"I will forever have a devotion to her!”

It didn’t take long for our “neck of the woods” to experience the effects of a parish-wide devotion to Our Lady through the Miraculous Medal. On a cool, crisp morning Nov. 1, All-Saints Day, students were—as usual—on their way to school, but this would not be a usual day. The roads were deceptively slick and icy.

High-school students Gwyneth and Logan Wieler were in their car and headed for school. Suddenly, the car ahead of them was losing control on the dangerous highway. To avoid that vehicle, Gwyneth had to swerve. That maneuver was costly. It sent her vehicle into a spin and caused the car to go off the road, careening past the ditch and rolling twice before coming to rest in a field.

Since it was still dark and they were some distance from the road, other cars simply passed by. Thankfully—miraculously some would say—both Gwyneth and Logan were for the most part unhurt. After assuring one another that they were both okay, they frantically looked for her phone. Finally finding it, they were able to contact their parents who were, needless to say, both anxious and relieved. 

After the call to their parents, all heaven broke loose, as police, firefighters, medical personnel, family, and friends arrived on the scene to help. Amid the flashing lights and chaos, everyone made sure that the students were free of major injury. Still, they needed a place to warm-up. With broken glass and a crushed frame, their car got cold in a hurry.

With the siblings now out of harm’s way, people started picking up some of the debris. In addition to the broken glass, there were blankets, shoes, and car parts strewn everywhere. Their dad, Lance, joined in the clean-up process. As daylight started to inch its way onto the scene, something on the ground caught Lance’s eye. He bent down and picked up a small, shiny object. When he showed the object to his wife Tanya and others, all remained in stunned silence.

It was the Miraculous Medal! As tears streamed down Tanya’s face, there was silent consensus that the favorable outcome of this accident was anything but accidental. All agreed that tragedy had been averted by the prayers of Our Lady. The Miraculous Medal, the symbol of Our Lady’s powerful intercession for us, was given to each parishioner of St. Patrick five days earlier. Each medal was blessed. Hence, whoever has one of these medals is the beneficiary of prayers from the Mother of God.

“I will forever have a devotion to her,” Tanya declared.

No one is more capable of leading us into a deeper union with Our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, than Our Lady. Her only goal is to bring us closer to her Son, and thus closer to our eternal home in Heaven. To have the Miraculous Medal is to have Our Lady’s prayers. To have Our Lady’s prayers is to have remarkable help on this pilgrim road of life to Heaven.

“I’m going to keep this,” Logan concluded. That’s good advice for all of us, Logan!
 
Father LaCroix is the pastor of St. Brigid’s Church in Cavalier and St. Patrick’s Church in Crystal.