Month of May: Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary
The month of May is dedicated to honouring the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. The most commonly followed traditions of honouring the Blessed Virgin include praying the rosary, making a small altar in our home, adorning Mother Mary’s picture or statue with flowers, meditating on her virtues and seeking her intercession in our needs.
As Pope Paul VI in his encyclical dated 30 April 1965 wrote: “So, Venerable Brothers, let our prayers ascend to Mary in this month of hers, to implore her graces and favors with increased fervor and confidence. And if the grave faults of men weigh heavy in the scales of God's justice and provoke its just punishments, we also know that the Lord is 'the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort' (2 Cor. 1:3), and that Mary most holy is His appointed steward and the generous bestower of the treasures of His mercy. May she, who knows the sufferings and troubles of life here below, the weariness of everyday work, the hardships and privations of poverty, the sufferings of Calvary, bring help to the needs of the Church and the world, heed the appeals for peace rising to her from every part of the world, and enlighten those who rule the destinies of men. May she prevail on God, Lord of the winds and storms, to still also the tempests in men's conflicting hearts and 'grant us peace in our time', true peace based on the solid lasting foundations of justice and love—of justice granted to the weakest as to the strongest; and love which prevents egoism from leading men astray, so that each one's rights may be safeguarded without forgetfulness or denial of the rights of others.”
Among the other important feasts celebrated this month, we begin with the celebration of the Feast of Saint Joseph, the Worker on May 1. This day is dedicated to all those who labor to provide for their families and communities like Saint Joseph in whom we see a perfect role model of a humble carpenter who through his constant labor lovingly protected and provided for the Holy Family. May all our families and communities be a reflection of the Holy Family.
On 9 May, we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. On May 13, the Church commemorates the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima when she appeared to three children in 1917 at Fatima and gave her messages to the world through apparitions that occurred on 13th of every month from May to October of 1917. During these apparitions, Our Lady gave them several important messages on making reparation for the offenses committed by mankind against God, to pray the Rosary every day and practice devotion to her Immaculate Heart in order to have world peace.
On 24 May we celebrate the Feast of Mary Help of Christians, a title attributed to Our Lady for the victory of the Christian army. In 1572, during the invasion of the Islamic Ottoman Empire into Christian Europe, Pope Pius V invoked the intercession of the Virgin Mary under this title and the resulting victory of the Christian armies was attributed to this title.
Throughout this month we also prepare for an important feast, the Feast of Pentecost on Sunday 19 May. Like the disciples of Jesus, let us also devote our time in prayer and prepare for a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit on this feast day which is also a day to commemorate the birth of our Church (Acts 2).
Mother dear, we plead to you to intercede for us with your Beloved Son and restore our lives back to normalcy. May our prayers be heard and may God have mercy on the whole world. Amen.