Hail, mother of mercy and of love, O Maria!

And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

Luke 1: 46-47

The Rosary Madonna

I love the month of May. It's such a gorgeous month outdoors -- for planting flowers, having family picnics and simply celebrating life. It's also the perfect time to celebrate our Blessed Mother. May Crownings, Mother's Day and the Feast of the Visitation are all perfect times to remember our Mother Mary. And while our family has a great devotion to Mary at all times, we really pay special tribute in May.

Pope Benedict XVI said of paying tribute to the Blessed Mother, "I would also like to express to Mary my gratitude for the support she offers me in my daily service to the Church. I know that I can count on her help in every situation; indeed, I know that she foresees with maternal intuition all her children's needs and intervenes effectively to sustain them: this has been the experience of the Christian people ever since its first steps in Jerusalem."

I think that Catholic mothers today have a special bond with our Blessed Mother, and find it so comforting to turn to her in our times of need, to ask for her intercession.

This month our family takes many opportunities to pay homage to our Holy Mother. During the month of May I always make sure that I have fresh flowers at our Mary altar. I consider fresh flowers, unless they are from our own gardens, a luxury. So, during most of the year I check the impulse to treat myself. But during May, I spend a bit each week to have fresh flowers for Mary. We'll also light a candle each evening.

My Mary altar today, with fresh flowers.

This statue of Mary was given to me by a family friend, Paulette.
It belonged to Paulette's own mother,
so it has a special place on my Mary altar.
I have several statues of Mary in our home,
but this one gets special attention in May.
(I don't know why Mary is looking so red in the face here.
She's not really that blush in person.)

In mid-May, the younger children and I will join Doug, Anthony, and the other boys at St. Charles when they pay tribute to Mary at their Marian Devotion this month. It is a beautiful outdoor service held at the grotto. The boys and the staff will say the Litany to Our Blessed Mother and sing hymns to Mary. I can honestly say there is not much that is more moving to a Catholic mother than watching 600+ young men singing "Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above."

We will also have our own May Crowning at home. Francis, Michael, and Peach will crown our school statue in the garden.

We will also do some reading on Mary this month. Mary the Mother of Jesus by Tomie de Paola is a great resource to teach the children about Mary's life.

And I've reserved from our library: Mary's Story by Sarah Jane Boss, Our Lady's Book by Lauren Ford, and Young Mary of Nazareth by Marianna Mayer. I have not personally read these last three, so I can not vouch for their Catholicity. I am just lucky to have found them at the library, as our library is not teeming with Catholic reading material.






I also found The World's First Love by Bishop Sheen for myself.


For more information on Mary's month and for some activity ideas go here and here. For a lovely display of May baskets, go see Alice and Dawn.