MAY, MONTH OF MOTHER MARY:
FLOWERS FOR OUR LADY.
Summary vid + full text.

“Woman, behold, your son!”  Then he said to the disciple,  “Behold, your mother!”  And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home  (Jn 19: 26-27).

All Christians, who are represented in the person of John, are children of Mary.  Our Lord declares that Mary is our mother.  By giving us his Mother to be our Mother,  Our Lord demonstrates  his love for his own to the end.  (cf. Jn 13:1).

During this month of May which the Church dedicates to Our Lady, let us take heed of Our Lord’s invitation to bring Mary into our lives and love her the way Our Lord did.

Decades ago, when I was still in a boy, I remember  that during this month dedicated to Our Lady by the entire Catholic Church, many kids in our village would gather at around 5pm in our village church and say the Holy Rosary. Then after praying, we would fall in line and start singing her a song and wait for our turn to offer a flower to Our Lady: flowers which we picked in our garden or in a neighbor’s garden (… 😀 we were kids and during this month flowers abound in the Philippines ) and then receive from the elders a plastic bag with cookies or candies!

WE, TOO, DURING THIS MONTH OF MAY, CAN OFFER TO OUR LADY A “BOUQUET OF FLOWERS”, not only the real ones, but also “SPIRITUAL” FLOWERS AS A SIGN OF OUR FILIAL LOVE AND AFFECTION towards Our Lady. These spiritual flowers could be:
– a loving filial glance to her everytime we see her pictures,  accompanied by short prayers like saying “I love you Ma, help me love Jesus more”…;
– a daily kiss to Our Lady everytime we see her picture or statue;
– a daily Marian prayer, say, the Holy Rosary, or the Regina coeli (Queen of heaven)
– a small sacrifice: offering Jesus through her a toothache or a headache, exerting effort to smile or be amiable to the people around us when we feel tired;
– perhaps a pilgrimage to a Marian shrine;
-a work of mercy (visit to the poor or the sick)…

Dear friends, as St. Josemaria wrote: “The month of May is beginning. Our Lord wants us to make good use of this opportunity to increase in his love through dealing with his Mother. Let’s try each day to show her, through little things, little attentions, that we, her children, love her, that our holiness and apostolate are becoming something real, that we are making a constant effort to contribute to the salvation which Christ has brought to the world (St. Josemaria, “Christ is Passing By”, n. 149).”

By doing so, we will make happy, not only Our Mother, but also Her Son, because our details of affection are a sure sign that we love whom Christ loves.

Cordially inviting you to like and follow
www.facebook.com/Catholicsstrivingforholiness and share our posts to help more people in their Catholic faith and love. Thanks and God bless! Fr. Rolly Arjonillo, priest of Opus Dei.

PHOTO CREDITS: The Crucifixion by Ann Chapin. All the rest, mine.