Miraculous Medal Craft Activity Part 1

For a while now, I have been thinking of a way to make the children's prayer intentions for others (and mine - 'cause I'm a big kid) more tangible. We need an easy and hard-not-to miss reminder to pray for our friends and family on a daily basis. Also something that visually displays Our Blessed Mother's real motherly love and powerful intercessory power, so as to gently tap us on the heart, "don't forget to pray, your powerful and ever loving Mother is waiting..".

I often ponder a quote from a saint (maybe St Louis deMontfort) "One sigh from Our Lady is more powerful than all the prayers, martrydoms and sacrifices of all the saints and angels combined." Could have all the saints and angels changed Our Lord's plans at the wedding feast at Cana? I doubt it - but The Woman's quiet and gentle, "Do whatever He tells you" did.

I love the Miraculous Medal, I love the whole story of St Catherine Labore and one of the most famous miracles attached to the medal - the conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne. (I often have my husband to thank in introducing me to powerful Marian devotions and stories...) The prayer, "Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us, who have recourse to thee." is so simple and easy - childlike but deadly powerful, enough to make the foundations of Hell quake with fear. If I feel I don't have the strength and energy for a simple prayer, I can say this little ejaculation. In fact, I've said it over and over again in moments of great anxiety and fear and it has soothed me, given me peace and answered my prayers. It is the perfect prayer for a child but in it holds incredible truths and a powerful plea, that will not go unanswered.

So I thought we could make a miraculous medal mobile where we could afix our daily prayer intentions, as they are answered we take them down. We could read them out each morning as a reminder of who and what we are praying for. When we see it gently moving in the breeze, it will prompt us to say, "Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us, who have recourse to thee." We hope (with daddy's permission) to hang it in our lounge near our altar somewhere.

We went to Spotlight to buy all our crafty things for this project - but what to use for the medal itself...I was not sure. I had a browse in the folkart area and saw all the plain wooden items ready and waiting to be painted and decorated with folkart paints. There I found an oval shaped..plate, I think that is what it is... It is quite big, when I say we're not going to miss it, I mean we're not going to miss it! I sort of knew that with the plans I had in mind it was not going to be an activity the children could do completely by themselves but the painting of it was definately their domain! They took turns with folk paints, a roller and brushes, and I reckon they did a good job! This is the side that will feature Our Blessed Mother.

This is the side where the 12 stars will feature...

We used golden star stickers for the stars and then stuck blue five-pointed star diamontes inside each golden star. Then I cut out the felt cross/altar and 'M' and that was glued on.

Here is where the finicky work started...I cut out the hearts from felt and then started to glue little beads to make the crown of thorns, the flames and the sword. Some fabric flowers were glued onto the Immaculate Heart. The first side was now finished........

OUR LADY OF THE MAY

"O Flowers of flowers, Our Lady of the May

Thou gavest us the World's one Light of Light:

Under the stars, amid the snows, He lay;

While Angels, through the Galilean night

Sang glory and sang peace:

Nor doth their singing cease,

For thou their Queen and He their King sit crowned

Above the stars, above the bitter snows;

They chaunt to thee the Lily, Him the Rose,

With white Saints kneeling round.

Gone is cold night: thine now are spring and day:

Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May!

O Flower of flowers, our Lay of the May!

Thou gavest us the blessed Christmas mirth:

And now, not snows, but blossoms, light thy way;

We give thee the fresh flower-time of the earth.

These early flowers we bring,

Are angels of the spring,

Spirits of gracious rain and light and dew.

Nothing so like to thee the whole earth yields,

As these pure children of her vales and fields,

Bright beneath skies of blue.

Hail Holy Queen! Their fragrant breathings say:

Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May!

O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May!

Breathe from God's garden of eternal flowers

Blessing, when we thy little children pray:

Let thy soul's grace steal gently over ours.

Send on us dew and rain,

That we may bloom again,

Nor wither in the dry and parching dust.

Lift up our hearts, till with adoring eyes,

O Morning Star! We hail thee in the skies,

Star of our hope and trust!

Sweet Star, sweet Flower, there bid thy beauty stay:

O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May!

O Flower of flowers, Our Lady of the May!

Thou leftest lilies rising from thy tomb:

They shone in stately and serene array,

Immaculate amid death's house of gloom.

Ah, let thy graces be

Sown in our dark hearts! We

Would make our hearts gardens for thy dear care:

Watered from wells of Paradise, and sweet

With balm winds flowing from the Mercy Seat,

And full of heavenly air:

While music ever in thy praise should play,

O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May!

O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May!

Not only for ourselves we plead, God's Flower!

Look on thy blinded children, who still stray,

Lost in this pleasant land, thy chosen Dower!

Send us a perfect spring:

Let faith arise and sing,

And England from her long, cold winter wake.

Mother of Mercy! Turn upon her need

Thine eyes of mercy: be there spring indeed:

So shall thine Angels make

A starrier music, than our hearts can say,

O Flower of flowers, our Lady of the May!"