Feast of Our lady of the Miraculous Medal

Today I wanted to post about two things. 

First is that of the upcoming feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. The origin of the feast and this title of Mary is described in the Catholic Encyclopedia as follows

“The devotion commonly known as that of the Miraculous Medal owes its origin to Zoe Labore, a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, known in religion as Sister Catherine [Note: She was subsequently canonized], to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared three separate times in the year 1830, at the mother-house of the community at Paris. The first of these apparitions occurred 18 July, the second 27 November, and the third a short time later. On the second occasion, Sister Catherine records that the Blessed Virgin appeared as if standing on a globe, and bearing a globe in her hands. As if from rings set with precious stones dazzling rays of light were emitted from her fingers. These, she said, were symbols of the graces which would be bestowed on all who asked for them. Sister Catherine adds that around the figure appeared an oval frame bearing in golden letters the words "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee"; on the back appeared the letter M, surmounted by a cross, with a crossbar beneath it, and under all the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the former surrounded by a crown of thorns, and the latter pierced by a sword…..” (You can read the full article here)

The Blessed Virgin Mary appears to St. Catherine

Apart from what is contained in the article, I also wanted to mention that the chapel where St. Catherine Laboure spoke to the Blessed Virgin Mary is still there at 140 Rue De Bac, Paris, France. I had the opportunity, thanks be to God, to visit the chapel and it is truly an amazing place. They have the in-corrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure laid to the left of the altar. They also have the chair on which the Blessed Virgin Mary sat as she spoke to St. Catherine. You can take a Virtual Tour of the Chapel here.

Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

The feast is coming up this Wednesday, November 27^th so don’t forget if you can to perhaps say the rosary on that day. For those who might have missed it Pope Francis on November 17^th said the following to the crowd gathered in St. Peters for the angelus 

“I would like, now, for all of you to consider a medicine. But some may think, ‘The Pope is being a pharmacist now?’ It is a special medicine to make the fruit of the Year of Faith that is coming to a close more concrete,”

(Lifting up the box he said)

“This little box contains the medicine, and some volunteers will distribute it to you as you leave the square. Take it! It’s a rosary with which one can pray also the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, spiritual help for our souls and for spreading love, forgiveness and brotherhood everywhere.”

“Don’t forget to take it, because it does good, eh?  It does good for the heart, for the soul, for all of life.”

59 pills of spiritual medicine to be taken often

The second thing I would like to write about is a novel that Pope Francis has referred to a couple of times now during his homilies. That is the book Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson (an Anglican convert who became a Catholic priest) written in 1907. You can find the kindle version for free on Amazon here. 

I got the chance to finish reading it last week and I can only say, to avoid the risk of spoiling it for you, that it is an almost prophetic look at what the world becomes when Christ is put aside (as it has become today) and secular humanism becomes the new cornerstone. Definitely do recommend it if you are looking for a novel that is Catholic and wholesome to read (something that is pretty hard to come by these days).