We all know that
May is the month of Mary, but did you know that it is also called the month of
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament? It was Saint Peter Julian Eymard who gave
this title to the Blessed Mother in May 1868 so that her relationship to the
Holy Eucharist could become a role model for her children.
"Consequently,
every time we approach the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharistic Liturgy, we also
turn to her who, by her complete fidelity, received Christ’s sacrifice for the whole church. The
synod fathers rightly declared that 'Mary inaugurates the Church’s participation in
the sacrifice of the Redeemer.' She is the Immaculata, who receives God’s gift
unconditionally and is thus associated with his work of salvation. Mary of
Nazareth, icon
of the nascent
church, is the model for each of us, called to receive the gift that Jesus makes of himself in
the Eucharist."
Pope Benedict XVI,
Sacramentum Caritatis, 33
Fr. H. O’Laverty tells us in his book, “The Mother of God
and Her Glorious Feasts”:
The month of May has been set apart by the Church for the
special devotion to the Mother of God. This whole month has been given to Mary.
It has recently been called the month of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament….The
Blessed Sacrament is the greatest of all the treasures in the Church. It is the
source of practically all graces and the consolation of the faithful in this
land of exile. We must thank Mary for the Blessed Eucharist. Mary gave Jesus to
the world. She offered Him in the Temple on the feast of the Presentation, and
she consummated or fulfilled that offering on the first Good Friday…. The title
of the month of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament is appropriate also for
another reason. We always notice that those who are Mary’s children and those
who give her some marks of their affection are also known to be specially
devoted to the Blessed Eucharist. It would seem that Mary brings her children
to this source of all grace and sanctification, and in the same way Jesus
wishes that those who are devoted to Him should also be devoted to His own
sweet Mother Mary….May the month of Mary be truly and sincerely devoted to
Mary, and may this sweet Mother lead us to the feet of Jesus, and there we
shall dwell within the very Heart of God and our faults shall be consumed in
the flames of the love of the Sacred Heart….Mary’s children will still erect
altars in their homes during Our Lady’s month, and the family Rosary will still
be recited in the homes of the faithful. These little practices of devotion to
Mary have sown the seeds of holiness in families, and the picture of Mary and the
devotion to her has sanctified many humble homes and has been one of the best
allurements towards a life of virtue and self-denial. (Tan Books and Publishers,
1987)
|
Bring Flowers of
the Rarest
This hymn is sung during
the "May Crowning" -- the crowning of a statue of Mary in May.
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. Refrain: 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. Our voices ascending, In harmony blending, Oh! Thus may our hearts turn Dear Mother, to thee; Oh! Thus shall we prove thee How truly we love thee, How dark without Mary Life's journey would be. Refrain O Virgin most tender, Our homage we render, Thy love and protection, Sweet Mother, to win; In danger defend us, In sorrow befriend us, And shield our hearts From contagion and sin. Refrain Of Mothers the dearest, Oh, wilt thou be nearest, When life with temptation Is darkly replete? Forsake us, O never! Our hearts be they ever As Pure as the lilies We lay at thy feet. Refrain |
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