🌟 The feast of the Manifestation of the Immaculate Virgin Mary of the Miraculous Medal commemorates the apparitions of Our Lady to Saint Catherine Labouré, which took place in 1830 in the chapel of the Rue du Bac in Paris. In these visions, the Blessed Virgin instructed the humble novice to strike a medal according to the revealed model: on one side, the Mother of God crushing the serpent and shedding rays of light from her hands; on the other, the letter M surmounted by a cross and the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, surrounded by twelve stars. The promise that "all who wear it will receive great graces" was confirmed by a profusion of miracles, cures, and conversions, leading the people to call it the "Miraculous Medal." This devotion highlights the Immaculate Conception and the universal mediation of Mary, serving as a spiritual shield against the snares of the evil one and a constant channel of divine mercy for humanity.
📜 Doctrine on Marian Mediation and Worship
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is a special invocation by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is known, also being invoked with the same intention under the titles of Our Lady of Graces and Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces. The term Mediatrix, from the Latin, refers in Mariology to the role of the Virgin Mary as mediator of all graces and blessings through Jesus Christ, a concept distinct from that of Co-Redemptrix. This doctrine is based on the fact that Mary gave birth to Our Lord Jesus, the source of all graces and blessings granted to humanity; thus, She participated in the mediation of these graces, since the Son of God was conceived in Her womb. Pontiffs such as Leo XIII and Pius XII have traditionally supported this interpretation. In the 19th century, the term mediatrix appears in the bull Ineffabilis Deus by Pope Pius IX and in several encyclicals on the Holy Rosary by Pope Leo XIII. Pope Pius X used the term in the encyclical Ad Diem Illum, and Pope Benedict XV introduced, in 1921, a specific Marian feast where She is celebrated as Mediatrix of all graces. Hyperdulia, which falls within the category of dulia, differs substantially from latria, which is the cult of adoration rendered and directed solely to God. The Church teaches the clear distinction between the worship of God, the Virgin Mary, and the saints. Thus, one adores only God, rendering Him the cult of latria; the Virgin Mary is venerated with the cult of hyperdulia; and the saints are given the cult of simple veneration called dulia, founded on the dogma of the communion of saints. This dogma teaches that the inhabitants of Heaven, through their prayer, are our intercessors before God, a fact favorable to the human race, making them worthy of our veneration. Special veneration is due to the Virgin Mary because She is the Mother of God and, by extension, the Mother of all, the Queen of all Saints, and conceived without original sin. As the Immaculate One, the graces granted to the saints pass mysteriously through the hands of the Virgin Mary, who presents herself as an intercessor before Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only and perfect mediator between God the Father and men.
🕯️ Reflections
🌹 The liturgy of this day, in celebrating the Miraculous Medal, invariably refers us to the apocalyptic vision of the "Woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Rev 12:1). The image struck on the medal is not merely a pious adornment, but a theological summary of the divine victory over original sin. The Virgin, by crushing the serpent's head, fulfills the promise of Genesis, revealing herself as the one who, by the grace of Christ, was never under the dominion of Satan. Saint Augustine, reflecting on the dignity of Mary, teaches that "the flesh of Jesus is the flesh of Mary," establishing an indissoluble union between the Mother and the Son in the economy of salvation. Thus, the medal reminds us that the grace emanating from Mary's hands is ultimately the light of Christ that she reflects perfectly, without the stain of selfishness or sin that obscures our fallen nature.
🍷 The Gospel associated with this devotion often transports us to the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11), where Mary's mediation becomes patent. Even before the couple realized the lack of wine, the Mother's attentive gaze identified the need and presented it to the Son. Saint Thomas Aquinas explains that although Christ is the only perfect mediator who unites humanity to God by his own essence and merit, nothing prevents others from cooperating in this mediation in a participatory and subordinate way. Mary, therefore, does not create grace, but distributes it; she is the "aqueduct," as Saint Bernard would say, who causes the living waters of the Heart of Jesus to reach us with maternal gentleness. The title of Mediatrix, far from obscuring the glory of Christ, exalts the power of His Redemption, capable of associating a human creature so intimately with the saving work.
🛡️ The distinction between latria and hyperdulia, so well elucidated in the doctrine, is vital for a healthy spirituality. When we wear the Miraculous Medal and recite the aspiration "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee," we are not worshipping the Virgin as a goddess, but recognizing the masterpiece of the Trinity. Pope Pius XII, in the encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, reinforces that Mary reigns with Christ and distributes his graces with royal generosity. The medal is, therefore, a sign of consecration and a constant reminder that we have an advocate in Heaven who, knowing our frailties, hastens to help us. To venerate Mary with hyperdulia is to glorify God who made her "full of grace" and to accept the aid that Providence itself established for our sanctification.
🇺🇸 See English version of the critical articles here
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