The Purity Medal is an all silver religious medal that is carried or worn as a sacramental sign of purity and unity, that we hope will help prepare for, bring about, and eventually celebrate the great heavenly renewal of our time: The proclamation of the fifth and final Marian Dogma. 

Jesus and Mary have been appearing all over the world, especially in recent times.  They come with heavenly messages and visions, requesting that they be lived, spread, and promoted.  Many have reported private revelations given by Our Lady over the course of the last two centuries, in a time that has come to be known in many circles as the Marian Age.  Many people have focused on one particular Marian message or image, while others have tried to connect several. The Purity Medal encapsulates a broad scope of all of these credible and important heavenly images into one single composite reality, a mosaic capstone and crowning touch for our Marian Age.

By carrying this Purity Medal, we not only propose the declaration of this dogma as described by Leo XIII in Lucunda Semper Expectatione, but we tangibly actualize our devotion to Mary. The Purity Medal represents our acceptance of God's Will, wearing it close to our heart as a symbol of love for our heavenly Queen and Mother: Our Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate. 

The medal is two-sided. The front image encompasses aspects of the approved apparitions: Rue du Bac, Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe, La Salette, and Amsterdam. The back image remains faithful to the original Miraculous Medal image, which perfectly represents the unity and coming triumph of the two Hearts of Jesus and Mary.  Accompanied with the image is a prayer, a prayer taken from St. John Eudes' citation of Psalm 45:14, which he renders, "all the glory of the King’s Daughter is within.”

Learn More about the imagery of the Purity Medal by clicking below:

The Imagery

This image’s circular shape represents the Eucharist. “The whole liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice and the sacraments.” The Eucharist itself is the source and summit of our faith. “The other sacraments...are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented towards it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ Himself.”

A major reason for striking the Purity Medal on silver, comes from the fact that the first Miraculous Medal was struck on silver.

Another major significance for the use of silver comes from Fatima. Many eye witness accounts from the Fatima Miracle, describe seeing a silver plate. “From the road…one could see the immense multitude turn toward the sun, which appeared free from clouds and in its zenith. It looked like a plaque of dull silver, and it was possible to look at it without the least discomfort.” Another witness made a similar comment, “The sun had a transparent gauzy veil so that the eyes could easily be fixed upon it. The grey mother-of-pearl tone turned into a sheet of silver which broke up as the clouds were torn apart and the silver sun, enveloped in the same gauzy grey light, was seen to whirl and turn in the circle of broken clouds.” 

The scriptural basis for silver comes from 2 Maccabees. It perfectly encompasses the spiritual reason for the medal being struck on silver. The passage unfolds amongst a series of battles being fought to defend the chosen people being forced into sacrilege. Judas rallied his armies to purify themselves and go out to properly bury their dead, especially those who had fallen, due to their worship of false idols.

“He then took up a collection among all of his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing so he acted in a very excellent and noble way”

(2 Maccabees 12:43).

In today’s world, idols come in many different forms: money, power, possessions, self- image, sports, work, etc. Just as the soldiers did, we are called to purify ourselves, recognizing the idols that we may worship in our daily lives, and renewing our commitment to the only thing that truly matters, our relationship with God.

Offering silver was the way in which the soldiers purified themselves and even purified those who fell victim to false idols. We have chosen to offer silver as alms for others, or they could choose to carry the medal, and in turn, we will pray for their salvation. Just as Judas Maccabees offered silver in the temple of Jerusalem, so too do we offer silver for atonement of the sin of idolatory. In this, we know that we are acting in a “noble and excellent way” as we offer prayers and sacrifices for all those that the Purity Medal encounters.

Silver, in and of itself, is a pure element, just so, we must pray for all people in the pursuit of holiness and purity. However, silver also tarnishes, just as our souls tarnish because of sin. The Purity Medal reminds us of our need to continually cleanse ourselves of our sinfulness through reconciliation. We must never cease in our attempts to become pure of heart, mind, and soul, because in doing so, we can become all the more equipped to defend the Church as Mary’s soldiers, fighting for the salvation of all God’s people.

Saint Dominic was instrumental in defending the Church against the workings of the devil. His mission was to strengthen the faith by improving the morality of the Church and working to rid the Church of all heretical ideas. Most notably, in the traditional account, St. Dominic's pursuit of this goal failed to bear fruit for the first several years of his ministry. Upon dedication of his work to the Blessed Mother, Dominic's work immediately bore abundant fruit. The foundation and flourishing of the Order in the century immediately after was a preeminent fruit. In the years since, the Dominican Order has been inextricably linked to contemporary Marian Piety. The Blessed Mother calls us to a continuation of this piety within the Church today.
 

The ideas expressed are those of the author alone and do not represent the endorsement or position of the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic or the Order of Preachers as a whole.