May is the Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God

I’ve been doing these monthly posts every month, for so long (9 or 10 years), that I am starting to feel the need to shake it up somehow…maybe literally?  What if I come up with a bunch of ideas regarding the monthly themes, and pick them out of a hat (or a plastic cup)?   Let me make a list of what these could be:

1) Refer to an old post on this blog.

2) What does the old Catholic Encyclopedia have to say?

3) What does Fr. John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary have to say?

4) What does the Catechism have to say?

5) What have the Church Fathers or saints had to say about this topic?

6) What about Holy Scripture?

7) Has the Church made official pronouncements related to the theme?

8) Can I recommend some books or other products?

9) Is there a traditional hymn?

10) Is there text from the Mass, a prayer or a devotion?

11)  What does EWTN have to say?

12)  What does the Vatican News have to say?

13)  What about history relating to this monthly dedication?

14)  How does the theme relate to the Liturgical Calendar (this could be challenging)?

15)  How does it relate to the Pro-Life cause?

16)  Is there an apostolate or religious order dedicated to this person or gift of our Faith?

17)  Is there a location we could focus on?

18)  Can we come up with new ideas on how to celebrate the theme in a family or seasonal way?  Can we work it into our homeschooling? 

Okay, I am liking this idea, so let’s put it into action RIGHT NOW!  I will have my husband Don pick it out of a cup (they will be eliminated as we go)….. 

He Picked Traditional Hymn! 

That is such a great (and easy) one for Our Lady.  It’s a great idea to learn prayers in Latin, and here is a wonderful one below.  The Latin language is lyrical by nature, and lends itself to song.  The words here are so beautiful, they speak to the glory of the Mother of God.  Simply articulating these words seems to open up the clouds… 

Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria”

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum.

Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus nunc, ​et in hora mortis nostrae.

Amen. 

In this month of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we celebrate Our Lady of Fatima on the 13th, which is the date of her first apparition.  This year, this is also the Vigil of the Ascension and a Lesser Rogations Day.  Are we to be joyful or penitential?  You decide.  We have one more Marian feast in the post-conciliar calendar, Mary Mother of the Church, on the 25th (which is also +Memorial Day+ and within the Octave of Pentecost in the trad).  It is fitting that Mothers Day is in Our Lady’s month and don’t forget Saint Monica on the 4th, known for being the great mother of Saint Augustine. 

As touched upon above, the Ascension of Our Lord, Ascension Thursday, is the 14th, with some dioceses transferring it to Sunday, the 17th.  Pentecost Sunday is the 24th (with a vigil) and the Most Holy Trinity, the 31st.   

This is an interesting month, in that we have both the Lesser Rogation Days and the Ember Days (being more specific to the seasons).  Double prayer and penance, 3 days each (do a search on this blog for more info).  

The US Armed Forces Day is the 16th.  Please remember our young men and women in prayer. 

We can take all these opportunities this month to pray and sacrifice for world peace and an abatement of the looming energy, supply and food crisis, what we might call polycrises or multi-front attack vectors (some entity is pulling the strings to create a perfect storm, if you are paying attention, this is very obvious…and that entity is ultimately Satan).  Our Lady of Fatima, to whom this ministry is dedicated and who we honor this month, gave us the antidote to these times in her requests!

Some other notable feasts this month:  

5th-Pope Saint Pius V

11th-Saints Philip & James, Apostles

11th to 13th-Lesser Rogations

15th-Saint Isidore the Farmer (we like him, post-con)  Saint Isidore, pray for those who are now vulnerable to hunger, due to the lack of, or the expense of fertilizer or other needed supplies in food production and transport.

18th-Pope Leo XIV, Inauguration Anniversary

27th, 29th, 30th-Ember Days of the Coming Summer

*** Prepper Challenge for Spring *** 

With current events in mind, it’s the same as it was for March & April...Make a plan! 

“15 Points Preparedness Worksheet” 

“Biblical Support for Preparedness” 

~ Noah was the original prepper ~

May is the Month of Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary

May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, but begins with a feast of her earthly spouse, Saint Joseph the Worker.  This feast was instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1955 and remains the same in the post-Conciliar calendar.  Here is some of the original text:

“Wisdom rendered to the just the wages of their labours and conducted them in a wonderful way; and she was to them for a covert by day and for the light of stars by night; alleluia, alleluia.  Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.”

“O God, Creator of all things, who didst lay on the human race the law of labour:  graciously grant; that by following the example of Saint Joseph and under his patronage, we may carry out the work Thou dost command, and obtain the reward Thou dost promise.”

“Obtain for us, Joseph, grace to lead an innocent life; and may it ever be shielded by thy patronage.”

“From the work of our hands we offer sacrifice to Thee, O Lord; through the mediation of Saint Joseph may it be a pledge for us of union and peace.”

“Grant, O Lord, that what we have received may, by the intercession of blessed Joseph, crown our work and confirm our reward.”

The 11th is World Day of Prayer for Vocations, much needed.  The 15th is Saint Isidore the Farmer, invoked by gardeners and homesteaders…a great one for the topics we concern ourselves with here.  He is not to be confused with Saint Isidore, Archbishop of Seville and Doctor of the Church.  However, Isidore the Farmer was named after him, also being from Spain. 

The ASCENSION OF OUR LORD, on Thursday the 29th, is a Holyday of Obligation in the following provinces:  Boston, Hartford, New York, Omaha, and Philadelphia.  All other US provinces transfer the feast to Sunday, June 1st.  Ascension Thursday also possesses a vigil.

Remember the Major Rogation Day last month?  This month, the 26th, 27th and 28th are the Minor or Lesser Rogation Days.  They are traditional celebrations, similar to the Ember Days, in performing prayer and penance related to the season and the harvest.  I found a fabulous article at Catholic Culture connecting Saint Isidore the Farmer to the Rogation Days.  Here you will find references to the life of Saint Isidore and his wife Saint Maria de la Cabeza, the sanctity of the agrarian life, the liturgy of Saint Isidore, the Catholic Rural Life ministry, liturgical aspects of the Rogation Days and a number of links to prayers, more info on Rogation Days and Catholicism/Agrarianism…highly recommended reading…

SAINT ISIDORE THE FARMER & ROGATION DAYS

And now for OUR LADY…We have 3 Marian feasts:  Fatima on the 13th  (which celebrates the first of the 6 visions), and the Visitation & the Queenship of Our Lady on the 31st.  The 3rd is the First Saturday of the Immaculate Heart.  The First 5 Saturdays Communion of Reparation is one of Mary’s Fatima requests.  So in this month of Our Lady and the Fatima feast, isn’t it a great time to begin this devotion?  Check if your local parish performs this-if not, maybe you could start it!  See “Fatima Family Holy Hour” topic to the right>>> for a Fatima program we posted several years ago…to be done on the 13th of each month from May to October, including PDF’s.

Other notable feasts of May, in the trad and “new” calendars:

3rd-Saints Philip & James, Apostles

11th-Saints Philip & James, Apostles (trad)

14th-Saint Matthias, Apostle who replaced Judas

HOMESCHOOL ACTIVITIES FOR MAY

1)       Draw a picture of Our Lord’s Ascension.

2)      What were Our Lady of Fatima’s 4 main requests?

3)      Write an essay on the story of the 6 Fatima apparitions.  Follow this composition format:  Intro paragraph, 1 paragraph per apparition, concluding paragraph.