Walk With Mary in the Month Of May

 The month of May is the “month which the piety of the faithful has especially dedicated to Our Blessed Lady,” and it is the occasion for a “moving tribute of faith and love which Catholics in every part of the world pay to the Queen of Heaven. It’s common for parishes to have a daily recitation of the Rosary during May, and many erect a special May altar with a statue or picture of Mary as a reminder of Mary’s month. Additionally, it’s a long-standing tradition to crown the statue of Mary during May – a custom known as May Crowning. Often, the crown is made of beautiful blossoms representing Mary’s beauty and virtue. It’s also a reminder to the faithful to strive to imitate our Blessed Mother’s virtue in our own lives. May Crowning, in some areas, is a huge celebration and is usually done outside of Mass, although Mass may be celebrated before or after the actual crowning.” Liturgically also, during May, the Church celebrates two feasts associated with Mary: Mary, Queen of Apostles (the Saturday after the Ascension) and the Visitation.  Pope Francis has also added to the universal Church calendar the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church, which is to be celebrated the day after Pentecost. Pope Francis was promoting this devotion to “encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety.”

Holy Family Catholic Community will walk with Mary in the month of May in three ways: First, invite and encourage families to pray the Rosary together every day; second, pray the rosary 30 minutes before every weekday and weekend celebration of the Eucharist (Mass) in all our FOUR CHURCHES. Third, as part of the crowning of Mary, Our Faith Formation children will crown and present flowers to the Blessed Mother at the Sunday Mass (May 3rd) at Sacred Heart, Perkinsville. A statue of Mary is honored with a wreath of blossoms or flowers to indicate Mary’s virtues, virtues that are to be imitated by the faithful. The act of crowning is also rooted in the view of Mary as the Queen of Heaven. This sacred act of Crowning the blessed Mother will also be done in our other three Churches on the weekend of May 2/3^rd  at the beginning of the Eucharistic Celebration.

In accord with a long-standing tradition of devotion, parishes and families continue to make the month of May a ‘Marian’ month, celebrating it with many devout liturgical, catechetical, and pastoral initiatives. The Son is not found apart from His Mother.  Our Lord gave us His Mother to be our Mother; He wants us to honor her.  Mary doesn’t keep anything for herself, besides, any honor that we give to her, ultimately is given to God, Who has done great things for her.  Whatever path we take with Mary this May, let it be a reawakening of the Church’s love for our mother. She is awaiting our answer to her invitation to walk with us, her children.

Mary is, for us, a most powerful intercessor with the Lord.  No one was ever closer to Jesus, than His Mother.  She carried Him in her womb for nine months.  Mary wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, she fed Him, and she carried Him in her arms.  Mary took Him to the Temple; she protected Him and she taught Him.  She was there when He learned to walk; she was there when He said His first words.  She poured upon Him all the tenderness of the best of mothers as He grew up.  She was there when He performed His first public miracle, in fact, it was at her request that He performed it and His disciples began to believe in Him.  She was there at the foot of the Cross, when all the Apostles save Saint John abandoned Him.  She was near her Son as He was lifted up upon the Cross and died in order to win our Salvation.  Now, in Heaven, Mary sits at Jesus’ right hand.  Jesus loves His Mother.  She was perfectly obedient to Him at every moment of her life.  Jesus loves her and He refuses her nothing.

May is a month when we turn to Mary in a special way. May is an opportunity from God to grow in our relationship with Mary—Our Mother. The best way to honor Our Lady is to imitate her.  Mary is a model of all virtues.  She lived her life for God alone.  No one has ever loved Jesus as perfectly as she did.  She completely surrendered herself to God.  She had total confidence and trust in Him.  In order to honor her, we should strive to give our hearts completely to her and through her to God.  Mary’s greatest desire for us is that the perfect image of the heart of Christ, her Son, would be reproduced in our hearts.  Pope Francis told priests, nuns, and seminarians that one way to make sure Jesus is the center of their lives is to ask “his mother to take you to him. A priest, a brother, a nun who does not love Mary, who does not pray to her — I would even say one who does not recite the rosary — well, if you don’t love the mother, the mother will not give you the Son.

During her life Mary continually contemplated Christ in her heart.  (cf. Luke 2:19, ff.)  In imitation of Our Lady, we should always have our eyes fixed on Christ; we should continually contemplate His life, death and Resurrection.  The Rosary is a wonderful tool which we have been given to do just that: meditate upon Our Lord. The Rosary is a prayer which is meant to help us contemplate Christ.  It is clearly Marian in nature, and yet all the mysteries attempt to help us focus on some aspect of Christ’s life.  The Rosary offers us the opportunity to contemplate the mysteries of Christ so that we can more perfectly imitate Christ in our lives. The Rosary is also a great way to honor Our Lady and obtain her powerful intercession for ourselves as well as for others. Saint John Paul II said: “To pray the Rosary is to hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and His Mother.”  (Rosarium Virginis Mariae # 25) Let us also pray for our Graduating Candidates as we turn to Our Blessed Mother to intercede for them. God Bless. Fr. John

Mission Statement

To live the Great Commandment
Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  And
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
Matthew 22: 37-38