As we enter the month of May, the first thing that comes to our mind is to associate May with our Blessed Mother and to celebrate May crowning, for example. And that is true. But why do we honor our Blessed Mother in a special way, especially during the month of May?
If we trace back in history, actually, our practice of honoring Mary during the month of May is an adaptation from the tradition which dates all the way back to the ancient Greeks when they dedicated the month of May to Artemis, the goddess of fecundity. Romans also claimed May to honor Flora, the goddess of bloom or blossoms. They celebrated “floral games” at the end of April and petitioned Flora’s intercession for all that blooms. In medieval times, a tradition arose of expelling winter at this time of the year, since May 1st was considered the beginning of new growth.
It was during the Middle Ages (11th century) that the idea of giving the month of May to Mary began with an old tradition, the “Thirty-Day Devotion to Mary”, which was originally held August 15thSeptember 14th. During the month, special devotions to Mary were organized, and this custom, which began in Italy, eventually spread elsewhere.
Although we don’t see Mary as a goddess of any sort – we do not worship her. We honor or venerate her as Jesus’ mother. We adapted the early Greek and Roman customs of honoring important women in their religions by honoring the most important woman in our religion - Mary. And why do we honor her? Here are some reasons why it makes sense for us to honor Mary this month.
1. Mary is Jesus’ mother. With her fiat, it made possible for our Lord to become the God-Man who was Crucified for our salvation.
2. She is the first and most perfect disciple. Her entire life was devoted to him and assisting him, in whatever way she could, to carry on his mission. Unaffected by Original Sin, she was able to perfectly open herself to God’s will.
3. She is our mother because we are all members of the Body of Christ. Since she gave birth to that Body, then she’s our mother, too. At the moment she gave her fiat, she became our mother in the order of grace. She may not have given birth to us physically, but she certainly has given birth to us spiritually. (CCC #964)
4. Not only is she our Mother, she is also our Helper and Mediatrix of all grace (CCC #969). When we re Course to her in prayer, she intercedes for us. She’s at work everyday, 24/7, anytime and anywhere for whatever we need.
For all these reasons and more, Mary deserves honor, not only during the month of May, but always. And so the question is, what will you do for her this May? How will you honor her in a more concrete way?
On May 13th, at 3:00 P.M., I invite you for the Dedication of Our Lady of Fatima, at Fr. Dom’s prayer garden, where we will do the recitation of the holy rosary and blessing of the image in honor of the 100th year of the Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. Afterwards, we will do the procession to the Church for mass at 4:00 P.M. Then we will do the crowning of Our Lady before the mass.