ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN NOVEMBER
Saints celebrated on the 27th of November
O glorious Virgin, Mother of God, blessed among all nations, worthy of praise and the greatest of praise, intercede for me with thy beloved Son. O honoured Lady, Mother of the King of Angels and Archangels, assist and deliver me from every difficulty and danger.
O Blossom of the Patriarchs, the Virgins and the Angels, Hope of Glory, Beauty of Virgins, Admiration of the Angels and Archangels, remember me, and forsake me not, I beseech thee, at the terrible hour of my death. O Star of the Sea, Gate of Heaven, Temple of God, Palace of Jesus Christ, Harbour of Safety, Power of all Nations, Pearl of all Sweetness, Hope of the Faithful; O Queen who shelters the guilty, who surpasses in radiance the Virgins and the Angels, thy presence gives joy to all the hosts of Heaven.
Therefore, O Mother of Mercy, I place in the protection of thy holy hands my going out, my coming in, my sleeping, my waking, the sight of my eyes, the touch of my hands, the speech from my lips, the hearing of my ears, so that in everything I may be pleasing to thine own beloved Son. Amen.
OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL
OUR LADY'S FIRST MESSAGE TO THE MODERN WORLD - PARIS, 1830
“Come to the chapel, the Holy Virgin is waiting for you.” Zoe Catherine Laboure, a postulant in the Daughters of Charity, awoke to see a child about four or five years old standing at the side of her bed. He was enveloped in a golden light. She later said that she believed him to be her guardian angel.
This happened in the mother house of the Daughters of Charity in Paris. The date was July 18, 1830, the eve of the feast of St Vincent de Paul, founder of the community.
"BE AT EASE"
Catherine sat up, astonished and a little troubled. “How can I get up and running cross the dormitory without waking my companions?” she asked.
“Be at ease,” the child replied. “It is half past eleven and everyone is asleep. I will come with you.”
Catherine followed the child to the chapel, which, to her surprise, was lit up, “as if for Midnight Mass.” He led her to the altar rail, and she knelt down. “Here is the Holy Virgin,” he announced.
Almost at once, a sound like the rustling of silk caused her to look up. A Lady of incomparable beauty appeared at the foot of the altar. She stepped forward and sat on the chair normally reserved for the Director of the seminary. She was dressed in an ivory robe and blue mantle. A white veil fell over her shoulders.
"THE SWEETEST JOY OF MY LIFE"
Catherine rushed forward and threw herself to her knees. She rested her clasped hands on the knees of the Blessed Virgin. It was “the sweetest joy of my life,” she said later, “a delight beyond expression.”
“My child,” the Blessed Mother said, “God wishes you to undertake a mission. For it, you will have much to suffer, but you will overcome that by recalling that you do so for the glory of God…”
Much of what our Lady said was for Catherine’s ears alone and has never been revealed. The words which we do know began Mary’s message to the modern world, a message which was climaxed at Fatima and which has not yet been concluded.
"THE TIMES ARE EVIL"
“The times are evil,” our Lady said. “Terrible things are about to happen in France. The throne will be destroyed, and the whole world will be convulsed by terrible calamities.
“But come to the foot of the altars. Here great graces will be poured out upon all who ask them with confidence and fervour. They will be bestowed upon the great and upon the small.”
Our Lady made some declarations about the community to which Catherine belonged, adding: “I love it very much.
“But grave troubles are coming. There will be great danger. Do not fear. God and Saint Vincent will protect the community. I myself shall be with you…
"DO NOT FEAR"
“At one moment, when the danger is acute, everyone will believe all to be lost. You will recall my visit and the protection of God…
“There will be victims in other communities. There will be victims among the clergy of Paris. The Archbishop will die… The cross will be trampled upon… Blood will run in the streets… The world will be plunged into sadness…”
Catherine understood that some of the events described would take place soon. The others would take place in about forty years, or about 1870.
"I SHALL GRANT YOU MANY GRACES"
Our Lady’s last words to Catherine on this visit were: “My eyes are ever upon you. I shall grant you many graces. Special graces will be given to all who ask them, but people must pray.
When our Lady had disappeared, “like a cloud that had evaporated,” the child led Catherine back to her dormitory. The clock was striking two as she got back into bed.
THE PRODUCT OF AN OVERWROUGHT IMAGINATION?
Catherine was not allowed to tell anyone of her experience, except her confessor, Father Aladel. The priest was inclined to dismiss the story as the product of an overwrought imagination.
A FEW DAYS LATER...
Father Aladel was surprised a few days later when a Revolution broke out in Paris, but Catherine was not surprised. Our Lady had foretold it. Many were killed. Bands of men and boys broke into churches. Crucifixes were profaned. Convents were pillaged. Priests were ill-treated, and the Archbishop was forced to go into hiding. The mother house in the Rue du Bac shook with gunfire and was surrounded by an angry mob. It did seem that all was lost, but true to our Lady’s promise, the buildings remained unharmed.
"MANY PEOPLE DO NOT RECEIVE GRACES BECAUSE THEY DO NOT ASK FOR THEM"
Our Lady’s second visit to Catherine took place on November 27, 1830, four months after the first one. This time Mary appeared over the high altar in the convent chapel. Her head was covered with a soft white veil. She was standing on a globe. In her hands she held a smaller globe with a tiny cross at the top. She held it out as if offering it to God. Rays of light streamed down to the larger globe from some of the gems in her fingers.
Lowering her eyes, our Lady said to Catherine: “This ball you see is the world. I am praying for it and for everyone in the world. The rays are graces which I give to those who ask for them. But there are no rays from some of these stones, for many people do not receive graces because they do not ask for them.”
AN OVAL FRAME APPEARED AROUND OUR LADY
The vision changed. An oval frame appeared around our Lady. The small globe disappeared, and our Lady dropped her hands to her sides. She became brighter and lovelier as she did so. Around the oval frame appeared in gold the words: “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
O MARY CONCEIVED WITHOUT SIN, PRAY FOR US WHO HAVE RECOURSE TO THEE
A voice said to Catherine: “Have a medal made according to this picture. All those who wear it when it is blessed will receive many graces, especially if they wear it suspended from their necks.”
Suddenly the entire picture seemed to turn. On the reverse Catherine saw the letter M surmounted by a cross with a crossbar beneath it. Below were two hearts. That of our Lord was encircled by a crown of thorns while that of our Lady was pierced by a sword. Enclosing the entire picture were twelve stars within a golden frame.
In December, the Blessed Virgin appeared for the third time and repeated her request for the medal.
Catherine again transmitted the request to her spiritual adviser, Father Aladel, but the priest did not know what to do. He did not wish to be in the position of disobeying an order from heaven, but he said to Catherine: “I do not have the authority to have such a medal struck. Besides, it is to say ‘O Mary conceived without sin,’ and the Immaculate Conception is not a dogma of the Church.” (In 1830, this doctrine had not yet been promulgated. That was to come twenty-four years later.)
HE CONSULTED THE ARCHBISHOP
Father Aladel investigated Catherine’s story very carefully, and he prayed for divine guidance. Then he consulted the Archbishop of Paris. The medals were struck and distributed in Paris two years after our Lady had made her request. By this time, Catherine had received the habit of the Daughters of Charity, and had taken the name Sister Catherine.
SHE CARRIED HER SECRET TO THE GRAVE
Sister Catherine was so humble that she did not tell anyone that the Blessed Mother had appeared to her. Not more than two or three persons knew to whom our Lady had given her request for the medal. Even the other Sisters in her convent did not know. Sister Catherine carried her secret to the grave.
During the War of the Commune in 1871, many of the events foretold by our Lady in the first apparition came true. Blood ran in the streets. Many priests were killed. Msgr. Duboy, Archbishop of Paris, was brutally murdered. The insurrectionists were strongly influenced by the teachings of Karl Marx…
(From: “The Woman Shall Conquer”, paper edition, by Don Sharkey, Prow Books/Franciscan Marytown Press, Libertyville, IL, 1954)
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