Fajhtr sk-any welcomes - 1 oo ! Aefttf6^*5 FATHER SKELLY ^l/Uelccnte* '~Lfou ! ELCOME, dear Member, to the ''Great Family” of The Central Association of them Miraculous Medal. Whether you have been a Member for many years, or whether you are now enrolling for the first time, I know that Our Lady is highly pleased to have you in her Association. For now you are an active Member in an organiza- tion that is laboring prodigiously to increase devotion to the Virgin Mother of God. Not only do you wear the Medal of Mary’s Immaculate Conception as a badge of your own love for her, but now you are also giving your aid and giving your heart to proclaiming afar the depth of her compassion and the power of her love. You are distributing far and wide millions of her Miracu- lous Medals in order that all men may come to know Mary more affectionately and imitate her virtues more earnestly. In Mary’s name, there- fore, and for Mary’s honor, I welcome you warmly to our company. EE what a blessed company it is; I am ^speaking not of myself, but of what the Promoters—our “Devoted Workers”—and the Members of our Association have so far accom- 3 DeaoMNfec plished for the glory of God and the honor of His Immaculate Mother. Why, it is nothing short of astounding how the Promoters and Members, through Marys benign favor, have developed her Association. In the short space of forty-one years, it has grown from nothing, until it now embraces thousands of Members in every State of the Union, and in many foreign lands. The appeal of Mary's Medal and of her works has proved so compelling that we have among our Members Catholics and non- Catholics; priests and nuns; housewives; business men and women; office and factory workers; pro- fessional men; salesgirls; farmers; seamen; nurses; schoolgirls and boys. People of all walks of life are heeding Mary’s call. And what have we done to fulfill the aims of our Association? The first aim is to augment de- votion to Mary Immaculate. For this, we have distributed over 28 million Miraculous Medal booklets, and over 61 million Medals. We have built Mary’s Central Shrine—the “Center and Heart” of the Association—which ranks as one of the foremost religious shrines in America. Here was inaugurated the Miraculous Medal Perpetual Novena, and here between 15 and 20 thousand persons attend those devotions every Monday in the year. From this shrine the Per- petual Novena has spread to over 3,900 other churches and chapels. We have printed over 12 million Novena Booklets, and over 7 million people make the Novena publicly each week. The second aim of the Association is to help educate aspirants to the priesthood. Hence we have built at the preparatory seminary of the 4 Vincentian Fathers, Princeton, New Jersey, the Queen of the Miraculous Medal Chapel—a gem of purest Gothic for the crown of Heaven’s Queen. Besides, we have erected the magnificent Mary Immaculate Seminary at Northampton, Pennsyl- vania. It was a day of triumph for Our Lady when the chapel of the hilltop seminary, com- manding the Lehigh Valley, was solemnly dedi- cated in the Marian Year, 1954. Our third aim is to help the poor. The poor are as close to Christ as brothers and sisters, as dear to Mary as sons and daughters. Hence, our Asso- ciation has always given alms open-handedly to the needy, and now has, near its famous Shrine, its own home for poor old folk, Villa Laboure, which it supports entirely. * BOUT all these holy and prospering works you will read more at length in the later pages of this booklet. I have touched on a few to give you a fair estimate of the noble labors you share in by becoming a Member of the “Cen- tral Association.” You are indeed welcome to our ranks, for you are another pillar for all our sacred undertak- ings. And may you, dear Member, never cease to share in all these blessed works. In return for the help which.you give, rest assured, Our Lady will open upon you the floodgates of her favor and her mercies; and at the end, Mary will show herself to you, as you are now showing her to others, and lead you gloriously to life everlasting. 5 HISTORY OF THE MEDAL ^vilERE nQ SUperstition, nothing of magic, ViU connected with the Miraculous Medal. Its story is very simply told. In 1830, when France was in upheaval, with wars lowering on the horizon and starvation gnawing the common people, the Blessed Virgin appeared at least three times in the Motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity in Paris. Her confi- dante was a humble novice, Sister Catherine La- boure, who was canonized July 27, 1947. Sister Catherine writes thus of her first visitation, on July 18: That night at eleven-thirty I heard my name called three times. Upon drawing my bed cur- tains I beheld a child of four or five years who said to me: “Come to the chapel. The Blessed Virgin awaits you.” I dressed hastily and followed him to the sanc- tuary. I saw a Lady descend the steps of the altar and seat herself in a chair used by our Director. Then I sprang forward , throwing myself on my knees. I rested my hands on the knees of the Blessed Virgin. She said to me: “My child , I am going to charge you with a mission.” I am unable to say how long I remained kneeling at her side and listening to her instructions. * * * Our Lady again appeared to Sister Catherine on November 27 and ma’de known what the Sister's mission was to be. Here are the Saint's words: Mary was of medium height and her face was indescribably beautiful. Her feet rested on a sphere. Her hands , on a level with her waist , held a globe. Her eyes were raised to heaven. Her face gleaming with light, she offered this globe to Our Lord. A voice within me said: “This globe represents the world.” Our Lady's fingers were aglow with precious Mary’s Appearance to St. Catherine July 18, 1830 jewels whose light dazzled me. I cannot describe the brilliance of the rays from these jewels. The Blessed Virgin said: “Behold the symbol of the graces I will shower on all who ask for them.” Then an oval frame surrounded Mary. On it 7 was written in letters of gold: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to theer The globe in the Virgin’s hands disappeared. Her hands, filled with the graces that the rays symbolized, were lowered and gracefully ex- tended at her sides. As Sister Catherine Saw Our Lady Early in the Apparition of November 27, 1830 The vision turned about, says Sister Catherine, and I beheld the letter M surmounted by a cross, at the foot of the cross a bar; and below all, the Heart of Jesus crowned with thorns, and the Heart of Mary pierced with a sword. A voice said 8 to me: “Have a medal struck after this model. All those who wear it will receive great graces. It should be worn around the neck.” '^^HE ecclesiastical authorities after two years °f rigid investigation declared the apparitions to be fact and not fiction, and allowed the Medal of the Immaculate Conception to be struck and to be used by the faithful. In distressed France, the Medal spread like wildfire. Marvels of grace and health, peace and prosperity, followed in its wake. So that before long the people were calling it the “Miraculous” Medal. Such is the story of how Our Lady brought to earth the first badge and seal of her Immacu- late Conception. Largely due to the Medal, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was defined by Holy Church twenty-four years later. And four years after that, Our Lady appeared at Lourdes as though to confirm the now infallible doctrine of her glorious privilege. No one should consider it strange that God works miracles through a Medal. Does He not use water to cleanse the soul of original sin in Baptism? Does He not use oil to confer His graces in Confirmation and Extreme Unction? Similarly, He uses a Medal, not indeed as a sacrament, but as an agent, an instrument, in bringing to pass certain marvelous results. “The weak things of this earth hath God chosen to confound the strong.” The Medal is indeed another of those tre- mendous trifles which even in everyday life carry 9 such weight. A railroad signal, for instance, is nothing but a feeble light glaring through a bit of red glass. And yet that simple signal can halt the mightiest train and save hundreds of lives. So we may say that the Medal is a signal de- Manifestation of the Miraculous Medal to Saint Catherine on November 27, 1830 signed by Mary and approved by God. For us to wear the Medal upon our breasts is a signal to Mary that we need her aid, and Mary has promised to recognize that signal always. “All those who wear it will receive great graces.” And Mary is every day fulfilling her promise! 10 ~jrr ET us examine the meaning of the Medal. The obverse is the joyful side, because it shows Mary in the glory of her Immaculate Conception. She stands upon the globe, as the Queen-Mother of all mankind. Her feet crush the serpent, to proclaim that Satan and all his brood are helpless before her. From her out- stretched hands pour “the graces which she sheds on all those who ask for them.” Etched about the rim is the invocation composed by Mary herself: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” The reverse of the Medal is the sorrowful side, for it pictures Mary’s suffering. There are no words there because, as Mary said to Sister Catherine, “the M and the two hearts express enough.” Indeed they do! For they tell us that Mary is not only Queen and Intercessor, but also Mother of Sorrows and Mother of our Redeemer; she is ever by the side of her sorrowing chil- dren, as she was by the side of her Son. For the love of men His heart wears a crown of thorns; for the love of men hers is pierced with a lance. Beneath the cross we find the letter M, because to the end Mary stood beneath the cross of Christ. The twelve stars refer to the Apostles, the first messengers of Christ’s salvation; or per- haps to the stars in the vision of St. John, in which “a great sign appeared in Heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” For it is Mary’s part to bring her chil- dren through the sorrows of earth to the bliss of heaven, where in the crown of the Queen they will shine like stars for all eternity. 11 THE ASSOCIATION OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL (Be sure to read page 30) St. Pius X had such faith in the power of the Miraculous Medal for good that he wished to spread devotion to it throughout the world. For this end he erected “The Association of the Miraculous Medal.” And he granted great privileges and indulgences to its members. To become a member of this Association one need only be invested in the Medal by a priest who has the proper faculties, and wear it suspended from the neck and upon the breast. Article 1. The Association of the Miraculous Medal in honor of the Immaculate Conception has been established as a 'living and perpetual memorial of the apparitions of Mary Immaculate which took place at the Chapel of the Daughters of Charity, Rue du Bac, Paris, in the year 1830, the feast of which is celebrated on November 27. Article 11. The end or aim of the Association is to render due honor to Mary Immaculate, first by sanctifying our- selves, and second by contributing to the sanctifica- tion of our neighbor by means of the Miraculous Medal. Article 111. The Association, canonically erected in each diocese, is governed according to its own laws and usages, by diocesan directors, appointed by their respective bish- ops, but under the authority of one director general. Article IV. By virtue of a Rescript of His Holiness, St. Pius X, June 3, 1905, the same privileges and indulgences granted to the Association of the Scapular of the Immaculate Conception (Blue Scapular) have been extended to the Association of the Miraculous Medal. 12 NOTES Following is the list of days on which a Plenary Indulgence may be gained ( under the usual conditions of Confession, Communion and prayer for the inten- tion of the Pope ) by those who have been invested in the Medal. The day of investiture; at the hour of death; once a year during the exercises of retreat; the first Sunday of each month; all the Saturdays of Lent; Passion Sunday and the following Friday; Wednes- day, Thursday and Friday of Holy Week. Feasts of Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Holy Trinity; Immaculate Conception, Na- tivity of Mary, Purification, Annunciation, Assump- tion; St. Joseph, March 19; Blessed Joseph Mary Thomas, March 24; Canonization of St. Cajetan, April 12; Finding of the Holy Cross, May 3; Blessed Paul Buralis, June 17; Nativity of St. John the Baptist, June 24; SS. Peter and Paul, June 29; Last Sunday of July; Our Lady of the Angels ( Portiuncula ) , August 2; Feast of St. Cajetan, August 7; St. Augustine, Au- gust 28; Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14; St. Michael Archangel, September 29; Guardian An- gels, October 2; St. Teresa, October 15; All Saints, November 1; St. Andrew of Avellino, November 10; Blessed John Marinonius, December 13; first and last days of the Novena in preparation for Christmas; once during the exposition of the Most Blessed Sac- rament at the Forty Hours’ Devotion. If the one in- vested should become a priest he may gain a Plenary Indulgence on the day he celebrates his First Mass. Article V. All the faithful of both sexes may become mem- bers of this Association and share in its privileges. The only condition is that they wear the Medal on the breast suspended from the neck, when the Medal has been blessed and imposed according to the rite approved by Leo XIII (April 19, 1895), by a priest delegated to do so. Article VI. The principal feast of the Association is November 27—Feast of the Apparition of the Immaculate Virgin of the Miraculous Medal. 13 Article VII. The associates incur no new obligations. They are recommended to repeat frequently the invocation in- scribed on the Medal: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” By virtue of a decree of the Sacred Penitentiary, April 22, 1933, a partial indulgence of ten years may be gained each time that a member with contrite heart devoutly recites six Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glorys for the intention of the Holy Father. By re- peating these prayers at least once each day for a month, a Plenary Indulgence may be gained under the usual conditions. PRIVILEGES FOR ALL A person who does not belong to the Association or who has not been invested in the Miraculous Medal may still gain great indulgences by wearing the Medal. He may gain a Plenary Indulgence on the day on which he first receives the Medal properly blessed, on Easter, and on the Feast of the Immaculate Con- ception, under the conditions of Confession, Commun- ion, and a visit to a church dedicated to Mary or his parish church to pray for the intention of the Pope. (Brief of September 30, 1895.) The faithful at large may gain 300 days' indulgence each time they recite the following prayer, and a Plenary Indulgence once a month under the usual con- ditions if they recite the prayer daily: “O Mary, con- ceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” (Pius XI, April 15, 1932.) On the Feast of the Manifestation of the Miraculous Medal, November 27, all the faithful may gain a Ple- nary Indulgence, provided they go to Confession and Communion and visit a church or chapel of the Priests of the Mission (Vincentians), or of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, and pray there for the intention of the Pope. (Brief of August 24, 1894.) All the indulgences mentioned above are applicable to the suffering souls in Purgatory. 14 THE CENTRAL ASSOCIATION OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL This Association owes its origin to a telling manifestation of the generosity of Our Blessed Mother. For when Father Skelly in 1914 wrote an appeal for our preparatory seminary at Princeton, he enclosed in each letter a Miracu- lous Medal. The response was so favorable that no one could doubt that to Mary alone could be credited the success. Mary then must be thanked and repaid: but how? Wide consulta- tion and long prayer finally bore fruit in this conclusion: to establish an association to pro- mote devotion to Mary by means of the Mi- raculous Medal. And thus, with the cordial approval of the religious superiors and the blessing of the ecclesiastical authorities, was instituted The Central Association of the Miraculous Medal. The Association was established in March, 1915, at St. Vincents Seminary, Germantown, Philadelphia. Its leading purpose was to in- crease devotion to the Immaculate Mother of God through the Medal which Mary herself revealed. A second aim was to help young men to become worthy priests of Mary's divine Son. And when our Vincentian priests were directed by Our Holy Father in 1922 to evangelize the Vicariate of Kanchow, China, we undertook to assist them in their work with the poor, as well as to aid the poor here at home. * * * The young organization took root, and grew steadily but slowly. By dozens and then by hundreds, the yearly membership fees of twenty- five cents came in. The small room in St. Vin- 15 cent’s Seminary used by the Association was no longer adequate. The Daughters of Charity, willing to befriend a work closely connected with their Community, provided quarters at the Gon- zaga Orphan Asylum. The Association, out- growing this new home in turn, took temporary offices in the Immaculate Conception Hall. Our Lady’s Workshop—Permanent Home of the “Central Association” 475 E. Chelten Avenue, Germantown On May 1, 1917, we took possession of a large house on Chew St.: this we named “Mary’s Fortress.” From it issued whole battalions of Marian letters and pamphlets. And to almost every town and city in the United States and Canada, and to many foreign countries marched file on file of Mary’s Miraculous Medals. Eventually even “Mary’s Fortress” cramped our constantly expanding activities. So that in January, 1922, we bought an office building at 100 East Price Street. After a few years, we had 16 to make an addition to this building to keep pace with the still developing Association. In March, 1950, we moved to yet larger quarters—our present and permanent home known as “Our Lady’s Workshop”—across from Mary’s Central Shrine. * * * All these details would argue that we are “in business” for Mary Immaculate. That is true. Years ago, Father Faber wrote about a society which he established: “There is hardly any worldly object of im- portance which has not some association to de- fend its rights and forward its interests; why should not the interests of Jesus have one also? Science has its meetings , and its corresponding societies. Men band together to gain the vic- tory for some political opinions. They form companies for railroads and for steam packets and for coal mines. Why should we not open an office to transact the affairs of Jesus, and to protect His rights , and advance His interests?” But while employing sound business methods to advance Mary’s interests, we have always anchored our main reliance on prayer. We have made no move in the work of the Association without first asking Our Lord and Our Lady for guidance and benediction. And whatever success was granted must be laid to prayer. * * * Yes, it was supernatural aid that paved the way for every enterprise: for example, to mail into thousands of homes our quarterly maga- zine, The Miraculous Medal, to distribute 28,365,685 booklets setting out the purpose and 17 the work of the “Central Association,” and to send throughout the world 61,655,027 Medals. Moreover, our Association has been privileged to erect Marys Central Shrine in Germantown, the Queen of the Miraculous Medal Chapel at Princeton, and Mary Immaculate Seminary at Northampton. At Mary’s Central Shrine on December 8, 1930, we inaugurated the Perpetual Novena Devotions in honor of Our Lady of the Mirac- ulous Medal. Having begun with one service on each Monday of the year, we now have to conduct twelve services each week, because from 15,000 to 20,000 people attend. The fervor of these people must be very pleasing to Our Lady, for she rewards them so bountifully. The Perpetual Novena has been taken up by over 3,900 other churches and chapels—in 46 states in this country, and in Africa, Australia, Belgium, British West Indies, Canada, Canal Zone, Central America, China, England, France, Hawaii, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Philippine Islands, Puerto Rico, Russia, Scotland and South America. We have printed 12,046,274 Novena Booklets. * * * In 1832, when Sister Catherine’s confessor, Father Aladel, showed her the first Medal, she exclaimed, “Now it must be propagated!” This has been the battle cry of our Association for forty-one years. Now it must become yours, too, dear Member! Rejoice in all that your Association does for the glory of God through Mary. And leave no stone unturned to bring Mary and her blessed Medal into the fives of others. 18 LETTERS OF APPROBATION Our Association is pleased to number among its friends many members of the hierarchy and clergy of the Church. We quote the following letters of approval: From His Holiness, Pope Pius XII, Vatican City: “On the joyous occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the priestly ordination of Father Skelly and the Thirty-Fifth Anniversary of the foundation of The Central Association of the Miraculous Medal, His Holiness lovingly imparts to him, his relatives and friends, and all Promoters, Members and collaborators of the Association, his special Apostolic Blessing as an earnest of abundant heavenly favors.” (Signed) Monsignor Domenico Tardini. From His Excellency, Most Rev. A. G. Cicognani, D.D.: My dear Father Skelly: “It is a great pleasure for me to offer you heartfelt con- gratulations on the Thirty-Fifth Anniversary of The Central Association of the Miraculous Medal. “Through the years the Association has most effectively fostered devotion to the Blessed Mother of God. Through this apostolate thousands upon thousands of pious devotees of Mary have sought and obtained heavenly favors from her hands; the sick and distressed, the sorrowing and troubled have, in the devotion to Mary in the Miraculous Medal, felt the benign smile of her sweet countenance; in the recent years of war, innumerable young men and women, away from home and in the midst of the trials of wartime service, profited and were protected by the powerful intercession of the Mother of God. “May the Association continue to enjoy the spiritual pros- perity of a widespread membership, and may those good Cath- olic men and women who are enrolled under the protective mantle of the Blessed Virgin be showered with an abundance of divine graces.” (Signed) A. G. Cicognani, Apostolic Delegate. From His Excellency, Most Rev. John F. O'Hara, C.S.C., D.D.: Dear Father Skelly: “The Vincentian Fathers have been signally honored by the Mother of God with the mission of propagating the Miraculous Medal, and of spreading devotion to her and to her Immacu- late Conception, which the Medal commemorates. “To help carry out this mission, they founded The Central Association of the Miraculous Medal. Besides its essential purpose of fostering devotion to the Medal—which it furthers by its many works, including the Miraculous Medal Perpetual Novena, held every Monday at Mary’s Central Shrine in Germantown—the Association has for its other ends : to help worthy young men become Vincentian priests; and to assist the poor here at home and abroad. “I am very happy to approve and encourage all these works, and to bestow upon the ‘Central Association’ my paternal blessing.” (Signed) J. F. O’Hara, C.S.C., Archbishop of Philadelphia. 19 MARY'S CENTRAL SHRINE On September 8, 1927, His Eminence, D. Cardinal Dougherty, solemnly blessed and dedi- cated Marys Central Shrine. This sanctuary was the first of many monuments to Mary built by the Promoters and Members of the “Cen- tral Association,” and it stands as a glorious and lasting memorial of their unbounded love for their Immaculate Mother. Many non- Catholics and millions of Catholics have knelt spellbound in awe and admiration before the unearthly beauty of this modern, but already famous, shrine of Mary. World-travelers declare that, among all the shrines that jewel this earth, Mary’s Central Shrine stands second to none. The light of myriad votive tapers plays over the marble of its sea-green columns and wine- red bays, its resplendent mosaics of gold and pigment, its stained glass windows in rich har- monies of sunset reds and winter blues. The statue of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, lodged in white radiance over the altar, awakens strange movements in the hearts of all beholders. This statue, of finest Carrara marble, is the cre- ation of the celebrated sculptor DiGiovanni. The artist has pictured masterfully in the satin marble the virginal purity and the maternal kindness of Mary’s heart. Her eyes gaze not out to challenge, but are lowered in humble entreaty. Her out- stretched arms seem to be reaching gently to em- brace all her children prostrate there “sinful and sorrowful.” Such is the throne room of Mary, where hearts leap up to the queenly embrace of our Immaculate Mother, and where she proves her- self the Mother of Cod by her heavenly favors. 20 The following indulgences were granted to Mary’s Central Shrine: 1—A Plenary Indulgence may be gained once a year. Conditions—Confession, Com- munion, visit to our Shrine and prayers for the in- tention of His Holiness, the Pope. 2—A Plenary Indulgence may be gained under the same conditions by all who come to Mary’s Central Shrine on a pil- grimage. Mary’s Central Shrine Immaculate Conception Chapel, St. Vincent’s Seminary 500 E. Chelten Avenue, Germantown, Phila. 44, Pa. 21 MARY'S CHAPEL AT PRINCETON, N. J. After erecting a fitting shrine to the glory of Mary Immaculate, the “Central Association” turned to honoring the priesthood of her di- vine Son. At St. Joseph's College, the prepara- tory seminary of the Vincentian Fathers *near Princeton, N. J., a suitable chapel was needed. Because the chapel is the most im- portant classroom of a semi- nary, we un- dertook to build a chapel which by its sublimity should bring home to the stu- dents the sublimity of the priesthood; a chapel where the full cere- monies of the Church could be carried out perfectly with the aid of flawless appointments. Such a chapel, painstakingly fashioned in the best tradi- tions of Holy Church, the mother of arts, de- manded great expenditures even though labor and materials were low in price. But the Promoters and Members of the Association, in keeping with their own tradition of open-handed generosity in helping the divine priesthood, supplied the means to build and complete in 1934 the superb Queen of the Miraculous Medal Chapel. 22 MARY IMMACULATE SEMINARY, NORTHAMPTON, PA. Three years after building the chapel for our preparatory seminary, we undertook a far greater task, in erecting an entire major seminary, namely, Mary Immaculate Seminary, at North- ampton, Pennsylvania. This was a task greater in demands and difficulties, because it called not only for a chapel but also for classrooms, library, auditorium, infirmary, reception rooms, bed- rooms, refectory and kitchen. It was, too, a task greater in importance, as a university is greater than a high school, for here must be given the schooling in the profound sciences of philosophy and theology and piety: the final training for the most exalted profession upon earth—the holy priesthood of God. The more gigantic the pious work we under- take, the brighter glow the faith, the generosity, the enthusiasm of our Promoters and Members. So nobly did they lend their aid that we were able to open the new seminary on Mary’s name- day, September 12, 1939. 23 BENEFITS OF BEING A MEMBER OF THE "CENTRAL ASSOCIATION" Our Members enjoy enormous privileges and benefits. First, since they are the backbone of our Association, they partake of the merits of all our works to increase devotion to the Im- maculate Mother of God, to assist in the educa- tion and training of youths for the priesthood, and to help the poor. Who can ever gauge the graces and blessings which these widespread and holy works earn for our Members? Moreover our Members, living and deceased, share in 1,500 Masses especially offered for them each year. Among these Masses are monthly Novenas of Masses at Marys Central Shrine, at the Queen of the Miraculous Medal Chapel, at Mary Immaculate Seminary, and at the Com- munity Chapel of the Vincentian Fathers. The Vincentian priests also remember our Members in thousands of Masses yearly. And when the membership fee is sent in, the Member receives in return an artistic Miraculous Medal, a Membership Card, and this Membership Booklet. May any one become a Member and share in all these great privileges and benefits? Yes, any one, living or deceased. All that is neces- sary is that the name of the person, and address, if living, together with the membership fee of 25 cents, be sent to Father Skelly. There are no other obligations. Wearing the Medal, or attending the Miraculous Medal Novena, does not make one a Member. 24 HOW TO BECOME A PROMOTER Send the names of 8 or more persons, living or deceased, also addresses of living persons, with the membership fee of 25c for each to Rev. Joseph A. Skelly, c.m. 475 E. ( iielten Avenue Germantown, Philadelphia 44, Pa. A Promoter shares in 2,000 Masses each year. For, besides the 1,500 which they share in as Members, many other Masses are offered for them: such as Father Skelly’s Mass at Mary’s Central Shrine every Saturday; and a Novena of Masses at the same Shrine in preparation for each of these feasts: the Sacred Heart, the Immaculate Conception, and St. Joseph. Moreover, the Vincentian priests remember our "Devoted Workers” in thousands of Masses each year. The names of active Promoters are enclosed in the Golden Heart which is kept before the Statue of Our Lady at our Shrine. Religious premiums are given to our "De- voted Workers” when ten or more Members are enrolled at one time. We send free to Promoters our quarterly maga- zine, The Miraculous Medal. Promoters receive a distinctive Miraculous Medal, which they only are privileged to wear. One who at death is an active Promoter shares perpetually in the spiritual benefits en- joyed by living Promoters, and a Perpetual Membership Certificate signed by Father Skelly is sent to the next of kin. The names of de- ceased Promoters appear in our quarterly mag- azine and prayers are asked for the repose of their souls. 25 PERPETUAL MEMBERSHIP Perpetual Membership means that the person or persons enrolled will share always (during life and after death) in the many Novenas of Masses for Members of The Central Asso- ciation of the Miraculous Medal. These Masses now total 1,500, offered especially for Members each year. Moreover, the Vincentian priests remember our Members in thousands of Masses yearly. For the sum of Ten Dollars ($10.00)—sent in one complete payment—one person, living or deceased, may be enrolled as a Perpetual Mem- ber. A beautifully engraved certificate, suitable for framing and inscribed with the name of the one enrolled, is issued for each Perpetual Mem- bership. A sterling silver Art Miraculous Medal is sent with each Perpetual Membership Cer- tificate. A Family may be enrolled perpetually for One Hundred Dollars ($100.00)—sent in one complete payment. For an unmarried person this includes the sender, his brothers and sisters; his parents and their brothers and sisters; and his grandparents—all these, living or deceased. For a married person, this includes husband and wife, their children, their brothers, sisters and par- ents—living or deceased. A beautiful Crucifix is sent with the Family Certificate. On the occasion of the death of a loved one, we recommend that you have the deceased enrolled as a Perpetual Member of the “Central Asso- ciation.” A Certificate made out in the name of the departed loved one is always deeply ap- preciated by the surviving relatives. 26 MIRACULOUS MEDAL NOVENA PRAYERS In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Come, O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth. Let us pray. O God, who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise and ever to rejoice in His consolation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. (3 times.) O Lord Jesus Christ, | who hast vouch- safed to glorify by numberless miracles | the Blessed Virgin Mary, | Immaculate from the first moment of her Conception, | grant that all who devoutly implore her protection on earth, | may eternally enjoy Thy presence in heaven, | who, with the Father and Holy Ghost, | livest and reignest, God, for ever and ever. Amen. O Lord Jesus Christ, | who for the accom- plishment of Thy greatest works, | hast chosen the weak things of the world, | that no flesh may glory in Thy sight; | and who for a better and more widely diffused belief | in the Immaculate Conception of Thy Mother, | hast wished that the Miraculous Medal | be mani- fested to Saint Catherine Laboure, | grant, we beseech Thee, | that filled with like humility, | we may glorify this mystery by word and work. Amen. 27 MEMORARE Remember, O most compassionate Virgin Mary, | that never was it known | that any one who fled to thy protection, | implored thy assistance | or sought thy intercession, | was left unaided. | Inspired with this confidence, | we fly unto thee, | O Virgin of virgins, our Mother; | to thee we come; | before thee we kneel | sinful and sorrowful. | O Mother of the Word Incarnate, | despise not our petitions, | but in thy clemency hear and answer them. Amen. NOVENA PRAYER O Immaculate Virgin Mary, | Mother of Our Lord Jesus and our Mother, | penetrated with the most lively confidence | in thy all- powerful and never failing intercession, | mani- fested so often through the Miraculous Medal, | we thy loving and trustful children | implore thee to obtain for us | the graces and favors we ask during this Novena, | if they be beneficial to our immortal souls, | and the souls for whom we pray. | ( Here privately mention your petitions.) Thou knowest, O Mary, | how often our souls have been the sanctuaries of thy Son | who hates iniquity. | Obtain for us then | a deep hatred of sin | and that purity of heart | which will attach us to God alone | so that our every thought, word and deed | may tend to His greater glory. | Obtain for us also | a spirit of prayer and self-denial | that we may recover by penance | what we have lost by sin | and at length attain to that blessed abode | where thou art the Queen of angels and of men. Amen. 28 AN ACT OF CONSECRATION TO OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL O Virgin Mother of God, | Mary Immac- ulate, | we dedicate and consecrate ourselves to thee | under the title of Our Lady of the Mi- raculous Medal. | May this Medal be for each one of us | a sure sign of thy affection for us | and a constant reminder of our duties towards thee. | Ever while wearing it, | may we be blessed by thy loving protection | and preserved in the grace of thy Son. | O most powerful Virgin, | Mother of our Savior, | keep us close to thee | every moment of our lives. | Obtain for us, thy children, | the grace of a happy death; | so that, in union with thee, | we may enjoy the bliss of heaven forever. Amen. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. (3 times.) TO OBTAIN FACULTIES Any priest may obtain faculties to bless the Miraculous Medal and to invest in it by applying to Rev. Joseph A. Skelly, C.M., 475 E. Chelten Ave., Philadelphia 44, Pa. WORDS ADDRESSED TO THOSE BEING INVESTED IN THE MEDAL “Receive this holy Medal, wear it faithfully and keep it with fitting veneration, that the most pious and immaculate Queen of Heaven may protect and defend you; and, repeating the marvels of her love, may she mercifully obtain for you what- ever you suppliantly ask of God, so that in life and death you may rest happily in her maternal embrace. Amen.” 29 IMPORTANT INFORMATION Please note that in this booklet we speak of two Associations that are bound up with the Mirac- ulous Medal. The Association of the Miraculous Medal , mentioned on pages 12, 13, and 14, is the world-wide spiritual union of all who are invested in the Miraculous Medal and wear it. They par- take of the benefits that are promised to all who are properly invested in the Medal and wear it on the breast suspended from the neck. The other Association mentioned in this book- let is The Central Association of the Miraculous Medal. This is the Association established in 1915 in Germantown, Philadelphia, to promote devotion to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal by making known her power and love, to help young men preparing for the priesthood, and to assist the poor. The “Central Association” established the Perpetual Novena, built Marys Central Shrine in Germantown, the Queen of the Miraculous Medal Chapel in Princeton, and Mary Immaculate Semi- nary at Northampton. To aid such pious works, the Members pay a yearly membership fee of 25 cents. The Members of the “Central Associa- tion” share in 1,500 Masses each year; the Pro- moters in 2,000 Masses. Promoters and Members are also remembered in thousands of Masses yearly by our Vincentian priests. There are, therefore, two Associations working • together for allied purposes, but a person does not become a Member of one by joining the other. Please keep this in mind, so as not to confuse the purpose and the benefits of the two Associations. 30 INDULGENCES Strictly speaking, the “Central Association” has for its scope to promote devotion to Mary through the Miraculous Medal. But we also distribute rosaries and crucifixes as premiums. The rosaries which we send out of our office are specially blessed and bear the Apostolic, Brigittine, Crozier, and Dominican Indulgences. The crucifixes are enriched with the Indulgences of the Way of the Cross and the Plenary Indulgence for the hour of death. As requested by many Promoters and Mem- bers, we here give an explanation of these indul- gences and the Scapular Indulgences. APOSTOLIC INDULGENCES Apostolic or Papal Indulgences were orig- inally attached to objects of piety given by the Sovereign Pontiffs to prelates, kings, and other great personages. Now these indulgences may be attached to rosaries, crosses, crucifixes, medals, small statues, etc.—made of durable material — by a priest having the proper faculties. Chief among the Apostolic Indulgences is the Plenary Indulgence at the hour of death. To gain this, it is necessary to: 1. Keep the blessed article on one’s person or in a decent place at home; 2. Confess and receive Communion if possible; 3. Pronounce the Holy Name of Jesus, if pos- sible with the lips, otherwise in the heart; 4. Commend oneself to the divine mercy with love of God and sorrow for sin, and accept death with resignation to God’s Will and as a punishment for sin. 31 CRUCIFIX FOR PLENARY INDULGENCE AT DEATH Any one who owns a crucifix bearing the Apos- tolic Indulgence may gain a Plenary Indulgence at the last hour by observing the conditions set out above for all objects that have the Apostolic Indulgence. CRUCIFIX FOR THE WAY OF THE CROSS A crucifix may be blessed with a sign of the cross by a priest who has the requisite faculties, so that it bears all the indulgences of the actual Way of the Cross. To gain these indulgences, it is necessary: 1. That some serious reason impede one from making the actual Way of the Cross; 2. That one hold the crucifix in one’s hands; 3. That one contritely and devoutly recite twenty times the Our Father , Hail Mary , and Glory (once for each Station, five times in honor of the Five Wounds, once for the intentions of the Pope) . When there are a group who cannot make the Way of the Cross, all may gain the indul- gences if one holds the blessed crucifix while all say the prayers. If a person is so sick that he cannot say the required prayers, he may gain the indulgences by contritely kissing the crucifix which some one holds before him, or even by looking at it with sorrow, and saying some short prayer in memory of the Passion. If he cannot say the prayer, let him then look with sorrow upon the crucifix and he may thus gain the indulgences. 32 THE ROSARY The Sacred Penitentiary in 1937 decreed that by reciting the prayers of a rosary of five dec- ades, even though the rosary has been given no blessing, a person may gain the following indul- gences : 1. Five years, each time he recites five decades by himself; 2. Ten years, once a day, if he recites five dec- ades with one or more persons; 3. If he recites five decades with one or more persons at least three times a week, then on the last Sunday of the month he may gain a Plenary Indulgence, provided that he goes to Confession, receives Holy Communion and visits a church or public oratory; 4. As often as he recites five decades before the Blessed Sacrament, whether It is exposed or within the tabernacle, and goes to Confes- sion and Holy Communion, he may gain a Plenary Indulgence; 5. During October, he may gain an indulgence of seven years once on every day on which he re- cites five decades; 6. If he recites five decades on the feast of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary in October and on each day of the Octave, he may gain a Plenary Indulgence, provided that he goes to Confes- sion, receives Holy Communion and visits a church or public oratory; 7. If he recites five decades on each of the ten days after the end of the Octave of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, he may gain a Plenary In- dulgence, provided that he goes to Confession, re- ceives Holy Communion and visits a church or public oratory. 33 BRIGITTINE INDULGENCE The indulgences of the six-decade Rosary of St. Bridget may be attached to a common rosary of five decades by a special blessing. To gain this Brigittine Indulgence however the Creed must be said instead of the Glory at the end of each decade. The principal indulgences to be gained are these: 1. One hundred days for each Our Father , each Hail Mary and each Creed when five decades are said; 2. If five decades are said daily, a Plenary In- dulgence may be gained once a year, with the usual conditions of Confession and Communion, and an Our Father , a Hail Mary and a Glory for the intention of the Pope. CROZIER INDULGENCE A priest who has the proper faculties may, with the sign of the cross, give to the beads the Crozier Blessing. By using such beads an in- dulgence of five hundred days for each Our Father and each Hail Mary may be gained. DOMINICAN INDULGENCE A priest who has the necessary faculties may, with the special formula, give to the beads the Dominican Blessing. By using these beads, the following indulgences may be gained: 1. One hundred days for each Our Father and each Hail Mary when five decades are said; 2. A Plenary Indulgence once a year if five dec- ades are recited daily for a year, on the usual conditions of Confession and Communion, and an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory for the intention of the Pope. 34 SCAPULARS The scapular originally was an article of dress which the members of certain Religious Orders wore over their shoulders. Later on, this part of the robe was also worn by mem- bers of associated Confraternities, but it was re- duced to two small pieces of cloth joined by cords or tapes, one piece resting on the breast, and the other on the back. And as the original robe of the Orders varied, so too did the scapulars. Today the five principal scapulars are: The Brown, of Our Lady of Mount Carmel; the Blue, of the Immaculate Conception; the Red, of the Passion; the White, of the Holy Trinity; and the Black, of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows. These are often made up into one five-fold scapular. To gain the Scapular Indulgences, including a Plenary Indulgence on the day of investiture and at the hour of death, one must be invested by a priest having this faculty. THE SCAPULAR MEDAL In place of the cloth scapulars, a scapular medal may be worn. But while the Holy Father permits its use, he does not wish the original cloth scapulars to fall entirely into disuse. The scapular medal should have on one face an image of Our Lord with His Sacred Heart, and on the other an image of the Blessed Virgin. The medal must be blessed by a priest who has faculties for blessing the respective scap- ulars. All those, and only those, who have been invested in the cloth scapulars may gain the in- dulgences by wearing the scapular medal. 35 We estimate that The Central Association of the Miraculous Medal, since its foundation forty-one years ago, has received accounts of more than a million favors obtained by clients of Mary Immaculate. During the past year, about fifty thousand favors of various kinds were reported. Of these favors, about one-quarter are spiritual, including many conversions to the Catholic Faith and returns to the sacraments. Almost half the favors reported are temporal, such as restoration to health, financial assistance, avoidance of acci- dents, finding a house, recovery of mental bal- ance, happy marriage, and birth of children. There are also many miscellaneous favors. Anyone, reading of the amazing n imber of favors granted through prayer to Oui Lady of the Miraculous Medal, feeh mo’P confident that his own prayer will be heard and answered. While this enormous number of favors redounds to the honor of the Mother of God, there must also be countless favors that are not made known. We ask our Promoters and Members to tell of the blessings they receive, so that we may publish them, as we do the following, for the greater glory of Our Lady. 36 A “My girl friend and I decided to drive to California RUNAWAY and join our husbands who were in the service. CAR On the way we had a terrible accident. “While taking a sharp curve, we were forced off the road by an oncoming car. Our car shot up a high embankment. Completely out of control, the car lurched along the rough terrain of the embankment and finally pitched itself down onto the road. When we hit the road, the car landed on its side. Then, acting almost contrary to gravity, it bounded upright on all four wheels and came to a halt. “For several minutes, we remained paralyzed with amazement and shock. Passing motorists stopped to see how we were. Almost all of them asked the same question. Why didn’t the car follow its forward motion and roll over? The only answer I could make was to point to my Miraculous Medal suspended from my neck. Mary had certainly answered my short daily prayers to her for protection. “Father, if the car had rolled over, we surely would have been killed. Because the car was a convertible.” — Pennsylvania. HOPE “My sister, who is a member of the ‘Central Asso- IN MARY ciation,’ asked me to send word of the wonderful favor Our Lady has obtained for her. “After several years of marriage, my sister came to believe that she would never be a mother. Her husband, a former soldier, had contracted malaria while serving in the tropics. Being a victim of this disease, he had little hope of fathering a child. Especially since my sister’s blood type would be against it. “You can imagine their great joy, then, when the doctor informed my sister that she was with child. Yet, what joy the doctor gave in one minute, he took away in the next. For he mentioned that there would be little chance for my sister or the child to survive the ordeal. “Since our whole family was enrolled in the Association, we made a joint prayer appeal to Our Lady of the Medal to come to the aid of my sister and her unborn child. Mary was our only hope, because the doctor offered none. “When the time came for delivery, the doctor expressed the opinion that the child would be stillborn. In fact, when the child was delivered, the doctor pronounced the baby dead. But my sister insisted that the nurses try artificial respiration. In a few minutes the baby began to stir. The doctor quickly took measures to preserve the child’s life and the baby lived. “Both mother and child are now getting along fine, thanks to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal .”—Midway Island. A VOTE “Several years ago, a ten-year-old boy was very OF ill. The boy’s grandmother, who was not a Catholic, THANKS asked me to pray for him. I told her that my prayers would be helped a great deal if the child would wear my blue Medal. She agreed. “In a few months the boy was well again and ready to go back to school. As a vote of thanks to Our Blessed Mother, the boy’s parents, not Catholics, sent the boy to a Catholic school. 37 “The ten-year-old boy was only one of fifteen children. He liked the change of schools so much that the rest of the children wanted to go to a Catholic school. In a short time, the parents, pleased with the change in their sons and daughters, decided to give some thought to the Catholic religion. “The grandmother recently wrote to tell me that the entire family has been baptized Catholic. The Miraculous Medal of Our Lady has lived up to its name again.” — Kentucky. HAPPY “At the age of seventeen, our daughter fell victim DEATH to leukemia and died. Although my husband and I feel her loss very deeply, we are grateful for the happy death that God gave her. “Usually a victim of this disease suffers a very painful death. But our girl didn’t suffer any of this torment. In fact, two full weeks before she died, all pain left her. Our doctor was amazed at this and was even more surprised that terrible choking spasms didn’t plague her in her last hours. “What is more satisfying is that our daughter received the consolations of the sacraments and reflected the inner calm of her soul upon her placid face. “The reason I am writing to you, Father, is that we just found out what very well may have been the cause of our daughter’s happy death. For the other day a friend of ours told us for the first time that she had enrolled our girl as a Member in the ‘Great Family’ of the Miraculous Medal. This friend sent our girl’s name to you a year ago. “We are indebted to Our Lady for obtaining the blessing of a happy death. And we wish to show our thanks to Mary by making our deceased daughter a Perpetual Member in the ‘Central Asso- ciation.’ ”—Washington State. A SHEEP “For many years, I have enrolled a good friend RETURJNS in our Association. I felt that she couldn’t be in any better hands that those of Our Lady. “You see, my friend had wandered away from the Church. In the beginning, it was a case of carelessness. As the years went on, she grew bitter. Even when face to face with death from a serious sickness, she stubbornly refused to see a priest. “However, each Christmas I continued to send her the Medal and Membership Card for the year. I had discovered that she carried the Medal in her purse. “Last February I received good news. My friend went back to Church and received the sacraments. Mary has reclaimed her for her Son after thirty-four long years.” — Ohio. MARRIAGE “A friend of mine quarreled with her husband. SAVED Both of them felt that they were falling out of love with each other. Her husband took the first step and walked out on her. Then he engaged a lawyer and pre- liminary divorce proceedings got under way. Their marriage of twenty-nine years appeared ready to collapse like a house of cards. 38 “At the time my friend’s husband separated from her, I enrolled her in the ‘Central Association.’ I trusted that Mary would save her marriage, if the couple would only let her work a change of heart in them. “My friend agreed to wear the Medal and to pray to Our Blessed Mother each day. I told her that Mary the Mother of the Holy Family would certainly help to keep her family together. “The weeks went by, but nothing happened. The day came near for their case in court. Everything seemed hopeless. Then four days before the trial for divorce, her husband came back and they made up their differences. Mary saved their marriage.” — Massachusetts. BABY “My sister’s baby was born with a big lump on CURED the right side of his throat. It was the size of a large egg. “The doctor told her that the growth would call for an operation within a year. Such an operation would prove very delicate for the young baby. “The physician asked my sister to bring the baby back to him in two months for an examination. She did. The examination showed an increase in the growth of the lump. “My sister grew worried and started to lose hope. Sickness followed upon worry. I did my best to comfort her. I enrolled the child in The Central Association of the Miraculous Medal. In the meantime, I placed my own Medal around the baby’s neck. The child’s mother and I said special prayers to Our Blessed Mother. For the next ten months we prayed as hard as we ever prayed before. “Mary didn’t let us down. Inside a year the ugly swelling had almost disappeared. The time came around for the trip to the doctor’s office. The doctor had been so certain of the need for an operation that he had made the arrangements in advance. When he unbuttoned the baby’s jacket, he got the surprise of his life. For we hadn’t told the doctor beforehand that the lump had almost vanished. “For once the doctor was glad to have been fooled and that—by Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.” — Canada. HUSBAND “Nineteen years ago my brother deserted his wife. COMES All through these years, he refused to see her or BACK patch up their difficulties. Deaf and dumb to my efforts at reconciling him with his wife, he went his own stiff-necked way. “Father, I have been a Promoter for many years, but on account of some funny notion, I had never enrolled my brother in the ‘Central Association.’ About a year ago I cleared my head of this odd idea and decided to make him a Member. “Three months later, Mary obtained for me the answer to nineteen years of prayer. Our Lady gave both him and his wife the grace to bridge the gap between them that had widened during those many years.”—New Jersey. 39 IN YOUR CHARITY Kindly remember the “Central Association in your will. Thus, even after your death, you will be helping to honor Mary on earth and providing for the education of young men for the priesthood of her Son. Insert in your will this clause: I hereby give, devise and bequeath unto The Central Association of the Miraculous Medal, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa., the sum of Dollars ($ ) for the furtherance of its works. Or remember our works through the medium of insurance. Arrange for a policy payable upon your death to The Central Association of the Miraculous Medal; or sign a “Change of Beneficiary” form, making our Association the beneficiary of any present policy. Every person leaving a bequest or insurance to the Association is enrolled as a Perpetual Member, thereby sharing in the thousands upon thousands of Masses offered for Members, living and deceased, through the years.