May: Mary's Month

Catholics don't worship Mary. But when it comes to the mother of Jesus, who told him to do something about the wine situation at that wedding in Cana: yeah, we think she's a pretty big deal.

For the last several centuries, we've set aside May as the month to concentrate more on the Blessed Lady.

"Month of Mary"
Catholic Culture

"The month of May (Overview - Calendar) 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 from her throne in greater abundance' (Paul VI: Encyclical on the Month of May, no. 1).

"This Christian custom of dedicating the month of May to the Blessed Virgin arose at the end of the 13th century. In this way, the Church was able to Christianize the secular feasts which were wont to take place at that time. In the 16th century, books appeared and fostered this devotion...."
(excerpted from the Enchiridion of Indulgences, via Catholic Culture)

Trying to figure out why Catholic churches had those statues of Mary - some apparently painted by a color-blind artist - led me to understanding what Catholicism is about, and eventually to my conversion. I've had a sort of soft spot in my heart for Mary, mother of Jesus, as far back as I can remember.

As for calling her "Mother of God?" She's the mother of Jesus. Jesus, as the second Person in the Trinity, is - God. His insistence that He is I AM is part of what got Him crucified.

So, since Jesus is God and Mary is Jesus' mother - "Mother of God" doesn't seem all that unreasonable to me, as a title. I've discussed Mary before. (August 11, 2009, for starters)

As for veneration of Mary getting in the way of Worshiping Jesus? I don't see it that way. At all. For almost two thousand years now, every time she's talked with people it's pretty much like it was back at Cana. She points to her Son and says, "...'Do whatever he tells you.' " (John 2:5)

Related posts:

• "Second Sunday of Easter 2010: and Mercy Sunday"
  (April 11, 2010)
• "The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: Yeah, It's Kind of a Big Deal"
  (January 1, 2010)
• "The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph"
  (December 27, 2009)
• "Our Lady of Guadalupe: Empress of the Americas"
  (August 11, 2009)
• "Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church: Yeah, She's Pretty Important"
  (August 11, 2009)