The Miraculous Medal, Marian Consecration and the New Year

Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us 
who have recourse to thee 
and for those who do not have recourse to thee, 
especially enemies of the Church 
and those recommended to thee.  Amen.

The first part of the above prayer is found on the Miraculous medal, given to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830. The final part of the prayer was composed by St. Maximilian Kolbe, a priest who was executed in Auschwitz in 1941, after volunteering to take the place of a married Jewish prisoner who survived the war and was later present at St. Maximilian's canonization in 1982.

The prayer is said daily by those consecrated to the Blessed Mother through the Militia of the Immaculata, an organization founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe in 1917 to promote spiritual renewal by leading all people to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through consecration to His mother. Sometimes called Knights of the Immaculata, it focuses on asking the help of our heavenly mother in the spiritual battle against evil that is increasingly obvious in today's society.

Coincidentally, 1917 was the year Mary appeared to three children in Fatima, Portugal and asked for prayer and reparation for conversion of sinners and an end to war.  World Wars I and II seem tied together in the life of St. Maximilian and Our Lady.

Now that we are a full decade into the 21st century,  it is time to renew our commitment to be people of prayer, sacrifice and consecration to Jesus for all of humankind.