May - The Month of Our Blessed Mother Mary

By TOM DENNEHY

May is one of the most beautiful months of the year when hedgerows are in full bloom and nature gives glory to God. May is also a very special month because we honour Mary, our Blessed Mother. We want to give thanks to Mary because she loves us and protects us.

Mary is the one who said Yes to God’s plan for the salvation of the entire world. Her “Yes” gave birth to God’s son, Jesus, which enabled Him to come down from Heaven and become one of us. He taught us how to love and forgive and He died on the cross for us. Jesus gave us His Mother at the foot of the cross when He said to St. John, “Behold your mother.” John 19:27.

Mary as Mother of Sorrows understands all our pain and suffering as her heart was pierced as she watched her Son die on the cross. One of the great devotions to Mary is The Seven Sorrows of Mary which can be recited every day and attaches great promises. Mary loves us all dearly. She tells us in Medjugorje, “If you knew how much I love you, you would cry with joy”.

She is our protector from all evil influences. When we recite the litany in the rosary, we honour her with fifty different titles She is Mediatrix of all graces- the dispenser of all graces from on high. One of her titles is “Mother of Divine Grace”. She is continuously interceding for us.

Mary has appeared more than two thousand times all over the world. Many of these are private apparitions. We are familiar with Lourdes, Fatima and Medjugorje, all places of pilgrimage and miraculous healing. Her appearance at Knock gave us great hope during a very difficult time in our history.

A grotto of the Virgin Mary; - Tubrid Well, Millstreet, Co. Cork.

She asks us to pray for the conversion of sinners and she wants to bring us all to know and to love her Son Jesus truly present at Mass in the Holy Eucharist. Power of the Rosary. The rosary is our greatest prayer next to the Holy Mass. It is our greatest weapon to bring about peace in the world ravaged by war in these times. We can help Our Lady to overcome the battle against evil in the world and she has promised us, “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” By praying the rosary, Mary, as Queen of Heaven and Earth will intercede for us. We give our prayer to her for her intentions, and she will give our prayers to Jesus. St. Louise De Montford in his teachings on Mary tells us that without Mary, our actions and intentions are of little value but if we go to Jesus through Mary, our work will be Mary’s work and consequently it will be “most worthy of God”. There are fifteen specific promises attached to the rosary given by Our Lady to Saint Dominic. Our Lady tells us nothing is impossible by praying the rosary. We show our love for Mary when we pray the rosary, we bring great peace into our lives. We meditate on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and Mary’s role as Mother of God and our mother. In all her apparitions, she pleads with us to pray the rosary every day.

We sing beautiful songs in her honour. “Bring flowers of the rarest, bring blossoms the fairest……Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May”. So, for the month of May, let us all make a special effort. Switch off your phone and turn off the television. However, busy your day is, you can surely spend some time with Our Lady. Create a May altar in your home and adorn it with flowers and a statue of Mary. Why not pray the rosary (even if you begin with one decade) when you are at home or driving along in your car or going for a walk. We encounter a peace that only God can give, no matter how anxious or troubled we may be. It will change your world and the lives of those around you.