May is the month of Mary, as many of you probably know. Many Catholic churches have ceremonies crowning a statue of Mary in their churches.
Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical on the Month of May, said that “During this month Christians, both in church and in the privacy of the home, offer up to Mary from their hearts an especially fervent and loving homage of prayer and veneration. In this month, too, the benefits of God’s mercy come down to us from her throne in greater abundance.”
Awesome – more of God’s mercy comes to us through Mary during May!
So how did May come to be known as this month dedicated to the Blessed Mother?
This Christian custom of dedicating the month of May to the Blessed Virgin arose at the end of the 13th century. In this way, the Church was able to Christianize the secular feasts which were wont to take place at that time. In the 16th century, books appeared and fostered this devotion.
The practice became especially popular among the members of the Jesuit Order — by 1700 it took hold among their students at the Roman College and a bit later it was publicly practiced in the Gesu Church in Rome. From there it spread to the whole Church.
The practice was granted a partial indulgence by Pius VII in 1815 and a plenary indulgence by Pius IX in 1859. With the complete revision of indulgences in 1966 and the decreased emphasis on specific indulgences, it no longer carries an indulgence; however it certainly falls within the category of the First General Grant of Indulgences. (A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who, in the performance of their duties and in bearing the trials of life, raise their mind with humble confidence to God, adding — even if only mentally — some pious invocation.
Excerpted from Enchiridion of Indulgences, courtesy of Catholic Culture
Many of the popes had great devotions to Mary, including the one a lot of us remember the most, Pope John Paul II. There are many anecdotal stories of priests and others praying the Rosary with him.
In May 2002 John Paul II said: “Today we begin the month dedicated to Our Lady a favourite of popular devotion. In accord with a long-standing tradition of devotion, parishes and families continue to make the month of May a ‘Marian’ month, celebrating it with many devout liturgical, catechetical and pastoral initiatives!”
If you are interested in deepening your devotion to the Blessed Mother, we highly recommend St. Louis de Montfort’s book True Devotion to Mary. It is an amazing little book that will certainly help you to grow in a deeper relationship to Jesus Christ through Mary.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners.
