May Devotion

Virgin Mary, The Mother of Jesus

Mary in her humility before God entrusted herself to the Lord when she kindheartedly accepted being the Mother of the Son of God, Jesus. In the Gospel, whenever Mary’s participation is visibly recognized, she always humbled herself before God.

Mary who came from the town of Galilee in the small village of Nazareth was the most favored one, chosen by God. She did all her best for her family, as a loving wife to Joseph and as a caring mother to Jesus. This family lived simply with what was sufficient in the immediate necessities of life, and with a great love of God and respect for each other

Having well-established and good family ties and upbringing, there came a point in Mary’s life when her faith was challenged. This happened at the death of Joseph. In time, Mary’s life adjusted to the absence of Joseph and she learned to go on, continuing to dedicate her life to Jesus and her lord.

Another experience that challenged Mary was when Jesus was condemned to death. This was a most painful time because it seemed that everything was taken away from her through her dearest loved one. She had so much pain, agony, and sorrow in her life yet above all these challenges and difficulties, her faith grew strong, she remained humble and accepted that God’s will be done in her life. In these down moments, without Joseph and Jesus, her heart was broken and bleeding. But she arose again to continue giving inspiration, and good and right intentions to others. She had such a total trust in God and never lost hope.

Mary gave her best in the remaining moments of her life which helped her on her faith journey with God’s love and fidelity being her strength, and with this she helped the followers of Jesus Christ. She confidently remained with them, the apostles, and other disciples, as they all remained faithful to the teachings of Jesus. She ultimately kept her full support for the growing Church instituted by Jesus. The good memories of her family accompanied her on her journey of growing up in love and faith in God.

Heaven rewarded her when she was raised up body and soul. To this day she is enjoying the company of the heavenly bodies and above all being united with Jesus and Joseph. She was assumed into heaven, honored, and enthroned as the Queen of Heaven and Earth.

This most humble Queen has a big heart to love us all. She teaches us how we should live and deal with the ups and downs of our daily life with a perseverance and optimism beyond those challenges and difficulties that we meet. She is the mother of all times, the mother who embraces our joys, pains and sufferings. In her heart she captures heaven and earth to bring the love of God to each one of us. She helps to bring us back to God at those times when we are lost. Now together with the Son of God, we can feel their presence with us.

Let us continue to love Mary and let us be grateful that we can have a mother like her. Our love is not complete without also loving Mary. We continue on our journey of loving Jesus, Mary and all the saints who have taught us how to love God and our neighbour.

Queenship of Mary

Pope Pius XII established this feast in 1954. But Mary’s queenship has roots in Scripture. At the Annunciation, Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would receive the throne of David and rule forever. At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary “mother of my Lord.” As in all the mysteries of Mary’s life, she is closely associated with Jesus: Her queenship is a share in Jesus’ kingship. We can also recall that in the Old Testament the mother of the king has great influence in court.

In the fourth century Saint Ephrem called Mary “Lady” and “Queen.” Later Church fathers and doctors continued to use the title. Hymns of the 11th to 13th centuries address Mary as queen: “Hail, Holy Queen,” “Hail, Queen of Heaven,” “Queen of Heaven.” The Dominican rosary and the Franciscan crown as well as numerous invocations in Mary’s litany celebrate her queenship.

The feast is a logical follow-up to the Assumption, and is now celebrated on the octave day of that feast. In his 1954 encyclical To the Queen of Heaven, Pius XII points out that Mary deserves the title because she is Mother of God, because she is closely associated as the New Eve with Jesus’ redemptive work, because of her preeminent perfection, and because of her intercessory power.

Reflection

As Saint Paul suggests in Romans 8:28–30, God has predestined human beings from all eternity to share the image of his Son. All the more was Mary predestined to be the mother of Jesus. As Jesus was to be king of all creation, Mary, in dependence on Jesus, was to be queen. All other titles to queenship derive from this eternal intention of God. As Jesus exercised his kingship on earth by serving his Father and his fellow human beings, so did Mary exercise her queenship. As the glorified Jesus remains with us as our king till the end of time (Matthew 28:20), so does Mary, who was assumed into heaven and crowned queen of heaven and earth.

Month of Mary-May Devotions

"God wills that all his gifts should come to us through Mary" (St. Bernard)

It was in Rome, towards the end of the eighteenth century, one fine evening in May. A child of the poor gathered his companions around him and led them to a statue of Mary, before which a lamp was burning, as is the custom in that holy city. There, these fresh young voices sang the Litany of our Lady. The next day, the little group, followed by other children, again gathered at the feet of the Mother of God. Next came their mothers, to join the little assembly. Soon, other groups were formed, and the devotion rapidly became popular. Holy souls, troubled by the disorderly conduct which always increases and becomes graver at the return of the pleasant springtime, saw in these growing practices the hand of God, and they cooperated with the designs of Providence by approving and promoting this new devotion, as a public and solemn act of reparation. The Month of Mary was founded. 5

"This is the month in which, in the churches and individual homes, the most affectionate and fervent homage of prayers and devotions from the hearts of Christians are raised to Mary. It is also the month in which from his throne descend upon us the most generous and abundant gifts of the Divine Mercy."6

In our own times, we Catholics, wanting to be close to her always, offer her special presents in May: pilgrimages, visits to churches dedicated to her, little sacrifices in her honor, periods of study and well-finished work offered up to her, and a more attentive recitation of the rosary.

What is May Crowning?

May Crowning is a traditional Roman Catholic ritual held during the month of May. It is a solemn procession at the close of the procession a statue of the Blessed Virgin is crowned with a garland or crown of flowers honoring Mary as “the Queen of May.”

Why a Crowning?

The queen symbol was attributed to Mary because she was a perfect follower of Christ, who is the absolute “crown” of creation. She is the Mother of the Son of God, who is the messianic King. Mary is the Mother of Christ.

"He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; the Lord will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there will be no end."

Luke 1:32-33

Elizabeth greeted the Blessed Virgin, pregnant with Jesus, as “the mother of my Lord” (Lk 1:41-43). The maid of Nazareth consented to God’s plan; she journeyed on the pilgrimage of faith; she listened to God’s Word and kept it in her heart; she remained steadfastly in close union with her Son, all the way to the foot of the Cross; she persevered in prayer with the Church. Thus, in a way she won the “crown of righteousness” (II Tim 4:8), the “crown of life” (Jas 1:12; Rev 2:10), the “crown of glory” (I Pet 5:4) that is promised to those who follow Christ.

Flowers Named after Mary

The faithful saw Mary’s attributes in the herbs and flowers growing around them. Many flowers and herbs are symbolically associated with Mary’s life and many people create Mary gardens. A Mary garden is a small sacred garden enclosing a statue or shrine of the Virgin Mary. Select flowers, shrubs, and trees associated with Mary are planted in the garden.

A Memorial for The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

The Vatican announced Pope Francis’ decision that the Church celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as “Mother of the Church” every year on the Monday after Pentecost.

Pope Francis added the memorial to the Roman Calendar after carefully considering how the promotion of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under this particular title might encourage growth in “the maternal sense of the Church.” This year it will fall on May 21.