On November 2, Catholics around the world will observe All Souls Day.
Praying for the final purification of the souls of your departed loved ones is a gift of love. We can hasten their journey to heaven, especially when we ask for Mary’s help.
Join AMM’s All Souls Day observance at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on November 2. Sharing the names of deceased relatives and friends offers them a special remembrance in prayer throughout the month of November and during the anniversary month of their passing. With all power to transcend earthly limits of time and space, God can apply the merits of your prayer to assist those you love. What a powerful gift this is! You may also request a Votive Light to burn for your deceased loved ones. Father Clay’s lettertells more about All Souls Day.
Quote fromPope Francis, 2024 All Souls Day
“O God … Listen to the prayer we offer to You for all our loved ones who have left this world. Open the arms of Your mercy and receive them … You, who placed on the Church’s path the Blessed Virgin Mary as a radiant sign, sustain our faith through her intercession, so that no obstacle may lead us astray from the path that leads to You …”
Did you know that praying for the dead has been a pious practice since long before the Catholic Church began?
More than a century before Jesus was born, Scripture records the story of Judas Maccabeus. This Jewish priest urged his soldiers to pray for their fallen comrades who had violated the law. The men asked God to blot out the offense of these dead. In further atonement, Judas gathered a sin offering and sent it to Jerusalem, indicating how confidently he believed in a resurrection of the dead. (2 Maccabees 12:38-46)
What prayers must have been in Mary’s heart as she clung to the dead body of her only Son? Did she beg God to restore Jesus to life in her loving arms? Did she ask the Father to receive him back into the heavenly realm from which he was sent? We do not know.
What we do know is that praying for relatives and friends who have gone before us is an expression of our own confident hope in the eternal reward that awaits God’s people of faith.
On Sunday, November 2, Catholics worldwide will observe All Souls Day.
Your prayers are a gift of priceless spiritual value. If your loved one is already in heaven, Our Lady will see to it that your prayers benefit another soul along the way.
Any offering you include will help the Association of the Miraculous Medal bring more souls to Jesus through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother. Your gift will also support the apostolic mission and charitable works of our Vincentian community.
May God continue to bless your efforts to serve him, and may he draw all of us ever closer to himself.
September 15 is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Ahead of this feast, the Association will celebrate its monthly Members’ Novena of Masses beginning Saturday, September 6, and concluding on the eve of the feast day.
You are invited to send your petitions for remembrance during these Masses and on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15. Your needs will be placed near Mary’s Altar here at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
You may also burn a Votive Light at the Shrine as a sign of your spiritual presence throughout the novena. Please share your petitions so that we may present them to the Holy Mother of God on your behalf.
Join Catholics worldwide who are celebrating the canonization of the “first millennial saint.” Carlo Acutis was an Italian youth who died in 2006 at age 15 from leukemia, diagnosed just days earlier. Carlo had dedicated much of his adolescence to researching and compiling information on Eucharistic miracles. His efforts inspired a renewal of interest in these events.
Sunday, September 7 Canonization Day for Carlo Acutis –– Venerate his 1st and 3rd class relics at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., CT Admission is free, and no RSVP is needed for this day’s event.
Sunday Mass at the Shrine begins at 11:00 a.m., CT. You are invited to join us ahead of the exhibition.
Unite in prayer with fellow AMM members during this fall’s Pilgrimage to Italy.
Your personal petitions will be carried to holy sites visited across Rome and Assisi and remembered during Masses celebrated by Vincentian Father Kevin McCracken from October 13-22. Also, throughout the Pilgrimage, your needs will be lifted up during our daily Mass here at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
To further commemorate the Year of Hope Pilgrimage, you are invited to request one of the following special gifts being offered as spiritual keepsakes or another item from AMM’s online gift store:
A beautifully colored Miraculous Medal with gold accents and rim (1″ x 11/16″).
Sending your Pilgrimage intentions is a beautiful way to unite with us in prayer during this Jubilee Year of Hope.To learn more, call the Shrine at 1-800-264-MARY (6279) weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., CT.
I invite you to join us in person for a special day with Our Blessed Mother here at the beautiful National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Perryville, Missouri.
Saturday, September 6 Marian Day of Recollection 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., CT
Keynote reflections by Fr. Clayton Kilburn, C.M. –– “Mary’s Apparitions and Gifts”
Opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Mass
Enjoy the National Shrine Church, Rosary Walk, century-old Grotto, Marian Meditation Circle, Visitor Center Gift Shop, and more
Rite of Investiture in the Brown Scapular & Miraculous Medal
Ticket includes continental breakfast and lunch from Hoeckele’s Bakery
When someone we love faces a loss, reaching out to offer spiritual comfort and encouragement can be a gift of immense meaning.
You can request Memorial Remembrance greeting cards to express your care for someone who has recently lost a loved one – or will soon mark the anniversary of their passing. This card offers a spiritual remembrance of the deceased in the daily Mass and prayers at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal for one year.
It shares Our Blessed Mother’s loving compassion amidst their grief.
When you receive the card(s), simply complete and mail it to your recipient(s). Then, write the name of the departed loved one on the reply form on the enclosed reply form and return it to the Association of the Miraculous Medal.
To add to your memorial remembrance, you may also burn a Votive Light at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal for the deceased person and intentions of the bereaved.
When you return the name of the deceased, any charitable offering you add will support AMM’s mission: to draw all people closer to Christ through devotion to Mary, especially under her title of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
On Friday, August 15, Catholics around the world will celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption. The Church has long taught that at the conclusion of her earthly life, Mary was assumed into heaven, body and soul. You are invited to be part of the Association’s celebration of this great feast by
sending your special intentions for remembrance throughout the Association’s Assumption Novena of Masses, which begins Wednesday, August 6, and leads up to the August 15 feast. The Queen of Heaven will not delay in presenting your special intentions to Jesus, our sovereign King.
May we look to her who is clothed and crowned with light … be for others a radiant sign of truth and bearer of Jesus’ love … live each day as she did, that we too will one day merit heaven’s crown.
“A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” — Revelation 12:1
… making or changing your will? Creating a sound estate plan is important to ensuring that your personal and charitable values are upheld upon your death. In this third issue of the Rays of Light Newsletter, AMM members and friends are invited to receive a free brochure sharing some of the most common life changes that make it prudent to update a will that directs the distribution of your assets. “You Never Need to Change Your Will Unless …” is available free upon your request by calling our office at 1-800-264-MARY (6279). Enjoy this issue’s inspiring stories of others who are supporting AMM’s ministry. Thank you for your generous and prayerful support, which is helping ensure that the Association and National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal can continue to draw the world closer to Jesus through Mary and her medal.
Los católicos crecimos con la certeza de que la Virgen María está siempre con nosotros: en la cocina de mamá, en la imagen junto al rosario, en el santuario de nuestro pueblo y en nuestras oraciones cuando más la necesitamos. Hoy, cuando hay tanta necesidad, quiero invitarle a volver a ese refugio seguro que es el corazón de María a través de una celebración.
En la Asociación de la Medalla Milagrosa queremos celebrar con amor y devoción el cumpleaños de nuestra Madre del Cielo, el 8 de septiembre. Será una ocasión especial para darle gracias, entregarle nuestras penas y refugiarnos en su corazón maternal.
Aquí puede enviarnos sus peticiones para ponerlas en oración durante la Misa de Cumpleaños de la Virgen, el 8 de septiembre.
También puede encender una veladora por sus intenciones como símbolo de su esperanza y confianza en la Madre de Dios.
Una madre siempre atesora los regalos que sus hijos pequeños preparan con sus manos. Un dibujo con garabatos, una frase escrita con esfuerzo. Estos regalos valen por su perfección, sino por el amor con el que fueron creados. Así también nuestra Madre del Cielo recibe con ternura lo que le brindamos de corazón.
Para esta celebración de esperanza y gozo, crearemos y presentaremos a Nuestra Señora un regalo hecho con mucho amor.
Cualquier ofrenda que pueda compartir, si es su voluntad y tiene los medios, ayudará a la Asociación a continuar su misión de promover la devoción a la Virgen y a su Medalla Milagrosa, especialmente entre los más necesitados.
¡Cuánta necesidad hay en el mundo! Pero también cuánta fe hay en nuestro pueblo. En la Asociación oraremos por usted y su familia todos los días.
Que su luz guíe nuestros pasos y nos acerque siempre más a su Hijo, Jesús
Siempre con la Virgen María,
Rev. Prudencio Rodríguez de Yurre, C.M. Director Espiritual
Greetings from the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal!
Our bookmarks are beautiful reminders of Mary’s promised graces to her earthly children. The Association of the Miraculous Medal continues to tell the world about the special mission Our Blessed Mother gave to Saint Catherine Labouré back in 1830 – how the young novice was to create and share the “medal of the Immaculate Conception.” The effect this medal has had on the world is incalculable.
Mary promised that graces and favors from God awaited all who would wear the medal in faith. As early wearers began reporting remarkable blessings, people began calling the medal “miraculous.”
Those who wear the Miraculous Medal today also testify that Mary is keeping her promise!
Doug, from Arizona, is one of them. He wrote AMM recently:
Six years ago, I was diagnosed with a very rare cancer, usually considered fatal. My case is the first one known in my home city of a million people. I began receiving chemo. My oncologist would gently remind me there was no cure. I have worn the Miraculous Medal every day since my original diagnosis, and pray for Mary’s intercession every day. Recently, medical tests and an MRI detected no trace of the disease – no active cancer. My oncologist was jumping for joy. There is no medical explanation for my results. However, I know that forces beyond medicine are at work. It is nothing less than a miracle that my cancer is officially in remission. Of course, I continue to wear the medal and pray for Mary’s continuing help.
Have you considered ways to share Mary’s story and her promise with your family, friends, or even strangers?
It can be as easy as simply telling them the story of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. You can wear your own Miraculous Medal, share its meaning when someone occasionally asks you about it, and give the medal away free, which AMM is happy to send you free by return mail. You may also order and share one of our bookmarks to spread the prayer Mary wants the world to know!
Supporting Our Lady’s Association with a charitable gift is another way you can help us to share her promise. Donations help AMM reach hundreds of thousands each year with the good news that limitless blessings await those who turn in faith to Our Blessed Mother. Gifts enable us to send out more than two million free medals each year, along with hundreds of thousands of spiritual greeting cards and other devotional items intended to bring all souls closer to Jesus.
Today, I invite you to join fellow members who are making a gift this month.
With so many people seeking a sign of God’s love for them, your donation of any size can bring hope and meaning to someone’s life.
Whether or not you contribute now, please return any intentions you’d like placed near Mary’s Altar here at the National Shrine. My fellow Vincentians, along with myself, AMM members, and our staff, will offer their prayerful support.
Requesting a Votive Lightto burn inside the Shrine Church is another visible way to place yourself in prayer before Jesus and Mary.
May we thank Our Lord daily for the gift of his most Holy Mother as our Mother. And let us never hesitate to take Mary up on her promise to obtain for us a limitless share of heaven’s favors.
Thank you for your love and support for the Association of the Miraculous Medal. May God bless your efforts to serve him, and may he draw you ever closer to himself through Mary Immaculate.
Sincerely in Jesus and Our Lady,
P.S. You may request free, blessed Miraculous Medals and “Story of the Medal” cards. Or, order through AMM’s online gift shop at www.amm.org. You may also phone in your request for medals or for prayers. Reach us at 1-800-264-MARY (6279), Monday through Friday between 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., CT.
Mary’s Association recently mailed close to 200,000 bookmarks for devoted members to use in their prayer life and to help spread the prayer Our Lady wants the world to know. Sharing a small gift like a Miraculous Medal or bookmark is a wonderful way to witness to your faith and extend Mary’s promised graces to your family, friends, or even strangers. In case you missed Fr. Clay’s letter or wish to request more bookmarks for a modest offering, you may do sohere. A portion of the suggested donation covers the cost of material and shipping. The rest is used to fulfill AMM’s mission to draw the world closer to Jesus through devotion to Our Blessed Mother and the Miraculous Medal. To learn more from Father Clay, read his letter here.
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