There are many different medals worn within the Catholic faith. Some medals are for various Saints and a persons patron Saint. A patron Saint is a heavenly advocate or guardian of a place, nation, activity, craft, class, clan, family or person. Patron Saints are people that have already entered heaven. They seem to be able to intercede on our behalf to God more effectively for our specific needs. They will listen to our special prayers and pray with us. We do not pray to the statue of a patron Saint in our home or at church. The statue is only a reminder of who the person is. It is not idol worship as some have tried to say.
Here are some examples of patron Saints. There is St Matthew, St Thomas The Apostle, Saint Francis of Assisi, St Helen, St Dominic and many others. The various Saints all are associated with certain things such as work, animals, work and places among other things. Here is an excellent link on the subject http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/patrons.aspx . Below are some pictures of various Saints.
These are just a very few of the Saints. There are many many more Saints to be seen. There are some very good books available on the subject of Saints. I would suggest the dictionary of saints by John Delaney. It is an excellent source of information.
Here are some medals of saints shown below.
There are numerous medals for various needs available on the internet. Here are just a couple links to some web sites http://www.catholic-collectibles.com/medals_patron_saints_female_sterling_silver.html and http://www.totallycatholic.com/catholic_patron_saints_medals .
The next thing I would like to talk about are the various crosses in the Catholic Church. A cross is simply that in other words a cross without Jesus on it. It is simply a reminder of the cross that Jesus was crucified on. The Irish have their Celtic Cross and there are other Catholic Crosses without Jesus on them. Some individuals will say that we have Jesus on the cross because we believe that he has not risen. This is just another case of seeing with your eyes and not understanding why we as Catholics do various things. We always believe the Jesus died on the cross to forgive us of our sins, he was taken down off the cross and then rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Yes He has Risen!!!. Here are some examples of Catholic crosses.
The other cross that we as Catholics have at home, in our churches and we wear them also are called a crucifix. The crucifix is a cross with Jesus depicted on it. Once again this crucifix does not mean that we as Catholic believe that Jesus did not rise from the dead. It is a reminder that Jesus died on the cross to forgive us our sins and that he rose from the dead. My advise is wear whichever one you prefer. Here are some example of Catholic crucifixes shown below.
There are many more catholic medals for Catholics out there for sale on the internet. One of the most important medals for the Catholic faith is the Miraculous medal . This came about on November 27, 1830 when Our Lady, which was when Mary the mother of Jesus appeared to Saint Catherine Laboure in Paris and revealed to her the design of the Miraculous Medal. There are many miracles associated with this medal. I would suggest going to this link to learn more about this medal http://www.tfp.org/tfp-home/about-our-lady/why-the-miraculous-medal-is-so-important-to-catholics.html . Here are some examples of the Miraculous Medal.
Here is a very good link to information about devotional medals through history http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10111b.htm . Another medal that is of very high devotion in the catholic church is the sacred heart of Jesus. The devotion emphasis the unmitigated love, compassion and long suffering of the heart of Christ towards humanity. This devotion came about from a roman catholic nun called Marguerite Marie Alacoque from France. It was said that she learned of this devotion from Jesus in a series of apparitions. This happened in the years from 1673 to1675. It also happened in the 19th century from another catholic nun in Portugal called Mary of the Divine Heart, countess Droste zu Vischering. She requested that Pope Leo XIII consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Below are a few examples of this medal and a picture.
One final medal I would like to mention is called the four way medal. This medal combines the Sacred Heart medal, St Christopher medal, St Joseph and the Miraculous medal . It can also have a different Marian medal. The backside of the medal is often engraved with I Am Catholic. It may say please call a Priest if I am found unconscious for any reason such as an accident. It may also have pray for us inscribed on the back. Here are some pictures of the four way medal.
Well I hope that you found it interesting about the various Catholic medals, crosses and crucifixes. There are quite a few different medals worn by Catholics for various devotions.
Thank You for reading and God Bless.
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