(Death, Heaven, Purgatory, Hell)
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
|
|
Question 28: Isn't the wearing of medals is a superstitious practice, similar to the pagan custom of wearing amulets or charms to ward off disease and danger.
Answer: No, there is no superstition in the wearing of medals. The pagans attributed magical power to the amulets they wore to ward off disease and death. Catholics wear medals to honor God and His saints, to bring to their minds some doctrine of the faith, or to show their membership to some pious confraternity. We do not attribute any virtue to the medal itself, but wear it to foster devotion. Would you call a person superstitious because he/she wore a locket with a picture of a loved one inside? Would you find fault with a soldier, who wore a medal given to him for some special act of bravery?
One of the oldest medals in existence is a bronze medallion of the Apostles Peter and Paul, discovered in the cemetery of Domitilla, and dated to the time of Alexander Severus (222-235). Many of the gilded glasses of the catacombs contain portraits of Moses, Tobias, the Blessed Virgin and St. Agnes.
Modern medals of devotion became popular in the fifteenth century, when the papal Jubilee medals were spread all over Europe; a century later the Popes gave them special blessings, and enriched them with many indulgences.
