Madonna and Child stained glass window at Annunciation Church in Waimea, Hawaii, by Calley O’Neill. Image used with permission: CalleyONeill.com/CalleyONeillStainedGlassandMosaic.com
CHURCH SOCIAL TIPS
May is associated with our earthly mothers as the secular world devotes Mother’s Day to celebrate moms. But when it comes to our heavenly mother, the Catholic Church designates the entire month of May in celebration of the Virgin Mary. On May 1 this year, we joined the U.S. bishops in prayer to renew the consecration of our country to Our Lady.
And in the climate of COVID-19, Pope Francis invites us to call on our heavenly mother to intercede for our world in this time of crisis:
“Dear brothers and sisters, contemplating the face of Christ with the heart of Mary our Mother will make us even more united as a spiritual family and will help us overcome this time of trial. I keep all of you in my prayers, especially those suffering most greatly, and I ask you, please, to pray for me.” (Pope Francis, April 25, 2020)
Our Blessed Mother has always been a source of hope for a world in crisis. As Catholics we believe that praying the rosary connects us to Jesus through the heart of his mother.
Many popes have had a great devotion to Mary and advocated praying the rosary for her intercession. In fact, St. John Paul II designated 2002 as the year of the rosary. Subsequently, both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have also called upon the faithful to embrace the recitation of the holy rosary as a family heirloom of our faith, handed down through the generations.
During this pandemic I saw the power of the rosary and witnessed the generations coming together to pray it for the healing of our pastor in California, who contracted coronavirus and was hospitalized. About 190 families joined in on Zoom to pray the rosary, with kids leading each of the decades, and the very next day he was discharged from the hospital. Imagine the spiritual lesson these children learned and how it will serve as a reference for leaning on our Blessed Mother in times of trial.
There have also been many Marian apparitions to people around the world that served to convert or bolster the faith of those who beheld her appearance. This month on May 13 we observe one of the most embraced apparitions as we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. The humble Fatima prayer, “O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy. Amen,” is offered at the end of every decade of the rosary, underscoring the importance and validity of this apparition to the faithful.
I often hear from people from other faith traditions who allege that Catholics “worship” Mary and that it is some form of idolatry. This allegation can turn some Catholics away from the recitation of this cornerstone prayer of our faith tradition. To be clear, we do not worship Mary, we honor her! Just as we honor our earthly mothers.
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, pray for us.
Hayes-Peirce is a social media strategist based in California.
