May Crowning

May is not only the month that we honor all mothers on Mother's Day. It is also the month that Catholics honor Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of all Christians, in a special way. At the foot of the cross before Jesus died, he gave Mary to the apostle John as his mother, and John to Mary as her son. We are all called to be apostles; therefore, just like the apostle John we take Mary into the home of our hearts as our heavenly Mother, and we become her sons and daughters, asking her help in leading us closer to Christ and living as Christ lived. That was and is Mary's only mission: bringing Christ to the world and the world to Christ.

The school that our boys attend is a beautiful, traditional Catholic school that celebrates the month of May by crowning Mary and Jesus and laying flowers at their feet in honor of our love for them. Symbolically, we are crowning Jesus and Mary as King and Queen of our hearts. I love how the Catholic Church often uses tangible symbols and actions to represent intangible truths which help to remind our hearts of what is important, to make the mysteries of the faith take root more deeply.

Michael's 2nd grade class was given all the special duties during the Mass...bringing up the candles, presenting the gifts for the altar, and reading the Bible readings...because they all received their 1st Holy Communion this month. Michael was beaming with holy pride, and I was so glad my husband had the day off from work so he could come to Mass and be a part of this special celebration. It was very touching to see all the students at the school bring a flower to lay at the feet of Jesus and Mary while we all sang the traditional hymn "Queen of the May," which dates back to the 13th century. It made me so thankful that our children have such a wonderful school to attend where they are receiving an excellent education and having their souls fed and led toward heaven all at the same time!

QUEEN OF THE 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

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

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