May - Dedicated to Mary Our Mother

May is traditionally considered the month of Mary. We celebrate Mother’s Day. It is only fitting that we spend a month celebrating, especially the Mother who is a model for all mothers. At the foot of the cross, Mary was standing with the beloved disciple who represents each one of us. Jesus said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son.” And then to the beloved disciple - and each of us - “Behold your mother.” The Gospel then tells us, “From that hour the disciple took her into his home.” (John 19:26-27).

In May, Jesus specially invites us to take Mary into our homes. He asks us to show her special honor. He encourages us to receive her as our Mother in the spiritual life. He desires to let her lead us closer to the heart of Jesus.

How can we grow in devotion to Mary this month?

• Pray the rosary daily, either individually or as a family.
• Read the apostolic letter about the Rosary by St. John Paul II (Rosarium Virginis Mariae on the Most Holy Rosary (October 16, 2002) | John Paul II (vatican.va). You’ll learn new things about the Rosary and gain a new appreciation for this form of prayer.
• Read, “Prayers and Guidelines to Pray the Rosary” by the US Bishops Conference (How to Pray the Rosary | USCCB)
• Choose and meditate on one spiritual writing about Mary.
• If you live alone, invite others to join you in the rosary some days via an online platform.

The following passage is from “Learning to Trust from Mary: Meditations from the Rosary” by Fr. John Riccardo:

“Because no human person ever knew Jesus as she did, she was and is uniquely qualified to teach us how to trust.

She had to learn to trust that the message Gabriel delivered to her would come true. She would conceive in her womb a child without the aid of a man. She had to learn to trust when she saw Him on the way to Calvary, carrying a cross, unjustly condemned to death. She had to learn to trust when he was taken down from the Cross and placed in her arms, even as she once held

She held him in her arms when He was a child. She had to learn to trust when she tried to go to bed that first agonizing night after He died. She did not know that anything further was coming. She had to learn to trust when she woke up on the first day of the week, a day not yet known as Easter. Yes, Mary had to learn to trust. No one had to learn it more than she. No one saw God’s faithfulness more than she. She can teach us to trust as no one else can.”

If you already pray the rosary daily, renew that practice. We suggest especially that you pray a scriptural rosary this month.

Finally, we encourage you to begin or renew the practice of praying three Hail Marys each night, before you go to bed. With these three Hail Marys, we ask Our Mother to “tuck us in,” spiritually. We ask her to keep watch over our bodies and souls, especially asking for the gift of purity of body and soul.

Blessings and Peace to you as we journey together in Encountering Christ in Word, Liturgy, Charity, and Community. A Saint Monica Sojourner