Dear Parishioners:
The old adage says: "April showers bring May flowers." The Month of May begins this week as the flowers begin to bloom. But many other things are blooming here at Our Lady of Mercy!
It is a centuries-old custom of Catholics to dedicate the month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The month of May is always part of the Easter season, the fifty days we celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord. It is also a time of awaiting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. May as a Marian month fits well with the liturgical celebrations of Easter and Pentecost as we recall Mary's great joy in her Son's victory over death and her presence with the apostles in the upper room, prayerfully awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
In 1965, Saint Pope Paul VI wrote an encyclical entitled Mense Maio on the month of May. He writes that May is an 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."
May is the Month of Mother Mary! It's a time to take out our Rosary, dust it off, and put it to work, praying for Mother Mary's powerful intercession. Also, May is the time to come to May Devotions! Each Monday night at 7:00 pm we gather as a parish family under the patronage of Our Lady in adoration of the Eucharistic Lord, pray the Rosary, and receive Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. It is a beautiful and prayerful way to express our devotion to the Mother of God!
During May, we celebrate the First Holy Communion for the children of our parish family. It is always a joyful and faith-filled day for the First Communion Class and their families. We celebrate with two Frist Communion Masses this year on Saturday, May 13th. Please continue to pray for the First Communion Class as they prepare for this important day.
The late Pope Benedict XVI spoke to a First Communion Class in Rome. He told the children: "I remember my First Communion day very well. It was a lovely Sunday in March 1936. It was a sunny day, and the Church looked very beautiful. But at the heart of my joyful and beautiful memories is this one: I understood that Jesus had entered my heart. He had actually visited me. And with Jesus, God himself was with me. And I realized that this is a gift of love that is truly worth more than all the other things that life can give."
We honor the great gift of Motherhood on Mother's Day in May. On Mother's Day, the First Communion Class will celebrate the May Crowning at the 10:30 am Mass. It is always a beautiful ceremony as we crown our Blessed Mother on Mother's Day as Queen of Heaven and Earth. The May Crowning expresses Mother Mary's significance in the Church and our lives. A traditional celebration of her Queenship as the Mother of Jesus Christ. We sing those beautiful words of the hymn Bring Flowers of the Rarest: "O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today! Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May."
Memorial Day is also in May. It is a day for patriotism and pride as we honor and remember those men and women who have died while serving in the United States armed forces. We prayerfully recall the sacrifice so many men and women made to preserve freedom and liberty for our nation and many others worldwide.
President Ronald Reagan spoke of its meaning at a Memorial Day Service at Arlington National Cemetery: "The United States and the freedom for which it stands, the freedom for which they died, must endure and prosper. Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost; it imposes a burden. And just as they whom we commemorate were willing to sacrifice, so too must we—in a less final, less heroic way—be willing to give of ourselves."
April Showers, do bring May Flowers! The flowers of family, faith, devotion, love, and sacrifice bloom at OLM in May! Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Sox! Go Bruins!