The Miraculous Medal

[XIX]

I just found out about the Mrraculous medal from somebody I know who was consecrated to Mary. It genuinely struck me; especially considering my situation at the time. I have a few questions about this; I'll try to keep this short-ish:

1) It (the pamphlet I got) says that anybody who wears the medal, especially around the neck, will have special graces. This struck me as being a little bit like idolatry; why should a person's grace be contingent upon where a medal is worn? Does the grace come from the medal itself? (this is NOT meant to be read as rhetoric, by the way, it's just a question)

2) I'm considering consecrating myself to Mary, but how do I discern if that's what God wants me to do? Put another way, for what good reasons [i]wouldn't[/i] anybody want this? Could it be sacreligious if I put myself on a pedestal where I don't belong?

3) It also says that people who dedicate themselves to Mary in this way recieve a special plenary indulgence from suffering in purgatory, by mandate of Pope Pius XI in 1926. I'm just making sure to see that this is right, because I didn't know the Pope had the power to do that. Doesn't God decide what happens after death?

Thanks you very much for any answers.

[Pontifex]

1) There are certain promises that are made personally when one wears a medal. Wearing the medal can be seen as an external sign of an internal vow of commitment to holiness. So in some sense the Grace is contingent upon ones personal disposition. It is not a good luck charm.

2) There is nothing that should keep you from consecrating yourself to Mary. Her only role is to lead you closer to Jesus. You can never go wrong by seeking her protection and intercession. She is our Mother who wants us to be unified with Jesus.

3) The Pope is the Vicar of Christ on Earth, so God has given him authority lead and guide his people. If you look at the requirements for the indulgence you will see that what really is happening is that people are receiving Graces from their commitments to Mary, not simply because the Pope said so. He is just putting words around what flows naturally from the commitment, and at the sametime giving people incentive for dedication to our Blessed Mother.

Peace,

Fr. Pontifex