Autor: Michelle Weiler
Miraculous Medal Novena of Masses November 18-26
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
November Prayers for the Faithful Departed
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.
2023 Fall Gift Brochure
Shop AMM’s selection of Miraculous Medals, rosaries, and other religious gifts. These items make wonderful presents for everyone on your Christmas list. All items are blessed at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal before being shipped.
Quantities of many gifts are limited. Please order early.
Help Loved Ones Return to the Faith
A recent survey revealed that just 58% of U.S. Catholics belong to a church. Loved ones of “fallen away” Church members often suffer deeply.
On November 28, the feast day of Saint Catherine Labouré, the Association of the Miraculous Medal will celebrate a special Mass to ask Our Lady’s intercession for non-practicing Catholics to return to the faith.
You are invited to send the names of loved one(s) you would like remembered during Mass.
Many of the earliest supernatural favors associated with the Miraculous Medal were the blessings of loved ones coming back to the faith when no one thought it possible. Read Father Clay’s letter about interceding for a return to the faith for those you love.
Pray For Your Loved Ones to Return To the Faith
In 2021, the Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported on a Gallup poll that surveyed more than 6,000 adults in the United States about their religious practices. Of those who called themselves Catholic, only 58% said they belonged to a church — a near 20% decline in just two decades.
Another public religion institute recently confirmed that the number of U.S. Catholics attending Mass has fallen significantly since before COVID.
Suffering runs deep for parents, grandparents, spouses, and other family of fallen away Church members. Fearing the eternal loss of someone’s union with God in heaven is a heavy burden to carry.
If you are struggling with this difficulty, I write with good news.
You are neither ALONE nor POWERLESS against atheism, secularism, distrust, misinformation, sin, scandals, and persecution which are forces that may drive our loved ones outright from the Church — they can cause them indifference or disillusionment with their faith.
The primary mission of the Association of the Miraculous Medal is to draw people to, or back to, Jesus through Our Blessed Mother.
Is there someone who needs your prayers and ours?
Please, send me their names. AMM will be celebrating a special Mass for them on November 28, the feast day of Saint Catherine Labouré.
This saint devoted herself tirelessly to win back souls for Christ. She ministered for more than four decades tending to the physical and spiritual needs of elderly men confined to a French hospital/nursing home. Through loving care and constant prayer, Catherine reformed a great many of the hardened hearts and rough characters she encountered there.
In fact, many of the earliest heavenly favors associated with the Miraculous Medal were the blessings of loved ones returning to the faith when no one thought it possible.
Allow me to share a note from an AMM member in Missouri:
“My brother left the Church many years ago following a painful divorce. Hurt and angry, he felt abandoned by God. He remarried an atheist and had nothing to do with God or the Church. Recently, he took the first step to rejoining the Church and is again a practicing Catholic. He is also raising his newborn twins in the faith. My mother, father, and I have been praying for this for many years. Our prayers have been answered. Thank you, Mother Mary, for your intercession … God is good … all the time.”
Do not doubt that God is merciful and can use your faith and prayers to spiritually revive those you love.
I pray that you never give up hope. Your faith can move mountains.
Please send your petition for remembrance in the special Mass on November 28 at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. I, along with my fellow Vincentian priests and brothers, will prayerfully remember your intentions and the names of the loved ones you entrust to us.
Members of my staff are available to take your prayer requests. We can be reached at 1-800-264-6279 weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., CT.
Our Lord gave the world his own Mother to accompany us and guide us throughout life. May God continue to bless all your efforts to serve him and draw you ever closer to himself.
Yours in Jesus and Mary,
P.S. You may also request free, blessed Miraculous Medals on a card of explanation to share with family and friends. Each medal is presented on a story card sharing its fascinating origins. Placing them inside gifts or greeting cards is a gesture of your faith.
Enjoy the Fall Bulletin
Enjoy the Fall Bulletin
Don’t miss our Fall Bulletin! This issue includes a parting message from Father Kevin McCracken. We welcome Father Clayton Kilburn, C.M., as Amm’s new spiritual director. We ask Our Lady to continue to accompany us in our ministry and bless Father Clay’s efforts to fulfill the Association’s mission with fortitude and fidelity.
Also in this issue, Don Fulford, AMM’s CEO, reflects on a summer pastime from his youth and what it might mean when “letting go” for an eternity comes around. And if you’re considering traveling to Europe in 2024, check out the preview of AMM’s spring pilgrimage to northern France. Vincentian vocation director, Father Toshio Sato, C.M., discusses the encouraging signs of faith he sees among today’s youth.
Finally, be sure to check out this year’s Christmas cards and other special gifts Quantities are limited so order soon.
Join AMM’s Rosary Octave of Prayer
The Association’s annual Rosary Octave of Prayer will begin on Saturday, October 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Saint Pius V established this feast in 1573 in gratitude for the victory of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto, a victory attributed to widespread recitation of the Rosary.
Pope Francis has encouraged the faithful to “rediscover, especially during the month of October, the beauty of the prayer of the Rosary, which has nourished the faith of the Christian people through the centuries … The recitation of the Rosary is the most beautiful prayer we can offer to the Virgin Mary; it is a contemplation on the stages of the life of Jesus the Savior with his Mother and is a weapon that protects us from evils and temptations.”
Beyond its power to help us individually, the Blessed Virgin has urged the recitation of the Rosary as a means of restoring peace in the face of wars, oppression, and social injustice. You are invited to be among those AMM members joining us from home to pray five mysteries of the Rosary daily for eight days. Send your intentions to be remembered in prayer throughout the octave at Our Lady’s Shrine. You may also request Votive Lights to burn for your needs or as a gift of gratitude for blessings and favors Our Lady has already obtained for you and those you love.
2023 Christmas Cards Available: Order Early!
How do you plan to share the gift of Jesus this Christmas? Spiritual remembrance Christmas cards make thoughtful gifts for loved ones near and far. Each of the three designs focus on the true meaning of this pivotal event in the history of the world. Each Christmas card you send offers your recipient a special remembrance in an octave of Masses beginning Christmas Day at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, and during a Mass offered by a Vincentian priest every week throughout 2024. Order today! Read Fr. Clay’s letter, which shares an endearing legend about a poor shepherd boy who’s given the greatest gift of all time.
The Gift Of All Gifts
There’s an endearing Christmas legend told of five young shepherds who hurried to the stable to see the newborn King.
Each hoped to outdo the others in offering gifts for the baby. But one, the poorest shepherd, had nothing to offer. He kept his distance, feeling unworthy and ashamed.
Receiving the gifts, Mary and Joseph’s arms were filled, and there was no place to lay Jesus. Our Lady noticed the poorest shepherd, in whose arms she tenderly placed the child. Suddenly, the one who had nothing to offer was aware he’d been given everything; his empty hands now held the greatest gift of all time.
Filled with love and joy, he eagerly began showing Jesus to the others, for he longed to share with them the gift of all gifts, God himself.
How do you plan to share the gift of Jesus this Christmas?
Giving loved ones the gift of prayerful remembrance in the Eucharist is a time-honored offering I invite you to consider.
Christmas cards would make beautiful spiritual gifts for relatives and friends. Each one celebrates the true meaning of the season—that God entrusts himself to us with unconditional love, even when we have nothing to offer him back.
Each card also offers your recipient a special remembrance in an octave of Masses beginning on Christmas Day at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal — and during a weekly Mass offered by a Vincentian priest throughout 2024.
You can request more cards here to use this Christmas. Or, call us at 1-800-264-6279.
As the Holy Father emphasized in his homily about the poorest
shepherd …
“We realize that, when we failed to measure up, God became small for our sake … to me, to you, to each of us, he says today: ‘I love you and I will always love you, for you are precious in my eyes.’”
And just as Mary sought out the poorest shepherd to fill his emptiness with the Christ Child, the gift of all gifts, so she longs to do the same for each of us at every moment. We need only open ourselves to receive him as freely as he desires to give himself to us.
Thank you for all you do to bring others to Our Lord through the love of his Blessed Mother, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
Know that my fellow Vincentian priests and brothers send their greetings —we will be praying for you and yours in a special way this Advent and Christmas.
Yours in the Holy Family,
P.S. Be sure to request extra cards before November 11 to help ensure you receive them in time to mail out for Christmas.
“He is born in utter poverty to win our hearts
by the wealth of his love.”
Pope Francis
December 24, 2019
Miraculous Medal Novena: November 18-26 Offer Your Prayers Through Our Lady
On November 27, 1830, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Catherine Labouré in the image of the Miraculous Medal the young novice was to promote …
With arms outstretched, brilliant rays shone forth from Mary’s fingers. Shimmering words took shape, forming a gilded frame: “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.” Our Lady spoke: “Have a medal struck after this model. All who wear it will receive great graces; it should be worn around the neck …”
The apparition turned to reveal the back side of the medal: a large “M,” interwoven with a cross on a bar. Underneath were two hearts, one encircled with thorns (Jesus), and the other pierced with a sword (Mary). Twelve stars created a shining oval frame.
Annually, AMM invites members to join in prayerful observance of Mary giving the design of the miraculous Medal to Saint Catherine to share with the world. AMM will hold its annual Miraculous Medal Novena of Masses November 18 – 26 at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. Share your personal prayer intentions here to be placed near Mary’s Shrine Altar throughout the nine days of the novena and on Monday, November 27, the feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. You may also request Votive Lights to burn for your petitions.
As you face each day’s joys and struggles, the very purpose of the Miraculous Medal is to help you draw nearer to the love of Jesus through Our Blessed Mother. By the intercession she has promised, God will pour out endless grace and blessings upon his children. Father Clay’s letter shares more, including inspiring testimonials of several AMM members.
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