Pope to initiate Marian Month of May

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Pope Francis announced …
“Dear brothers and sisters, day after tomorrow, May 1, in the afternoon, I will initiate the Marian Month with a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love,” the Holy Father proclaimed. “We will pray the Rosary, praying in particular for peace in Syria and in the whole world. I invite you to unite yourselves spiritually and to prolong throughout the month of May the prayer of the Rosary for peace.” (from Zenit, today)
May the universal Church unite with the Pope spiritually and prolong the prayer of the Rosary for peace!
 
You are very welcome, CajunJoy! Thanks for your reply.

Hopefully, many will spiritually unite with the Pope not only on May 1, but through the month of May and forward – through every day God gives us! Let us daily pray the Rosary as Mary requested at Fatima, with great devotion and attention to the mysteries of her life with Jesus and ponder all He said and did as Mary pondered all things in her heart.

Mary, Mother and Model for the Church, pray for us!
 
Thanks! Hopefully we can have peace, but peace shall only truly come when all accept Christ as King and Lord.
 
Dear Kei,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, Peace is a hope we can rightly have in God. Yet, He looks for our cooperation for He is a God of Love and Wisdom.

It is good for the Pope to look to Mary especially during this month of May which begins tomorrow and to pray the Rosary especially for those suffering in Syria and to ask us to unite ourselves spiritually not only in tomorrow’s prayer but through the month of May, continuing to pray the Rosary for peace in the world.

It seemed good to remind Catholics especially of the approved apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima. It was to three shepherd children that she appeared in 1917:
Lucia was now ten years old, Francisco would be nine in June and Jacinta had just turned seven in March, when on May 13th, 1917, they chose to pasture their sheep in a hilly depression owned by Lucia’s father and known as the Cova da Iria, or Cove of Irene. It was there, with one exception, that the Blessed Virgin under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary appeared on six occasions in 1917.
EWTN has an excellent series on Fatima which may be helpful to you and others who may read this thread – particularly those who are unaware of the importance of these apparitions to our day! See: HERE

Thanks again for your reply, Kei. 🙂
 
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I want to note that May is an extra special month, because Francis has also instituted a new feast day, Mary Mother of the Church, on May 21. It is an important time to pray for the Church, and perhaps people will want to do a novena that culminates in that feast.
 
Dear Limoncello,

Thanks so much for your excellent suggestions! 🙂 For more on this new Marian celebrationl in honor Mary, see HERE
 
Dear Brittany,

Thanks for your reply and your effort to answer God’s call for all of us to “Be Holy as He is Holy” (cf 1 Peter 1:16). Thank you also for praying the Rosary which is such a powerful prayer. Mary asked the children at Fatima to pray the Rosary daily and I believe she asks the same of us because Mary knows that if we ponder the mysteries of the Rosary with attention and devotion, we will be doing as Mary herself did. She pondered in her heart, all that Jesus said and did.

St. Teresa of Avila in her classic work, “The Interior Castle” writes: “A prayer in which a person is not aware of Whom she is speaking to, what she is asking, who it is who is asking and of Whom, I do not call prayer however much the lips move.”

It seems to me your Rosary can include both your intention to grow holy and the intention for peace in Syria and in the world. It isn’t so much the number of prayers we pray as the attention and devotion we give God. 🙂
 
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Dear Sammy,

Thanks so much for your reply and for your continuing love of Mary our Mother and Model for the Church. Yes, I like the title and this new Memorial in honor of Mary, Mother of the Church:
The Monday after Pentecost will from now on be celebrated as the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of the Church, Pope Francis has declared.

In a decree issued on Saturday by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Robert Sarah wrote that the new celebration will “help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed, the Virgin who makes her offering to God.”

The Memorial will appear in all calendars and liturgical books for the celebration of the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.
Today is May 1, let us please not forget to join spiritually with the Pope in praying the Rosary today in particular for peace in Syria and in the whole world; and to prolong throughout the month of May the prayer of the Rosary for peace.

May 1 is also the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker. As spouse of the Vrigin Mary and Protector of the Child Jesus, let us honor dear St. Joseph in a special way, praying the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary today.
 
Dear OScarlett_nidiyilii,

Yes, today begins Mary’s Month and many remember singing that lovely hymn: QUEEN OF THE MAY / BRING FLOWERS OF THE RAREST - Mary E. Walsh - 1883 / Based on theTraditional 13th Century Catholic Hymn:
Bring flowers of the fairest
Bring flowers of the rarest
From garden and woodland
And hillside and vale
Our full hearts are swelling
Our Glad voices telling
The praise of the loveliest
Rose of the vale

O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May
O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May…
Please don’t forget to pray our Queen and Mother’s Rosary today on this first day of her month, uniting ourselves with the Pope’s praying the Rosary for Peace in Syria and in the whole world! Let us pray the Joyful Mysteries in particular to honor also Mary’s dear spouse and the protector of her and Baby Jesus, St. Joseph. May 1 is also the Memorail of St. Joseph the Worker! How humble and beautiful is the Holy Family!
 
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What a lovely hymn, I just listened to it—thank you for sharing! 🌷
 
Dear LittleFlower,

Thanks for your reply and your appreciation for this sweet hymn to our Blessed Mother whom we crown Queen of our hearts.

I was reminded – as I typed your username – of Mary’s apparition in Kibeho in Africa. In one of her apparitions she told one of the girls to water her flowers. The girl had been blessing the people who came to the site of the apparitions with holy water but she felt that Our Lady used word “flowers” to mean her “children” – the girl didn’t think she had enough holy water when all of a sudden the heavens opened and poured down rain. 🙂 (The Lord provides)

For mor on “Our Lady of Kibeho” see HERE
 
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O Mary Immaculate, help us be untouched by the world
that we can be consecrated to Your Son in a more
secure Union.
My current favorite verse of Scripture: “In Me(Jesus)
you’ll have Peace, in this world you’ll be Troubled,
but be of good courage, I(and Mary Immaculate)
have overcome the world” Jn. 16:33
 
I am joining the Holy Father in praying for Peace in Syria and other places and especially for the conversion of Muslims. It’s a long story.
But I thought May was already the Month for Mary. When I was in grade school we had processions and May crowning for Mary. Here at home I make rosary bracelets and place them like a crown on my Mary statue in the yard, along with an Ave Maria necklace I made for her. I just like to do it for myself… my DH thinks I’m a nut! This year, this month I’ll join my rosary to the Holy Father’s!
 
Dear Glam,

Thanks for your reply. It is not easy to be “in the world” and “not of it”, but God gives us His grace – the more we ask, in persevering faith, the more we receive. (cf Mt 7:7-11).

St. Louis de Montfort wrote in his treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin how total Consecration to Jesus through Mary is a perfect renewal of our Baptismal promises. Our Baptism was the beginning of our union with God and we were intended to keep growing – grace upon grace.

Yes, your quote from John’s Gospel is a powerful one – in fact chapters 13, 14, 15 and 16 of John’s Gospel, comprising the Last Supper Discourse is filled with so much it is an endless treasure for us! Mary also is such a blessing given to the Church as Mother and Model by Jesus from His Cross. The more we “Behold our Mother” the more we see how she helps us grow in holiness. We see in her the Perfection God desires for us; Mary is as we are called to be!
 
Dear petra,

Thanks for your reply. It was good to join with Pope Francis in spirit today as he prayed the Rosary for Syria in particular, but also for peace in all the world.

Yes, May has been for a long time the Month of Mary, but I think the Pope made the announcement, perhaps, to remind Catholics in particular, to remember the power of the Rosary and the honor we have given The Mother of God for centuries in the Catholic Church.

She is our Mother given to us by Jesus and she is ever interceding for us. Mary does not forget us “now and at the hour of our death”, but sadly some of us have not been as faithful as our Mother – we can forget her far too easily it seems. We can also forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering in this world and be too self-centered.

May our Mother Mary be for us always Mother and Model. That we may learn from her as she learned from Jesus, pondering in her heart, all He said and did on this earth – and living the Truth she saw and heard from Him. 🙂
 
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Pope Francis announced …
“Dear brothers and sisters, day after tomorrow, May 1, in the afternoon, I will initiate the Marian Month with a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love,” the Holy Father proclaimed. “We will pray the Rosary, praying in particular for peace in Syria and in the whole world. I invite you to unite yourselves spiritually and to prolong throughout the month of May the prayer of the Rosary for peace.”
RECITATION OF THE ROSARY LED BY POPE FRANCIS TO OPEN THE MARIAN MONTH

 
Dear Rob,

Thanks so much for the video of the Pope’s visit to the Shrine and the praying of the Rosary. I prayed my Rosary earlier this afternoon, joining in spirit with the Pope and others all over the world, but it was a joy to see the Shrine and the love of the People of God for our Mother and for the Vicar of Christ, this evening. How beautiful is the Body of Christ!

I do not speak Italian, but I could at least hear they were praying the Sorrowful Mysteries. The Latin I remembered from my school days was helpful in recognizing some words. The Sisters’ singing : “Ave, Ave, Ave Maria” was lovely. Thanks again, for sharing this. 🙂
 
Thank you so much for sharing this book and this apparition. 🌷

This month is such a special month, and you are very kind to take time in your day to show me these special things! :pray:t2:
 
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