The History of The Miraculous Medal
Oct 23, 2019 21:18:14 GMT
Post by QMaryLArmy on Oct 23, 2019 21:18:14 GMT
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Wear then, little children, this cherished medal, this precious souvenir of the best of mothers; learn and love to say: "O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!" Morning Star, she will delight to guide your first steps and to keep you in the paths of innocence. Wear it, Christian youth, and amidst the numberless dangers lurking in your paths repeat frequently: "O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!" Virgin most faithful, she will preserve you from all peril. Wear it, fathers and mothers; say often: "O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to the! And the Mother of Jesus will shed upon you and your families the most abundant benedictions. Wear it, ye old and infirm; say also: "O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee! Help of Christians, she will aid you in sanctifying your sufferings and the closing years of life. Wear it, souls consecrated to God, and never cease repeating: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee! Queen of Virgins, she will implant in the garden of your heart those fruits and flowers which constitute the delight of the Spouse, and which will form your crown at the nuptials of the Lamb. Amidst the trials and tribulations of life, let us invoke Mary, conceived without sin, and our tears will be dried, our sufferings assuaged, our sorrows sweetened, for she dispenses the dew of all graces. In our combats against the demon, the world and the flesh, let us appeal to Mary, conceived without sin; Strength of combatants and Crown of victors, she will shield us against their most violent assaults and assure us of the victory; but Oh! when standing on the brink of the moment which summons us before the Sovereign Judge, then especially must we invoke Mary, conceived without sin, and she whom the Church calls the Heaven will herself receive our last sigh and introduce our soul into the abode of glory and perfect happiness."
And you also, poor sinners, though covered with the wounds of sin, buried in the deepest abysses of passion, the arm of an avenging God lifted to descend upon your guilty head, despair seizing your soul, raise your eyes to the Star of the Sea ; you are not bereft of Mary s com passion; take the medal, cry from the depths of your hearts, "0 Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!" Unfailing Refuge of sinners, her charitable hand will apply to your cruel wounds a healing ointment; she will rescue you from the depths whence you have fallen, she will turn aside the formidable blows of Divine justice, she will pour over your soul the balm of sweet hope, she will guide you anew in the paths of righteousness and conduct you even to the haven of a blessed eternity.
Would that all might taste this means of salvation! the dismal shades of voluntary death would soon cease to terrify our cities and rural districts. Yes, the short prayer, " Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee! " made with faith, would, even amidst the violent agitation of a homicidal thought, banish the tempter; a simple glance at the medal of the Immaculate Mary would dissipate despair. " No one commits suicide under the eyes of a mother," said very truly, His Eminence, the Cardinal Archbishop of Rouen. And the same might be said of many other crimes of daily occurrence.
Oh! you whose souls are cruelly afflicted night and day, virtuous wives, who shed burning tears over the irreligion of a tenderly-loved husband; sorrowful mothers, bitterly deploring the wanderings of a child reared in the bosom of an eminently Christian family, but drawn into the vortex of bad example ; pious sisters, praying fervently and incessantly for the conversion of a brother, who once, like yourselves, enjoyed the sweet consolations of religion; Christian children, secretly bewailing the indifference of a father who seems to have lost, long since, the precious gift of Faith, console your selves ; a new hope is offered you, and it comes to you through the beneficent hands of Mary ; offer, give the image of this tender Mother to the dear objects of your solicitude ; the thought of this precious medal or a glance at it, will banish many a temptation, for we may say with truth of the soul as well as of the body, " no one commits suicide under the eyes of a mother." If they refuse your offer do not despair ; Mary will find her way to these hardened hearts, and in spite of themselves, she will take them under her protection ; imitate the pious ruse of many others, who in a like extremity, have stealthily slipped the precious medal under the pillow of the impenitent sick on the verge of death ; imitate those mothers, those wives, those Christian daughters, who carefully concealed in the clothing of that child, that spouse, that father, the medal they had refused to wear, do this, and one day they will appreciate the pledge of your piety and tenderness. No, no, never does anyone wear in vain, the medal of her to whom the Church applies these words of Scripture. "He who finds me, will find life, and will obtain salvation from the Lord."
...It is on one side, the picture of what we should be, and on the other, an eloquent of what we should practice.
pg. 89-92
And you also, poor sinners, though covered with the wounds of sin, buried in the deepest abysses of passion, the arm of an avenging God lifted to descend upon your guilty head, despair seizing your soul, raise your eyes to the Star of the Sea ; you are not bereft of Mary s com passion; take the medal, cry from the depths of your hearts, "0 Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!" Unfailing Refuge of sinners, her charitable hand will apply to your cruel wounds a healing ointment; she will rescue you from the depths whence you have fallen, she will turn aside the formidable blows of Divine justice, she will pour over your soul the balm of sweet hope, she will guide you anew in the paths of righteousness and conduct you even to the haven of a blessed eternity.
Would that all might taste this means of salvation! the dismal shades of voluntary death would soon cease to terrify our cities and rural districts. Yes, the short prayer, " Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee! " made with faith, would, even amidst the violent agitation of a homicidal thought, banish the tempter; a simple glance at the medal of the Immaculate Mary would dissipate despair. " No one commits suicide under the eyes of a mother," said very truly, His Eminence, the Cardinal Archbishop of Rouen. And the same might be said of many other crimes of daily occurrence.
Oh! you whose souls are cruelly afflicted night and day, virtuous wives, who shed burning tears over the irreligion of a tenderly-loved husband; sorrowful mothers, bitterly deploring the wanderings of a child reared in the bosom of an eminently Christian family, but drawn into the vortex of bad example ; pious sisters, praying fervently and incessantly for the conversion of a brother, who once, like yourselves, enjoyed the sweet consolations of religion; Christian children, secretly bewailing the indifference of a father who seems to have lost, long since, the precious gift of Faith, console your selves ; a new hope is offered you, and it comes to you through the beneficent hands of Mary ; offer, give the image of this tender Mother to the dear objects of your solicitude ; the thought of this precious medal or a glance at it, will banish many a temptation, for we may say with truth of the soul as well as of the body, " no one commits suicide under the eyes of a mother." If they refuse your offer do not despair ; Mary will find her way to these hardened hearts, and in spite of themselves, she will take them under her protection ; imitate the pious ruse of many others, who in a like extremity, have stealthily slipped the precious medal under the pillow of the impenitent sick on the verge of death ; imitate those mothers, those wives, those Christian daughters, who carefully concealed in the clothing of that child, that spouse, that father, the medal they had refused to wear, do this, and one day they will appreciate the pledge of your piety and tenderness. No, no, never does anyone wear in vain, the medal of her to whom the Church applies these words of Scripture. "He who finds me, will find life, and will obtain salvation from the Lord."
...It is on one side, the picture of what we should be, and on the other, an eloquent of what we should practice.
pg. 89-92