The Sacred Heart of Mary is seen in a stained-glass window at Sacred Heart Church in Honolulu. (Jennifer Rector / Hawaii Catholic Herald)
By Jennifer Rector
Hawaii Catholic Herald
May often arrives with blooming flowers, a feminine and subtle reminder of Mother’s Day — one day out of 31 when we celebrate some of the most important women in our lives. The Catholic Church takes it a step further by celebrating Mary, the mother of God, all month long.
Throughout May, traditions honoring Mary include consecrations, crowning her in flowers, praying rosaries and celebrating feast days.
This monthlong devotion dates to the earliest missionaries in ancient Greece.
In the early church, the month of May was originally dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of fertility. To convert the country away from its pagan traditions, early missionaries dedicated the month to Mary instead.
Centuries later, the Catholic Church continues to honor our Blessed Mother, recognizing the miracle God did through her.
According to Robert Fastiggi, a professor of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit and former president of the Mariological Society of America, St. Teresa of Kolkata offered the simplest, clearest explanation for why Catholics give so much attention to Mary: “No Mary, no Jesus.”
In an article for OSV News, Fastiggi also mentioned St. Thomas Aquinas’ teaching: that God chose to redeem humanity by becoming human himself through Mary.
“If God freely chose to redeem us by ‘being born of a woman,’” Fastiggi wrote, “then it necessarily follows that this woman, Mary, is central to his salvific plan.”
Hawaii’s deep connection
In the Diocese of Honolulu alone, there are 27 parishes named after Mary — in addition, the patroness of Hawaii is Our Lady of Peace.
There are also religious orders and associations within the Diocese of Honolulu that are forever committed to their devotion to Mary, not just in May.
“I was 11 years old when I first joined the Legion of Mary junior praesidium in the Philippines,” said Nita Ayag, president of the Legion of Mary association in Hawaii.
“I saw the young ladies coming together every morning in my parish for prayer and daily Mass. I desired to join them in their prayer and be a part of them, so when a member approached and invited me to join, I was ready,” she said.
“Since then, I have been an active member of this beautiful and rewarding apostolate, the Legion of Mary,” Ayag said. “I realized the immensity of our Blessed Mother’s love for me and her constant care and protection.”
For others, a devotion to Mary did not come until later in life.
“I am a cradle Catholic, but I didn’t have a true devotion to Our Lady until college when I promised to pray the rosary daily,” said Esther Gefroh, co-director of the World Apostolate of Fatima-Hawaii division.
“For many years it was just to keep my promise that I pray the rosary … in a hurry, distracted and with no meditation at all. But by the grace of God and Our Lady’s help, they answered my pleas to help me meditate on the rosary,” said Gefroh.
Her love for Mary only grew from there, which led her to the World Apostolate of Fatima.
“The WAF Hawaii division has members all over the islands but mainly on Oahu, who have the responsibility of praying the ‘Blue Army’ pledge daily, wearing the brown scapular, offering up our daily duties as a sacrifice in reparation, praying the rosary daily and complying with the ‘Five First Saturdays Devotion’ in reparation, as requested by Our Lady of Fatima,” Gefroh said.
The Legion of Mary and WAF often team up to accomplish the same goals: prayer and devotion to Mary.
“The objective of the Legion is to give (the) ‘glory of God through the holiness of its members developed by prayer and active cooperation with the church.’ Members are not only praying but are actively involved in the ministries of the parish,” Ayag said.
Reconciliation, service
La Salette Father Augustine Uthuppu, pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Lihue, also serves his parish in honor of Mary.
As a Missionary of Our Lady of La Salette, he said he finds opportunities for his parishioners to encounter Christ through Mary.
“I always promoted the holy rosary in the parishes I was assigned to and novenas in her honor. I also led four Marian pilgrimages from Hawaii to European Marian shrines,” Father Uthuppu said. “Mary has been an important role in my life especially as a priest.”
The La Salette order is unique in that its founder was Mary herself.
“Our Lady of La Salette Missionaries was established after the apparition of our Blessed Mother at La Salette on Sept. 19, 1846, in a village called La Salette, France,” said Father Uthuppu.
Her message to two children, Maximin and Melanie, was about reconciliation.
Father Uthuppu said she was seen by the children crying sitting on a stone. She was wearing a cross with a hammer and pincer on both sides of the cross, a sign of reconciliation with God and one another.
The hammer was a sign of the nailing on the cross because of our sins. The pincer was a sign of removing those nails by seeking forgiveness from God.
This symbolism became the charism of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette.
“Our devotion to our Blessed Mother is through her message at La Salette” of reconciliation, Father Uthuppu said.
The Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians, or MCMHC, are called to inspire people to live with dignity and honor.
“After Jesus, Mary has had such an influence over humanity and her maternal presence and actions have been a source of spiritual strength and inspiration for millions around the globe,” said Sister Marykutty Kottuppallil.
“Our mission is realized through evangelization and catechesis with special emphasis on visiting families, educational institutions, boarding houses, youth ministry, health centers, vocational training centers, centers for the differently abled and rendering adequate assistance to the youth and children at risk,” Sister Kottuppallil explained.
The sisters’ calling is inspired by Mary’s surrender to serve others, specifically in the example of running with haste to see her cousin Elizabeth who was with child.
“Mary’s immediate journey to Elizabeth after the Annunciation reflects her faith and understanding that the gift she received from God is not just a privilege but a duty to serve others selflessly,” Sister Kottuppallil said. “Attentive to the way God is calling us, we go in haste, but always carrying the Lord with us, to those in our missionary settings to strengthen the ones most in need of our care.”
Throughout the years, Sister Kottuppallil has grown to see Mary as a companion on her journey. “She is there every step of the way, inspiring and leading me to the Lord and to those whom I minister,” she said.
After years of serving others, Sister Kottuppallil said she hopes one thing is clear: that people can always count on Mary to guide them back to her son.
“This is far more important than anything else I could say — is there a particular problem, worry, a heartache even, that you are carrying? Entrust this burden, whatever it is, to Mary. Invite her to deal with it as she sees fit. Ask her ‘to show herself a mother’ — and not only a mother, but your mother,” said Sister Kottuppallil.
A statue of Mary and Jesus is seen at Sacred Heart Church in Honolulu. (Jennifer Rector / Hawaii Catholic Herald)
Mary’s ‘yes’ to God
Marianist Father Martin Solma also finds this true in his own life.
“Anyone whom Jesus loves also has Mary as his own mother,” said Father Solma. “Mary is, first, mother, the one who forms us into the likeness of Jesus. She is sister in that she shows us how to respond with our own ‘yes’ to God. She is queen, the first and ideal disciple of the Lord.”
The Society of Mary’s mission is to inspire Mary’s “fiat” to others.
“It was through her and her ‘yes’ to God that the incarnation happened, and the mystery of God took on flesh,” Father Solma said. “Like her, we Marianists seek to bring Jesus to birth … in every time and place. We strive to grow in her virtues of openness, availability, hospitality and faith.”
He and several other brothers serve at Chaminade University, established by the Society of Mary in 1955. Father Solma is the chaplain and a member of the campus ministry there.
The university is named after the Society of Mary’s founder, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade. Father Solma said he had a deep devotion to Mary.
“Father Chaminade said, ‘What a powerful means it is for arriving at the likeness to Jesus Christ to have for our mother the very mother of Jesus.’ I cannot think of a better vocation to have!” Father Solma said.
