In 1830, Catherine Labouré was blessed with the apparitions of Mary Immaculate to which we owe the Miraculous Medal, the feast of which is this Saturday. The first apparition came on the eve of the feast of St. Vincent DePaul, July 19. The mother superior had given each of the novices a piece of cloth from the holy founder’s surplice. Because of her extreme love, Catherine split her piece down the middle, swallowing half and placing the rest in her prayer book. She earnestly prayed to St. Vincent that she might, with her own eyes, see the Mother of God.
And so it happened, as she recounted in her own words: "About half-past eleven, I heard someone call my name. I looked in the direction of the voice and I drew the curtain. I saw a child of four or five years old dressed in white who said to me: 'Come to the Chapel. The Blessed Virgin is waiting for you.' Immediately the thought came to me that I will be heard. The child replied, 'Be calm, it is half-past eleven, everyone is asleep. Come, I am waiting for you.' I hurriedly dressed and went to the side of the child. I followed him wherever he went. The lights were lit everywhere.
"When we reached the chapel, the door opened as soon as the child touched it with the tip of his finger. The candles were burning as at Midnight Mass. However, I did not see the Blessed Virgin. The child led me to the sanctuary and I knelt down there. Towards midnight, the child said: 'Here is the Blessed Virgin.' I heard a noise like a rustle of a silk dress...a very beautiful lady, in a blaze of glory, sat down in Father’s Director’s chair. The child repeated in a strong voice: 'Here is the Blessed Virgin.' Then I flung myself at her feet on the steps of the altar and put my hands on her knees.
The Blessed Virgin put her arms around Catherine and said: "God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the graces to bear it. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Misfortunes will fall upon France; the entire world will be overcome by evils of all kinds...but... come to the foot of this altar; there, graces will be poured on all those who ask for them with confidence, and fervor. They will be poured out on the great and the humble..."
Catherine’s mission was not revealed to her until November 27, 1830, when the Blessed Virgin appeared to her and this time gave her the design of the medal she wished to have made and the prayer she would have her children say to her: "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!" Catherine was instructed by Our Lady to go to her spiritual director, Father Aladel, about the apparitions. He didn't believe Catherine, although she approached him about the medal three times. When Catherine shared her dismay with the Virgin Mary, Our Lady said to her: "He is my servant, and he should be frightened of displeasing me." Catherine shared that with Father Aladel, saying simply, "The Virgin is angry." These words deeply affected him and tormented him. Eventually (though not without an intense struggle) the medal was struck -- and since the 1830s more than a billion have been distributed!
Many know these details. What we have not heard are the parts of the mission that met roadblocks -- obstacles that perhaps link to other apparitions.
Continue reading this article here: http://www.spiritdaily.com/lourdesmiraculous.htm
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