Children Cross Pendants Make Wonderful Gifts

Children's crosses make a great lasting gift. With that said, lets look at why and for what occasions a child's cross or crucifix might be a great gift idea. Crosses for children come in all shapes and sizes making it a perfect idea.

The first child cross most people buy is a cross for an infant. When a baby is born, often a baby shower is thrown; this would be the first opportunity to purchase a cross. However, within the Catholic faith, the better opportunity for the first cross may be the Childs baptism which can be 3-6 months old.

As a Godparent of the child, the gift of the cross to commemorate a baptism transcends just the event itself. When accepting to be a child's God parent, it is making a lifelong commitment. The role of a God parent is to help the child throughout its life to grow in the Spirit and to grow in the Lord. The cross presented at this event is a lasting reminder of the a commitment and as the child grows, the meaning of that cross grows.

Communion makes another life opportunity to present the child with a cross. First Communion is a monumental event in the Spiritual life of each child and often although these children are young, they will remember the day throughout their life. The Godparent may take center stage with this idea for a gift. However, as part of the First Communion ensemble, parents often purchase a cross to accessorize the dress or tie they purchase for their child. A gold chain with a small cross pendant at the end of it makes for a nice touch.

The next sacramental event in the child's life may vary in age depending on the rules in the area you live. Each Diocese sets the age of when Confirmation should take place. It can be as young as 12 and as late as 18. Many choose their same Godparents for Confirmation to be the sponsor so this may be an opportunity to get the child a larger cross that they can wear more readily. Teen crosses are usually bigger than one for a smaller child but the teen cross does make a great gift.

Religious Jewelry

Jewelry has long been an expression of one's self. Today gold and silver is used as a status symbol but there is one aspect of jewelry that is not a discussion of one's self but more one's faith. Religious Jewelry makes a statement of one's faith and is an outward display or a reminder.

The most common Religious jewelry revolves around the cross and in the case of Catholics, the crucifix. The difference between the two is the crucifix bears the body of Jesus, knows as the corpus. Catholics often wear or carry a crucifix as opposed to a cross without the body of Christ affixed to it.

Medals are extremely popular Religious Jewelry. Patron Saints also can be very personal jewelry gift items. Each medal has the image of a Catholic Saint struck into the medal. What makes it most personal is as people gravitate toward a Saint they are often someone they have something in common with the saint

The Miraculous Medal is a popular medal as well. It was handed down from the Blessed Mother as well as a Scapular Medal which is based on the cloth scapular. The Scapular and Miraculous Medals are often worn by the faithful to receive graces as promised by the Blessed Mother to the wears of the Medals and Scapular.

The Rosary is often a popular theme for jewelry. There are rosary bracelets which commonly have one decade of the rosary making the circle to go around the wrist. Often rosary bracelets use birthstone beads, either made of glass or semi precious stones, to make up the bead and the decade of the rosary.

The rosary also has thematic necklaces and rings that comprise one decade of the rosary. Just like the rosary bracelets, they have the cross as a charm. In the case of a rosary ring, often the cross factors to be present in lieu of the stone.

Earrings are often another item that can be commuted into crosses making it an attractive and often inexpensive outward expression of our faith. Religious Jewelry is a wonderful gift idea for any season or sacramental event. Its is a lasting gift that will often reminder of the important event.

Four Way Medals

A four way medal combines several different catholic medals into one medal. This type medal is knows as a cruciform, shapes or themes presented in the form of a cross. There are many types of Four way Medals available and they don't all have the same components. Although thematically, in most cases the Miraculous Medal in contained in a four way medal. Because this combines so many of the different medals, four way medals make a great gift especially for sacramental occasions such as First communion and Confirmation.

The four parts of the cross depict different medals. The base crosses are often very ornate and make an interesting presentation of the medal. The Miraculous medal is often depicted on the cruciform. It was given to St. Catherine by the Blessed Mother and is worn to receive graces for people of faith.

The scapular medal is also a popular inclusion on a four way medal as well. As scapular medal is usually made of cloth and worn with a cloth in the front and one in the back. Wearing of the scapular was a display of being invested in Christ.

The images on the scapular are now being struck into religious medals and often included in the four way medal. Many children when receiving their first communion where enrolled at the time of their communion in the Brown Scapular, the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

St. Christopher is another very popular figure included in the four way medals. St. Christopher is a very popular patron saint. Often St. Christopher is associated with travelers. Often the faithful have a St. Christopher's Medal in their car, on their visor and some where the medal.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Joseph and Jesus and St. Benedict are also very commonly depicted on four way medals. In addition there is also an element that is added to the center making a 5 way medal. The middle is often reserved for the Holy Spirit. Often The Spirit is depicted as a dove and etched into the center of the medal.

On the back of each medal often you will find the words "Pray For Us" or Call a Priest. The four way medal is often a great solution of which medal to wear or to pick as a gift.

 

 

The Catholic Saints

The Catholic saint is something that most are familiar with. And the designation of saint is something recognized by Christianity but varies based on the denomination. You may see a Lutheran church designated as St. Timothy or St. Luke and wonder why. Or you may see a Catholic Church like St. Anne or St. Peter. But how did these people get elevated to the designation of Saint.

The most simple answer to this question is that a Saint is anyone known to be in Heaven. So in the case of the Lutheran church is it is safe to assume the authors of the Gospels and the writers of the epistles are in heaven, after all those are the people the church selected to include in the Gospel. You will also the see the 12 Apostles, again a safe assumption they too are in heaven.

Then there is over 10,000 other people with this designation and this is where the Catholic Church comes in. The Catholic Church has a set of criteria it uses to determine what 'normal' person has made it to heaven. One of the most obvious is martyrdom. Being a martyr for the faith puts one immediately on the path to sainthood and is considered an heroic virtue. The other most obvious requirement is being dead, were that is the only way you can be in heaven.

Examining the martyr closer they are a person who died for being Christian or for their belief in God, Jesus. Although we don't think of martyrs in our present times because of the protections provided by the United States Constitution, there are many dying for their faith in China Africa, the Philippines, South America .

The major consideration for non-martyrs is a heroic virtue. They are faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice and fortitude. When you look at the lives of each of the saints you will find these elements. Many have all of them, some have just a few. It is these virtues that often dictate what they are the patron saint of, things that they have made an impact on.

As we pick the life of any Saint it is easy to find their Heroic virtue that put them on the path to sainthood. Lets examine the life of St. Catherine and the Miraculous Medal. She was approached by the Blessed Mother to craft the Miraculous Medal. She was most faithful and when asked to change her path, she said yes and did so. Never once did she argue. She took the Blessed Mother at her word that God would provide the graces needed to execute getting this medal out there. St. Catherine was part of the Daughters of Charity which was founded by St. Vincent DePaul. So her life was already on the path of charity before it switched the focused.

Origin of the Miraculous Medal

The Miraculous Medal comes from the origin of Zoe Labore, later known as St. Catherine who happened to be a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. The Virgin Mary appeared three different times on July 18, November 27, and a short time after that for her last appearance to St. Catherine in 1830. The first time Mary showed her self to St. Catherine she was asleep but was woken by her 'Guardian Angel' and she told her to go to the chapel where Mother Mary was. For many hours they talked and Mary said to Catherine, "My child, I am going to give you a mission." When Sister Catherine saw the Blessed Mother on the second appearance she said that the Mother of Jesus was standing on a globe as well as holding another globe in her hands. She had these rays coming from her fingers that appeared as precious stones as rings. These wonderful rays are told to be symbols of graces given to all who ask. She also said that around the Figure of Mother Mary was a oval shaped frame with the words "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee"; and the letter 'M' was in the back along with a cross and under that was the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the former was surrounded by the crown of thorns and the pierced by a sword.

    Sister Catherine was told to make a medal that resembled the one in her vision as a promise of grace would be given to those that were to wear it. She confessed what had happened to her and explained all of the appearances to the confessor, they together worked together to accomplish Mary's instructions. 47 years later she revealed receiving the Medal. The church approving the medals, they were made in the year 1832 and handed out in Paris. The blessings were bestowed upon those who wore the medals almost immediately. People began calling this medal the "Miraculous" Medal because of the many miracles from patience, forgiveness, repentance, and faith. This medal is nothing that has to do with superstition or magic of any sort.

 

In addition to the Miraculous Medal the believers also wear a brown scapular as well. This is meant to strengthen the devotion to the Blessed Mother, bringing far more graces.

 

Miraculous Medals

In the summer of 1830, St. Catherine Leboure received the first of three apparitions to hear the voice of a child summoning her to the chapel of Rue Du Bac, Paris. When she entered the chapel the Blessed Mother was there. The Blessed Mother told St Catherine that God was going to change what he wanted St. Catherine to do. She promised St. Catherine would be given the grace that she needed to complete the task because the task was going to be adversarial.

In Nov of 1830 the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Catherine again and this times They spoke of France and how France was having a difficult time, including the poor and refugees of war. She spoke of how the plight of the French poor would reach out though the rest of the world. There were rays of lights coming from the Blessed Mothers fingers and the ones not illuminated St. Catherine was told were those graces not asked for.

The third apparition saw a change in the image that saw the Blessed mother standing on a globe with rays of light streaming from her fingers. This time she appeared inside of an oval frame. She was standing on a globe, and wearing rings of colors. The rays of light shown over the globe. Around the frame the words appeared in French. Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. One of the interesting facts here is this phrase does back up the Catholic Dogma that Mary was conceived without original sin. The frame started moving showing a circle of 12 stars and had a large letter M surmounted by a cross There was also a Sacred Heart of Jesus with a crown of thorns and Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with a sword..

St. Catherine was then told to take this to her father confessor, the person who helps Saints with their persecutions, and request that it be put on medals promising All who wear them will receive great graces.

 

 

Catholic Religious Medals

Patron Saint Medals are something very well known within the catholic faith. They are often shiny pieces of gold, sterling silver, nickel or pewter m with the names of Saints, struck into the metal that makes the coin.

There are also many instances of events that happened that also appear on medals. Our Lady of Fatima is a popular one. The event being recalled was the Blessed Mothers appearance to three small children in 1918. Often depicted is the image of the three children kneeling in a grotto at the feet of the Blessed Mother. The message of the visit was to pray the rosary, a common there in most Marian Apparitions.

The Miraculous Medal is the result of another Marian Apparition to St. Catherine Laboure. In 1830 the Blessed Mother spoke to her requesting that she change her mission and start getting these medals out there in regard to the immaculate heart of Mary.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is another apparition commemorated on religious medals and often in statuary and tapestry as well. The Blessed Mother appeared to Juan Diego in the 15^th century and left her image on the inside of his cape. The image that is associated with the apparition of Our Lady is a replica of the image she left behind. This was again a message of praying the rosary and the importance of the rosary.

Perhaps one of the most famous apparitions is Our Lady of Lourdes. This apparition took place in the 1850s when the Blessed Mother appear to St. Bernadette. The waters of the grotto of Lourdes saw people coming from far and wide to be healed by these waters and there are countless miracles that have been attributed to Lourdes to this day. This year marked the 150 year anniversary of Lourdes. Often in addition to medals you will find Lourdes rosaries which have a vial of authentic Lourdes waters as the center of the rosary.

Medals have long played an important part in the history of the Catholic church from developing it to recollecting its history. But most importantly, it is a way for each of us to honor and commemorate those who have lived and in many cases died living their lives in the way of Christ.