Oh I just remembered I haven't really posted about what someone gave me. A stranger suddenly came up to me early this month and handed me something. I didn't expect to receive it but hey a gift is a gift. And so I am grateful I got a Miraculous Medal pendant to wear as a necklace out of the blue. Thank you Lord. 🙏
Excited to wear this Miraculous Medal soon!
How I Got It
I was just sitting outside church after mass, doing something on my phone when suddenly this random woman came up to me. We don't know each other but bless her heart she said I should have a Miraculous Medal pendant. Somehow I thought I even heard her mention my name which caught my attention. I don't even know hers! Uhmmm. 🤔
I was kinda surprised by what was happening that I pointed to the one I got from church last year, pinned on my bag. See my mind was still on the thing I was doing on my phone. 😆 And she got surprised too when she saw it but still handed me the pendant.
The Miraculous Medal (church giveaway during the rosary month) pinned to my tote bag.
An older lady came up to us, I dunno if they're related, and she told me I should get a chain and wear it around my neck. Alright then thank you mam for the gift. 😅 The kind woman hugged me and they went on their merry way home.
And then I went back doing my business on my smartphone. Like, uh I have no idea why it happened to me suddenly but God moves in mysterious ways.
I was just finishing something before falling in line for confession that day. That's why I was sitting outside the church which I only do once in a while or rarely. Interesting eh?
My Sacramental Story So Far...
Last year I decided to do the 33 Days Consecration to Jesus Through Mama Mary. First time I ever did it actually and whoa. Our Blessed Mother Mary Ever-Virgin has really guided and inspired me in ways I have never imagined. (Perhaps I'll write more on that in another post.)
The thing is, after consecration, the practice is the person must wear something as a reminder. The most recommended (based on YouTube videos I watched last year) is the Miraculous Medal but I didn't know where to get one. Actually I wasn't even thinking of buying one at all. 😆
And so I decided on wearing the brown scapular instead. Why not when I bought several plastic ones many years ago and only had them blessed last year. (Don't ask me why because my tepid Catholic self was just... 😅)
Ok wait, do you know what a brown scapular is? It's one of several Church approved sacramentals. Know more from this devout follower of Mary and his informatively entertaining video:
So anyway I thought nothing of it afterwards and continued learning about Catholicism online. Eventually around December imagine my surprise when I discovered the Blue Army of Mama Mary (World Apostolate of Fátima)! 😲 Like, whoa!!!
Why was this surprising? Well because I remembered sometimes in my life I would wonder and think of being in a "fight", like being a "warrior or soldier" in some way. Social justice ftw! Haha.
I even thought about fighting for nature and stuff like that. Didn't really know why, what, when or how exactly I'd do anything but I wanted to fight for something good. 💪 Sometimes I would even ask God about it.
Come 2023 I finally realized what it was. 😅 Oh yeah, I didn't know this was what I was looking for! However I also had no idea that being a warrior of God meant being a prayer warrior instead. 😂 No need to be violent or shed any blood, just praying the rosary will do. 📿 🙏
This is one of the important things I learned last year: We can fight all kinds of evil in this world just by praying! Never underestimate the power of praying to Jesus, Mama Mary, the saints, the 3 archangels and even our guardian angels! Just ask any Catholic exorcist priest.
And so when I discovered the Blue Army I had goosebumps and was kinda shocked. I had no idea there's a group of people who prayed the rosary daily, offered their suffering everyday AND wore the brown scapular! Hey it sounded like me!!! 😲 (Well I stopped "offering it up" around late January though...) Meaning, if I also do the First Five Saturdays devotion, I could join the group! That's just... wow.
Who would have thought there's such a thing! Didn't think me wearing the brown scapular had any other significance you know. Awesome right?
Actually before last year ended I was wondering which devotion to start and what religious group to join. Well learning about the Blue Army definitely cleared things up. Haha.
By the way if you're curious to know more about the sacramental the stranger gave me, watch this video.
Mama Mary is really something huh? 😍 I still have no clue about so many Catholic teachings and yet a lot are being revealed to me one by one. Christian realizations and online discoveries just kept popping up. Oh la la, the religious education just kept growing and going! This is why I've been writing a lot of what I've learned so far.
Yes I still feel very ignorant of Catholicism despite being a cradle Catholic. (There is much to learn and love.) Blame it on the lack of Catechism decades before the pandemic. This is what caused many of us to be lukewarm in the faith.
These days there are so many online content from Catholic priests and faith defenders. Am so happy to see a lot now. Thank you Lord! Very timely because these days the world is experiencing various unpleasant things.
What Happens Next?
This is me wondering what to expect from God next. I have no clue whatsoever. 😆
I finally have a Miraculous Medal to wear for my consecration renewal this year. Since I wanted to be sure it's good to use, I had it blessed by a priest. And then I took out a chain from my stored stuff to use with the pendant. Strangely it turned out to be itchy for some reason!
As you can see from the very first photo above, that hasn't been blessed yet. I thought I would just wear the blessed pendant using an unblessed chain but nahhh. I don't remember that being itchy before when I used to wear it on special occasions... So I had to find the other blessed necklace I had and use it's chain instead.
Tried to wear the newly assembled wearable sacramental afterwards but somehow it felt like I shouldnt yet. 😅
Really feels hiphoppy to me. Hehe.
I'm not one to wear jewelry, even fancy ones, except when there's an event, party or whatever. And so wearing this boldly, out in the open would be something new.
Took a photo of me trying out the new chain (see above) and it seems kinda ghettoey or hiphoppy to me, don't you think so? 😂
I decided that I'll start wearing it in the middle of the year instead. That's after my consecration renewal. Would I be brave enough to wear it everyday? Well I certainly hope so. 😆 You see the brown scapular is something worn underneath the shirt. But this one should be out in the open. Oh la la. Haha.
And no, I don't think it's redundant to wear both because I've read about other people doing the same. So if it's a good Catholic practice then I'll be doing it too. 😍
Which brings me to the question, what do you think will happen next? Haha. What can be the many "something new" that I will discover this year about the Catholic faith? I'm curious to know as early as now. 😁 Have you also experienced something like this? Feel free to share your thoughts below.
XOXO,
@artgirl