Autor: Michelle Weiler

The Association of the Miraculous Medal invites members to join its May 2024 pilgrimage to northern France. Staff, members, and friends will accompany Father Kevin McCracken, C.M., on an 11-day journey through some of the country’s most sacred and revered sites, including visits to Parisian chapels and churches associated with the Miraculous Medal, Saint Vincent de Paul, and Saint Catherine Labouré.     

Other destinations include:  ∙ Cambrai · Amiens · Folleville ∙ Lisieux · American Cemetery · Mont Saint Michel  · Angers  · Loire Valley · Chartres.     

Pilgrims depart Monday, May 13, and arrive back in the United States Thursday, May 23.          

To learn more or make reservations, visit 206 Tours website here.

Send your petitions to be remembered during AMM’s annual celebration of Mary’s Espousal to Saint Joseph. The novena of Masses begins January 14 at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and continues for nine days. 

Also known as the “Feast of the Holy Spouses,” this observance was recognized by Pope Leo X and celebrated on August 29, 1517 by the Nuns of the Annunciation. Typically, it is observed on January 23. Though the feast does not appear on the universal liturgical calendar of the Church, numerous shrines, dioceses, and Catholic congregations around the world celebrate it. 

You are invited to burn a Votive Light to honor the holy spouses’ faith-filled commitment to one another. Your intentions will be placed near Our Lady’s Altar here at the National Shrine throughout the novena and on the actual feast day, January 23. During the novena, join us in praying for engaged and married couples and all unborn children. May God bless and protect the institution of the family as the primary spiritual society throughout the world. 

“Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.  When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together,  she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.”  Matthew 1:18

Holy Mother of God! This was the joyful acclamation of the holy people of God echoing in the streets of Ephesus in the year 431, when the Council Fathers proclaimed Mary the Mother of God. This truth is a fundamental datum of faith, but above all, it is a marvelous fact. God has a Mother and is thus bound forever to our humanity, like a child to its mother, to the point that our humanity is his humanity.

By Jesus being born of Mary, God showed his concrete love for our humanity, embracing it truly and fully. Brothers and sisters, God does not love us in words but in deeds; not from “on high,” but “up close,” precisely from “within” our flesh, because in Mary the Word became flesh, because Christ continues to have a heart of flesh that beats for each and every one of us!  

– Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis, January 1, 2023, St. Peter’s Basilica

The great Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, is celebrated each year on January 1. Because the feast day falls on a Monday this year, the obligation to attend Mass is lifted. Mass will be held at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal at 12:10 p.m., CT. All are invited to join us in person or in spirit. Send us your petitions to be remembered and/or request a Votive Light to burn.

Reciting this beautiful Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a fitting way to celebrate and honor the Mother of God:

As this year’s Christmas Novena of Masses comes to a close, everyone here at Mary’s Association, along with the Vincentian priests and brothers serving at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, wish you and your family a blessed and peace-filled Christmas season!

May your home be a haven of love and prayer as you strive to reflect the perfection of the Holy Family in living out God’s will. Here is our Christmas prayer for you.    

Our office will be closed December 25 – 27 so that the Association’s staff can celebrate Christmas at home with loved ones. However, the beautifully decorated Saint Mary’s of the Barrens Church at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, as well as the Rosary Walk, grotto, and grounds, will remain open for your prayerful pilgrimage. The Visitor Center and Gift Shop will be closed on December 24 and 25, but will re-open on December 26.

“And the Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us … ” (John 1:14a)

Jesus is the Word made flesh, Heaven’s answer to humanity’s fallen sinfulness. The humble and unreserved “fiat” of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, delivered to all people the inestimable gift of eternal salvation in Jesus, God’s only begotten Son.

Celebrate this Christmas with the Association of the Miraculous Medal during our annual Novena of Masses leading up to the birth of Our Lord and Savior. Add your intentions of adoration, repentance, thanksgiving, and intercession for remembrance.

Your petitions will represent your prayerful presence here at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal from December 16-24. Request a Votive Light in honor of the Word made flesh, the Son of God, entrusted to us through the loving, tender care of Our Lady, full of grace!

Receiving a hand-addressed card in the mail can be the highlight of someone’s day — especially someone who may live alone or be facing a difficult trial right now. 

Request the Association’s winter Votive Light card to announce your prayerful remembrance of a loved one near or far. 

Your love and care will be long remembered while the rays of your Votive Light illuminate the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, a sign of your thoughtful gesture in the new year!

Request the Votive Light card here. Or, call us at 1-800-264-6279, or email ammfather@amm.org.

Join fellow members of the Association of the Miraculous Medal in celebrating the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Mother. This is the solemn feast commemorating God’s gracious gift to Mary in preserving her from the stain of original sin.

Appearing to Catherine Labouré in 1830, Mary called upon all people to invoke her as “conceived without sin,” as this phrase appeared on the Miraculous Medal she instructed Catherine to create and promote.

On December 8, 1854, Blessed Pope Pius IX released a document defining the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, stating that she: “In the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin.”

Take a moment now to entrust your intentions to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. They will be placed near Mary’s Altar at the National Shrine in Perryville, Missouri, and remembered throughout the eight-day octave of Masses in celebration of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception, beginning December 8.

You are also invited to recite this prayer daily during the octave to enhance your observance of this feast.

Requesting a Votive Light to burn is another special sign of your love for the Mother of God — the pure and holy Queen through whom every grace and favor flow to us!

From the responsorial psalm for Thanksgiving Day readings, we echo the praise of David:

“All your works give you thanks, Lord,
    and your faithful ones bless you.
They speak of the glory of your reign
    and tell of your great works …
The eyes of all look hopefully to you;
    you give them their food in due season.”
(Psalm 145:10-11, 15)

May you and your loved ones enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving.

The Vincentian priests and brothers, along with everyone at the Association of the Miraculous Medal, appreciate your faithful support of our shared mission. The AMM offices will be closed on November 23 and 24 and will reopen November 27. The church and grounds of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal will remain open to visitors throughout the holiday weekend. Please check here for holiday tour and gift shop hours.

Don’t miss this issue’s inspiring column from AMM’s new spiritual director, Father Clayton Kilburn, C.M., reflecting on that which makes us brothers and sisters in Christ. You’ll also learn how youth across Southeast Missouri are enlightening others’ lives through the fire of their faith as members of today’s Vincentian Marian Youth Ministry. Read about one widower’s volunteer ministry honoring his late wife’s devotion to Mary, order our new Thinking of You Votive Light card, learn about AMM’s spring pilgrimage to France, and much more.

Your support for the Association of the Miraculous Medal at Christmas is a beautiful way to bring Jesus Christ to the world by inspiring devotion to Mary, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, which is our mission. Thank you again for being part of our growing AMM family around the world.

AMM’s annual Miraculous Medal Novena of Masses begins on Saturday, November 18. Together we look forward to the November 27 Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, followed by the Feast of Saint Catherine Labouré on November 28. You are invited to take part with us in several ways:

(1) Pray this prayer daily.

(2) Send your intentions to be placed near Mary’s Shrine Altar for remembrance in the Masses and prayers.

(3) Request a Votive Light to burn as a symbol of your spiritual presence.

“Have a Medal struck after this model. All who wear it will receive great graces … Graces will abound for persons who wear it with confidence.” 

— Blessed Virgin Mary to Catherine Labouré, November 27, 1830, appearing to her in the image of “the Medal of the Immaculate Conception,” today called the Miraculous Medal

Join members of the Association of the Miraculous Medal in seeking Mary’s intercession for deceased relatives and friends each day this month. Together, we pray …

O Virgin, most kind, Mary, Mother of God, most loving consoler of those in distress, commend to your Son the souls of the faithful departed so that, because of your motherly intervention, they may joyfully arrive in your company as their longed-for home in heaven. Amen.

O Lord, grant those who have died the joy of your presence, and us who are living the happiness of knowing this. Amen.