringing to pass certain marvellous results. “The weak things of this earth hath God chosen to confound the strong.” When our Blessed Mother gave the design of the medal to Saint Catherine Labouré she said, “Now it must be given to the whole world and to every person.” |
On May 13, 1917, in Portugal, Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three children in a place called Cova da Iria.
It was at noon, and the children were shepherding sheep. Suddenly there was lightening, and the children, thinking that it was going to rain, began to run. Then, just above a Holm oak tree, they saw a beautiful lady made of light, holding a rosary in her hand.
Our Lady of Fatima spoke to the children and told them not to be afraid. "I come from Heaven," she said. The oldest of the children was Lucía who was ten years old. She asked Our Lady of Fatima, "Will I go to Heaven?" "Yes," Our Lady of Fatima answered. "And Jacinta," who was her seven-year-old cousin, "Will she go to heaven too?" "Yes," answered Our Lady of Fatima. "And Francisco," the brother of Jacinta who was nine years old, "Will he go to Heaven?" "Yes," answered Our Lady of Fatima, but he will have to say many rosaries."
Our
Lady of Fatima asked the children if they would pray and make sacrifice for
sinners, and if they would come to this same place on the thirteenth of each
month for five months. The children agreed and Lucía said "Yes." Only Lucía
spoke to Our Lady of Fatima, the others listened.
This was the beginning of a new life for the children, for their sole purpose in life was to pray and make sacrifices for sinners. They would give their lunch to the sheep as a sacrifice, and perform other acts of mortification.
The
children noted that the beautiful Our Lady of Fatima was sad, and they were sad
also because of Our Lady of Fatima's sadness.
On June 13, Our Lady of Fatima appeared again to the children. The conversation was to pray and make sacrifices and to pray the Rosary.
On July 13, Our Lady of Fatima appeared again and conveyed a secret to the children composed of three parts. The first two parts were revealed by Lucía in her memoirs in 1941 and the third part was released by Pope John Paul II in May 2000.
Regarding the first part, the vision of hell, Sister Lucía writes:
"Our
Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged
in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning
embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration,
now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves
together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks
in a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium and amid shrieks and groans of
pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons
could be distinguished by their terrifying and repulsive likeness to frightful
and unknown animals, all black and transparent. This vision lasted but an
instant.
"How can we ever be grateful enough to our kind heavenly
Mother who had already prepared us by promising, in the first apparition, to
take us to heaven? Otherwise, I think we would have died of fear and terror.
"The beautiful Lady proceeded to reveal the second part of the secret. We then
looked up at Our Lady who said to us so kindly and so sadly: 'You have seen hell
where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the
world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls
will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end, but if people do
not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of
Pius XI.
'When you see a night illuminated by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine and persecutions of the Church and the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays.
'If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated.
'In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy
Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of
peace will be granted to the world. In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will
always be preserved.'
"After Our Lady had revealed the secret to the children, she asked them to
include a special prayer at the end of each decade of the Rosary.
'Oh my Jesus, forgive us ours sins, save us from the fires of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy."
On
August 13, 1917, the three children were kidnapped by the mayor of Villa Nova de
Ourem to whose district Fatima belonged.
The mayor was atheistic as were many in Portugal. In separate conversations with each of the three children, the mayor threatened death if they did not confess everything as a lie. However, the children did not give in to the mayor and professed the truth of Our Lady of Fatima. As a result, the children could not meet Our Lady of Fatima because they were held in jail with common criminals for the night.
But according to witnesses, the children converted the men in
the jail, and they all prayed in the cell.
In a previous apparition, Our Lady of Fatima had promised the children that on
October 13, 1917, the final apparition, she would reveal her name and perform a
great miracle to vindicate the truth of her apparitions.
On
August 19, 1917, when Our Lady of Fatima appeared unexpectedly, she told the
children that on account of the behaviour of the mayor, the miracle would not be
as great as was her original intention. However, as we will see, it was truly
spectacular.
On September 13, 1917, Our Lady of Fatima appeared over the holm oak tree, the
site of the first apparition.
Now, in the final apparition at Fatima, which took place on October 13, 1917,
Lucía had publicly announced that Our Lady of Fatima would perform a great
miracle to testify to the truth of the apparitions.
From the previous day, many people were travelling toward the area. There were not only those with faith but also the atheistic communists and the secular newspaper reporters who were convinced that they would write a story discrediting the entire event as a hoax. Suddenly, it began to rain. The field where people were gathering turned into a field of mud. Seventy thousand people were present to see the miracle.
At
12 o’clock noon, Lucía pointed up at the sky. "The sun appeared as a disc that
gave off various colours and could be looked at without difficulty; it spun like
a fireball and looked as if it would fall to the earth." Suddenly, the sun broke
free of its orbit and began to plunge to the earth. All seventy thousand people
were in panic. Many were heard to say, "God have mercy on me."
Then the sun stopped and returned to its place in the sky,
and it turned into a beautiful day. People become aware that their clothes were
dry.
In addition to those present at the event, others far away also saw the prodigal
in the sky. Newspapers reported the sun falling from the sky as, "The Sun
Danced."
Lucía says that during this event, Our Lady of Fatima appeared in the sky with
Saint Joseph. Our Lady of Fatima was holding a brown scapular, and
Saint Joseph was holding the Child Jesus. Our Lady of Fatima said, "I am the
Lady of the Rosary."
During
one of the apparitions, Our Lady of Fatima foretold that Jacinta and Francisco
would die soon but that Lucía would remain longer to spread devotion to her
Immaculate Heart. After the events at Fatima, Our Lady of Fatima continued to
appear discretely to each child individually from time to time.
Francisco died in 1919 and Jacinta in 1920, both from
disease. When Our Lady of Fatima appeared to
Jacinta, she gave her information about her death. "You will die in a hospital,
away from your family, alone." Jacinta’s death was as Our Lady of Fatima said.
Jacinta and Francisco were saints from the first day Our Lady of Fatima appeared to them on May 13, 1917. They gave themselves up to prayer and sacrifice for sinners and prayer for the pope. Once the beautiful Our Lady of Fatima had appeared to them, they lost all interest in the worldly life.
Lucía took the name Sister Maria Lucía of the Immaculate Heart of Mary when she became a Carmelite nun.
In 2000, on May 13 in Fatima, Pope John Paul II beatified Jacinta and
Francisco as Blesseds of Heaven. Sister Lucía was present.
The third part of the secret given to the children on July 13, 1917, was written
by Sister Lucía in 1944, but the text was not revealed until 2000.
On May 13, 1981, there was an assassination attempt on the
life of Pope John Paul II. Shortly afterward His Holiness read the third part of
the secret of Fatima but chose not to reveal it at that time. Coinciding with
the May 13, 2000, Beatification of Jacinta and Francisco, The Holy Father
released the third part of the secret.
This part
refers to violent hands being laid on a pope and others as well - bishops,
priests, men and women religious and various lay people.
Sister Lucía recently said that it now appears ever more clear that the purpose of all the apparitions was to help people to grow more and more in faith, hope and love.
Our Lady of Fatima recalls frequently forgotten values. She reminds us that the future of humankind is in God, and that we are active and responsible partners in creating that future. Our Lady of Fatima wants all of us to stop offending God; the same message as at Lourdes to Saint Bernadette. She reminds us that hell exists.
Ultimately, Our Lady of Fatima asks us to fervently pray the Rosary every day, pray for sinners and the pope, and perform sacrifices in reparation for our sins.
Sister María Lúcia and Pope John Paul II
Sister María Lúcia of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (nee Lucía de Jesús dos Santos), the oldest of the three children to whom Our Lady of Fatima appeared, died on Sunday, February 13, 2005, at 5:25 P. M. at the age of 97, at the Carmelite Convent of Saint Teresa at Coimbra in Portugal where she was buried for a year at her request so that the nuns could mourn privately. In February, 2006, Sister María Lúcia was re-interred at Fatima.
Pope John Paul II sent a condolence message read at Sister María Lúcia's funeral attended by hundreds of mourners which said he "...always felt lifted by the daily gift of her prayers, especially in difficult and testing moments of suffering."
