Association of the Miraculous Medal

“EN EL UMBRAL DEL CIELO HAY UNA MADRE QUE NOS ESPERA CON TERNURA”.

Cada 15 de agosto celebramos con alegría la Fiesta de la Asunción de la Virgen María. Este misterio glorioso nos recuerda que el cielo no está lejos, ni está cerrado, sino que está abierto, y en su umbral hay una Madre que nos espera con ternura. Ella no se olvida de nosotros.

Sé que actualmente vivimos tiempos muy difíciles. Muchos de nuestros hermanos enfrentan incertidumbre, miedos, enfermedades o dificultades económicas, entre otras situaciones. Pero María no nos deja solos. Más bien, nos invita a mirar hacia arriba, hacia el cielo donde hay esperanza. A no quedarnos atrapados en las sombras del miedo, sino a confiar en Dios.

Por eso quiero invitarle con cariño a que nos acompañe a celebrar la Novena de misas de la Asunción de María, del 6 al 15 de agosto. Acérquese a María y ponga en sus manos sus intenciones, preocupaciones y esperanzas.

Envíeme sus intenciones de oración y los nombres de seres queridos que desea poner en las manos de María. Nosotros las colocaremos ante el altar de la Virgen, y oraremos por sus intenciones durante cada misa de la novena, en especial durante la Fiesta de la Asunción, el 15 de agosto.

También puede encender una veladora  por sus intenciones a la Virgen como símbolo de fe y esperanza en la intercesión de Nuestra Señora.  

Cualquier ofrenda que pueda compartir en este momento, será recibida de corazón. Gracias a su generosidad, podemos llevar la esperanza y el consuelo de la Virgen María y su Medalla Milagrosa a las personas que más las necesitan.  

Gracias de corazón, por celebrar con nosotros esta bella devoción. Gracias por darnos el privilegio de orar por usted y su familia. Recuerde que María camina con usted, y que nunca se alejará, sobre todo en los momentos más difíciles. En su corazón caben nuestras esperanzas y nuestras penas. Encomiende a su familia a ella.

Espero tener el privilegio de recibir sus intenciones  de oración para la Novena de la Asunción de la Virgen. Mientras tanto, rogaré a María, Puerta del Cielo, para que le dé fortaleza y esperanza, y la certeza de que nunca estamos solos.

Siempre con la Virgen María,

Rev. Prudencio Rodríguez de Yurre, C.M.
Director Espiritual

P.D. La Novena de la Asunción se celebrará del 6 al 15 de agosto. Por favor envíeme sus intenciones antes del 6 de agosto  para ponerlas ante la Virgen durante su novena.

P.P.D. También quiero compartirle este bello testimonio de un miembro de nuestra familia espiritual. Nunca me canso de leer estas historias que me llenan de esperanza. Espero que a usted también le inspire.

Estimado Padre:
            Gracias por sus oraciones. Mi esposo tenía un cáncer terminal, pero en este momento está muy bien. Le habían dado 6 meses de vida, y estaba que no se paraba de la cama. Yo lo alimentaba a puro líquido porque no podía ni comer. Eso es un milagro. Quiero contarles que tuvo un sueño con Jesús, que lo llevó a un cerro donde había una iglesia y cuando entraron, mi esposo estaba sobre una alfombra y a los pies de Jesús. Y Jesús lo tenía abrazado y le dijo “No hay nada ni nadie que pueda curarte mejor que yo, lucha por tu vida”. Y de ahí en adelante se puso de pie y comenzamos a luchar juntos y en este momento está muy bien. Gracias por sus oraciones. Los amamos. No me lo suelten, por favor,  porque “la unión hace la fuerza”. Dios y nuestra Madrecita Santísima los mantengan en sus brazos.

Your Prayerful Petition for Healing

Every day, God permits us numerous opportunities to become spiritually stronger. Yes, we might prefer if the Lord would simply wave a magical wand and fortify us with no effort on our part. But Christians know better.

There is no spiritual triumph without a battle, no perfect love on earth without suffering, and no Easter without Good Friday.

I often call the Scapular our armor, the Miraculous Medal our shield, and the Rosary our most powerful weapon.

Here at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, we are working hard to equip faith-filled souls with the tools they need for the ultimate triumph over evil so they may achieve full and eternal union with God in heaven. Helping people like you “suit up for salvation,” the tools we’re offering are both spiritual and temporal.

The spiritual help is our Association’s daily, prayerful remembrance of the needs shared with us by members and friends week after week. Temporal aid includes our distributing more than two million blessed Miraculous Medals every year and sending out other Church-approved, blessed sacramentals from the National Shrine.

Today, I invite you to allow the Association of the Miraculous Medal to stand with you in the warfare against evil. Here are two easy ways you can accept:

  • Send me the names of the loved ones you wish to have remembered.  The request for prayer may be for the return of their well-being of body, mind, or spirit. On Wednesday, September 3, at 12:10 p.m., CT, we will offer a Mass Remembering your loved ones and their needs, lifting them up to Jesus through Mary during the Prayers of the Faithful. These same intentions will rest near Mary’s Shrine Altar throughout the month of September.

While the rosary and scapular have been around for 500-800 years, the Miraculous Medal was given to the world much more recently. It was in 1830 when Our Lady appeared to Sister Catherine Labouré, a novice in Paris, France, giving her the design of the medal and the mission to share it with the world.

To those who wore the Miraculous Medal with faith and confidence, Mary assured the young Daughter of Charity, great graces and blessings would flow from God.

Sending the names of your loved ones for remembrance is a sign of your trust in Our Blessed Mother’s promised intercession. Your prayers are a powerful weapon in the face of physical or spiritual suffering, temptation, doubt, and more.

When you return the names of your loved ones for remembrance, you may also request a Votive Light to burn at the Shrine. This sign of your faith is but another way to lift your loved ones in prayer to Jesus through Mary.

Any offering you include will help us spread devotion to Our Lady. It will also support the formation and ministries of the Vincentian priests and brothers founded by Saint Vincent de Paul.

Going up against the devil, Christians’ victory depends on both an ironclad defense and a fail-safe offense.

Thank you for allowing the Association of the Miraculous Medal to serve as your spiritual fortress to help obtain the healing, protection, defense, and salvation of your body and soul and that of all those close to you! May God bless all your efforts to serve him and draw you ever closer to himself.

Faithfully yours in Jesus and Mary,

 

Mass of Healing Remembrance: Send Your Petitions Today

Let Mary’s Association pray for you and any loved ones in need of a return to health in body, mind, or spirit.

On Wednesday, September 3, at 12:10 p.m., CT, we will offer a Mass of Healing Remembrance for the needs you share, lifting them up to Jesus through Mary during the Prayers of the Faithful here at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. If you live near Perryville, please feel free to attend this Mass.

Sending your healing intentions is a sign of your trust in Our Blessed Mother’s promised intercession. Your prayers are a powerful weapon in the face of physical or spiritual suffering, temptation, doubt, and more. You may also request a Votive Light to burn at the Shrine as another way to lift your petitions to Jesus through Mary.

All offerings help us spread devotion to Our Lady and support the ministries of the Vincentian priests and brothers founded by Saint Vincent de Paul. Read more in Father Clay’s letter here.

Mary’s Promise of Graces: Anniversary of First Apparition to Saint Catherine Labouré

Friday, July 18, marks 195 years to the day since Our Lady first appeared to Sister Catherine Labouré inside the Daughters of Charity Motherhouse Chapel in Paris. The Blessed Virgin spoke with the future saint at length, a deeply personal conversation in which Mary promised that heaven’s graces would be bestowed upon all who ask for them with confidence. Send your anniversary intentions today for remembrance at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on July 18. You may also burn a Votive Light in the Shrine’s beautiful Votive Light Room. Finally, this video highlights a statue on the Shrine grounds depicting that moment when Catherine held Mary’s hands in complete trust and devotion. You can do the same by sharing your needs and the needs of those you love with the Queen of Heaven.

Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us!

Last year, a member of AMM thanked us for sending her Back to School greeting cards like these.

She explained …”My sister teaches children with special needs. I gave her one of the cards, which she posted on the bulletin board in her classroom. The students could see it was very special to my sister. The card became special to them, too.”

A bulletin board. It’s where teachers put on display the most important things they believe their students need to learn. Many of us would agree –– there are few lessons today’s youngsters need to understand better than that God loves them, and Our Blessed Mother is with them at every moment to guide and care for them.

Yes, one simple greeting card can teach this timeless truth in a quiet and beautiful way that even the smallest child can understand!

That is why I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to order and present the back to school cards to an educator, family, or individual student close to your heart. Each greeting offers your recipients a remembrance in the daily Mass and prayers offered at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal from September through May.

Send me their names, which we’ll place near Mary’s Shrine Altar. You may also burn a Votive Light for your recipients as an expression of your prayerful desire that they experience a fulfilling academic year ahead. 

If you’d like to browse AMM’s selection of medals and rosaries that make great back to school gifts, go online to amm.org/store. You may also order religious gifts by phone.

The 3/4” tall, pewter Miraculous Medal (M080) is our most popular back to school gift item. Its lobster-claw clasp keeps it securely attached to a backpack, purse, keychain, or zipper. Request one or more for a suggested donation of $13 each.

You give a gift of priceless value in asking Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, to watch over those you love along their educational pathway this school year.

Thank you for your devotion to Mary’s mission carried out here at the Association of the Miraculous Medal. May God continue to bless your efforts to serve him, and may he draw you ever closer to himself.

Sincerely in Jesus and Mary,

P.S. You may also request free, blessed Miraculous Medals and “Story of the Medal” cards (I086) to share with school children, educators, and family members. Or, call us at 1-800-264-MARY (6279), Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., CT. Any gift offering you add will be gratefully appreciated and used to continue the mission of Our Lady’s Association.

Here’s the impact your offering can make this back to school season:

Recently, an AMM member in Canada wrote … Dear Father, I have been giving Miraculous Medals to children in two classrooms in each of our schools. I received reports from the teachers that once the children began wearing this sacramental, their anxiety and stress levels went down. The children are happier, and discipline problems have diminished. I am so grateful that I have been able to obtain the medals from AMM and that Our Lady is interceding for these children.

Request Medals to Share with Students, Educators

It’s back to school time! Please join AMM members in praying for students and teachers as they return to the classroom. You may share the names of those you’d like remembered in the daily Mass and prayers offered at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal throughout the coming school year.  Request up to 100 free, blessed Miraculous Medals to distribute to Catholic schoolchildren, educators, and family members. Each comes on an attractive fold-over card explaining its origin. (Browse AMM’s online gift shop for more medal options, Votive Light cards, and more.)  

For a suggested offering of $13 each, you may also request our most popular back-to-school gift item, this “Backpack Mary Medal” for a special child, grandchild, or teacher. The one-inch tall, Miraculous Medal with a sturdy, lobster-claw clasp will stay securely attached to a backpack, purse, keychain, or zipper.

As Fr. Clay’s letter reminds us, there are few lessons today’s youngsters need to understand better than that God loves them, and Our Blessed Mother is with them at every moment to guide and care for them.

Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, intercede for those we love!

Mother of Divine Grace Novena of Masses Begins Monday, July 14

Send your petitions and burn Votive Lights at Our Lady’s National Shrine here in Perryville, Missouri, during the Association’s annual Mother of Divine Grace Novena. Your petitions will be remembered in our daily Mass and prayers throughout the nine days of the novena and on the feast of the Mother of Divine Grace, Wednesday, July 23. You are also invited to recite this prayer to Our Lady throughout the nine days of this novena, a beautiful appeal focusing our minds and hearts on the eternal joy that awaits us in her presence at her Son’s side in heaven.

Celebrate Our Lady’s Birthday

A mother loves her little children’s hand-made gifts. One scribbled “Happy Birthday” picture from a six-year-old might be displayed for months – not because it’s a work of great art, but because it’s a work of great love.

Our Blessed Mother is no different, and we are her little children. That is why every year on the feast of Mary’s Nativity, the Association of the Miraculous Medal celebrates by presenting Our Lady with a special gift of love.

Today, I’m inviting you –– and fellow devoted members of AMM’s spiritual family –– to take part in our September 8 Mass observing Mary’s birthday.

You may send any special prayer intentions and/or request a Votive Light to burn near Mary’s Altar at the Shrine. My fellow Vincentians and I will remember your needs in prayer.

Any offering you choose to add will help AMM continue its mission to draw souls closer to Christ through Our Lady. Gifts support ministries of our Vincentian priests and brothers and enable AMM to continue distributing free, blessed Miraculous Medals to faith-filled souls.

Any intentions received will be presented at the Mass planned for September 8. It is a wonderful way to add to the many ways you’ve shown your love for Mary and for the gift of the Miraculous Medal she shared with the world through Saint Catherine Labouré nearly 200 years ago.

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,

Celebrate Our Lady’s Birthday

Each year, the Church celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8. AMM continues its tradition to honor Mary’s birth with an octave of prayer beginning September 8 and concluding on September 15, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. You are invited to entrust your intentions to the Mother of God. Mary welcomes your devotion, your prayers for a loved one, or a simple expression of your gratitude to the spiritual Mother who cares for you with constant, tender affection. Burning a Votive Light in Our Lady’s honor is an especially fitting gift to the Immaculate Mother of Our Lord. Read Fr. Clay’s letter to learn more about this year’s commemoration.

Safe Summer Travels

“The Lord is your guardian; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The Lord will guard your coming and going both now and forever.”  Psalm 121:5,8

Blessings on your summer travel.

We hope your plan includes visiting the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Perryville, Missouri, where you can personally place your prayer intentions. Remember, our church has been designated as a Jubilee Year sacred site, where the faithful may gain a plenary indulgence. To obtain an indulgence, a Catholic must meet the “usual conditions”: be truly repentant and free from any attachment to sin, go to the sacrament of confession (available at the Shrine Church on Mondays at 11:45 a.m.), receive Holy Communion, and pray for the intentions of the pope.

If a visit is not possible, you may include your intentions for remembrance in the daily Mass and prayers and burn a Votive Light for your needs from the comfort of your own home using this link.

Here is a special Prayer for Travelers

Here is a special blessing from Fr. Clay

Assumption Novena of Masses

Please share your prayer intentions for remembrance in our annual Assumption Novena of Masses beginning Wednesday, August 6. Throughout the nine days, we will call to mind the divine grace and privilege bestowed upon Mary from above –– her being taken up, “assumed” into heaven, body and soul. This long-held Christian belief was declared as official dogma of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1950.

Saint Mary’s of the Barrens Church, home of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, was lovingly referred to as the “Church of the Assumption” by the original Catholic settlers in our area. Nearly two centuries after the Church’s construction, a majestic depiction of the 4th Glorious Mystery still graces the main altar. The painting remains an ever-present reminder of Our Lady’s unique role in the redemption of humanity –– Jesus’ own Holy Mother bridging heaven and earth.

Lift up your prayers to God during the Novena of Masses and Solemnity observance. You may also burn a Votive Light as a sign of your prayerful presence for this joyous feast.

Your intentions will be remembered from August 6-15 at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. We will celebrate Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption Friday, August 15 at 12:10 p.m., CT.

Our Lady of the Assumption Prayer

June Members’ Novena

A special Members’ Novena begins Wednesday, June 18.

This nine-day dedication of prayer falls over the June 22 Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (the Feast of Corpus Christi) and leads directly into two important Church feasts: the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (June 27 & 28).

You are invited to place your novena intentions for remembrance in prayer at Mary’s Altar inside the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. You may also burn a Votive Light as a sign of your spiritual presence with us throughout the novena and feast days.

It is our hope that whomever you are praying for –– yourself or someone else –– will enjoy God’s peace and the consolation of healing for any spiritual or temporal woundedness, as this mother received:

Dear Father, I had been in prayer for my daughter as she no longer wanted anything to do with church. Since her father belonged to a different religion, she had told me she didn’t believe in Mary. This year, I felt Our Mother was asking me to distribute rosaries. In obedience, I started handing out rosaries to those who would accept them. One day I asked my daughter in faith, “If I gift you this rosary, will you take it?” My daughter said, “Yes! It’s so beautiful. I’ll keep it in my car for protection.” Mind you, my daughter no longer wanted any religious articles. Thank you, Mother Mary. I wear a Miraculous Medal with faith. Amen.

We invite you to join us in praying the Miraculous Medal Novena Prayer, June 18-26.