"Come to the foot of the altar"

Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace: that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid.  ~Hebrews 4:16 

Ave Maria!  Today, November 27, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.  This medal was commissioned by the Blessed Mother, who appeared three times in 1830 to St. Catherine Labouré, a 24-year-old novice with the Daughters of Charity in Paris, France.  Our Lady spoke to St. Catherine about the evil times in France and predicted many sorrows and tribulations to come.  She also told St. Catherine about the personal suffering she would experience because of the mission Our Lady was entrusting to her in asking that this medal be struck.  But St. Catherine was not to lose heart for, as Our Lady instructed her, she was simply to "Come to the foot of the altar.  Here graces will be shed on all who ask for them.  Graces will be shed especially on those who ask for them." 

It’s all about Jesus.  That’s the way it is with our Blessed Mother.  She always defers to her Beloved Son, she always leads us to Him and Him alone.  At the Traditional Latin Mass this morning, the Gospel for today’s lovely feast was the account of the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-12).  The wine fails, so Mary brings this lack to her Son’s attention, then turns to the servants and instructs them, “Do whatever He tells you.” 

To respond to Mary’s invitation to “come to the foot of the altar” is to do whatever our Lord Jesus tells us.  It is to go to the only Son of the Father, through whom we are given all grace and truth (John 1:17).  We believe with the psalmist that “the Lord, is good, that His steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).  And we know that the Father will give us whatever we ask for in the name of His Son Jesus (John 15:16). 

And I will come to the altar of God,

to God, my joy and gladness.

Psalm 43:4