I think many of us know that May is the month of Mary, but not many of us know why it is. Here are some
insights into this, courtesy of the National Catholic Register, and Aletia.org.
The custom spans both centuries and cultures, with roots
going back as far as the Ancient Greeks. In early Greece, May was dedicated to
Artemis, the goddess of fecundity. In
Ancient Rome, May was dedicated to Flora, the goddess of blooms, or blossoms.
They celebrated ludi florals, or floral games, at the end of April and
asked the intercession of Flora for all that blooms.
In medieval times, similar customs abounded, all centering
around the practice of expelling winter, as May 1 was considered the start of
new growth. This was long before
“Mother’s Day” was ever conceived, though the modern celebration is closely
related to this innate desire to honor maternity during the spring months. During this period, the tradition of Tricesimum,
or “Thirty-Day Devotion to Mary,” came into being. Also called, “Lady Month,” the event was held
from August 15-September 14 and is still observed in some areas. It included thirty daily spiritual exercises
honoring Mary.
However, the idea of a calendar month dedicated specifically
to Mary didn’t come into play until the 18th century. It was in this era that Mary’s Month and May
were combined, making May the Month of Mary with special devotions organized on
each day throughout the month. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “The
May devotion in its present form originated at Rome where Father Latomia of the
Roman College of the Society of Jesus, to counteract infidelity and immorality
among the students, made a vow at the end of the eighteenth century to devote
the month of May to Mary. From Rome the practice spread to the other Jesuit
colleges and thence to nearly every Catholic church of the Latin rite.”
Various private devotions to Mary quickly became widespread
during the month of May, as it is recorded in the Raccolta, a
publication of prayers published in the mid-19th century. It is a well-known
devotion, to consecrate to most holy Mary the month of May, as the most beautiful
and florescent month of the whole year. This devotion has long prevailed
throughout Christendom; and it is common here in Rome, not only in private
families, but as a public devotion in very many churches. Pope Pius
VII, in order to animate all Christian people to the practice of a devotion so
tender and agreeable to the most blessed Virgin, and calculated to be of such
great spiritual benefit to themselves, granted, by a Rescript of the Segretaria
of the Memorials, March 21, 1815 (kept in the Segretaria of his Eminence the
Cardinal-Vicar), to all the faithful of the Catholic world, who either in
public or in private should honour the Blessed Virgin with some special homage
or devout prayers, or other virtuous practices.
So we see a connection here between Mary and the themes of
new life, springtime, maternity, and fruitfulness. It makes sense! Let us use the graces available this month
to counteract the anti-life and anti-motherhood mentality that has been unleashed in our times, and pray for a renewal of life and family
values in the world today.
