The Gifts of Jesus

 

 

The Crowning of a Mother/Enric Monserday Vidal   

"Jesus Christ,

after having given us all He could give,

that is to say, the merit of His toils,

His sufferings, and bitter death;

after having given us His adorable body

and blood to be the food of our souls,

willed also to give us

the most precious thing He had left,

which was His holy Mother."

St. John Vianney

 

By tradition, the Catholic Church dedicates each month of the year to a certain devotion.  The month of May is the "month which the piety of the faithful has especially dedicated to Our Blessed Lady," and it is the occasion for a "moving tribute of faith and love which Catholics in every part of the world [pay] to the Queen of Heaven. 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 ...in greater abundance."

Paul VI: Encyclical on the Month of May, no. 1

Memorare

 Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions but in thy mercy hear and answer me.  Amen.