May 1

MARY: THE MOTHER OF GOD

"When the Blessed Virgin said yes, freely, to the plans

revealed to her by the Creator, the divine Word assumed a
human nature -- a rational soul and a body -- which was
formed in the most pure womb of Mary. The divine nature
and the human were united in a single Person: Jesus Christ,
true God and, thenceforth, true man; the only begotten and
eternal son of the Father and from that moment on, as man,
the true son of Mary. This is why our Lady is the mother of
the Incarnate Word, of the second person of the Blessed
Trinity, who has united our human nature to himself for ever,
without any confusion of the two natures. The greatest praise
we can give to the Blessed Virgin is to address her loudly and
clearly by the name that expresses her very highest dignity:
‘Mother of God'."
Let us offer to our Mother today:

Brief but frequent prayers of love, such as:

"Mother of God, your petitions are most powerful."
 May 2
MARY: THE MOST PERFECT CREATURE

"She who is full of grace, the object of God's pleasure, exalted

above all the angels and the saints, lived an ordinary life.
"Mary is as much a creature as we are, with a heart like ours,
made for joy and mirth as well as suffering and tears. Before
Gabriel communicates to her God's plan, our Lady does not
know that she has been chosen from all eternity to be the
mother of the Messiah. She sees herself as a lowly creature.
That is why she can acknowledge, with full humility, that ‘he
who is mighty has done great things' for her."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

A "Hail Mary" each time the clock strikes another hour.

 May 3
MARY AND THE BLESSED TRINITY

"Through the Incarnation of our Lord in her immaculate

womb, Mary, the Daughter of God the Father, is also the
Spouse of God the Holy Spirit and the Mother of God the
Son."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

Many glances of affection and many words of love, when we

see her image or picture in our home, in the church, or
anywhere.
 May 4
MARY 'S FAMILY: THE TRINITY ON EARTH

"It is only natural that the Church rejoice as one contemplates

the modest home of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We read in the
hymn from Matins on the feast of the Holy Family: ‘It is
pleasing to recall the humble house of Nazareth and its
slender resources. It is pleasing to tell again in song Jesus'
hidden life.
Jesus grows up in hidden seclusion, to be trained in Joseph's
unpretentious trade. The loving mother sits beside her dear
Son, the good wife by her husband, content if her loving
attention can ease and comfort them in their weariness.' "

Let us offer to our Mother today:

A loving review of her life with Jesus,

as we recite the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.
 May 5
MARY: HER IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

"How would we have acted, if we could have chosen our own

mother? I'm sure we would have chosen the one we have,
adorning her with every possible grace. That is what Christ
did. Christ being all powerful, all wise, Love itself, his power
carried out his will. . . . This is the clearest reason why our
Lord granted his mother , from the very moment of her
Immaculate Conception, all possible privileges. She was free
from the power of Satan. She is beautiful, spotless and pure in
soul and body."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

The renewal of our baptismal vows.

 May 6
THE ANNUNCIATION
MARY: THE FIRST TABERNACLE

"If you seek Mary, you will find Jesus. And you will learn a
bit more about what is in the heart of God, who humbles
himself, discarding all manifestations of his power and
majesty to take the form of a servant. Speaking in human
terms, we could say that God outdoes himself, because he
goes much further than he needs to go in order to save us.
The only way to measure what he does is to say that it cannot
be measured; it comes from a madness of love which leads
him to take on our flesh and bear the weight of our sins."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

The Angelus recited punctually at noon and with great

affection.
 May 7
MARY: OUR MODEL IN ORDINARY LIFE

"We can't forget that Mary spent nearly every day of her life
just like millions of other women who look after their
families, bring up their children, and take care of their
houses. Mary sanctifies the ordinary, everyday things -- what
some people wrongly regard as unimportant and
insignificant: everyday work, looking after those closest to
you, visits to friends and relatives. What a blessed
ordinariness, that can be so full of love of God."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

Affectionate details of service and attention to those closest to

us.
 May 8
MARY: MOTHER OF CHRIST

"Jesus Christus, Deus homo: Jesus Christ, God man. This is

one of the ‘mighty works of God,' which we should reflect
upon and thank him for. He has come to bring ‘peace on
earth to men of good will,' to all who want to unite their wills
to the holy will of God -- not just the rich, not just the poor,
but everyone: all the brethren. We are all brothers in Jesus,
children of God, brothers of Christ. His mother is our
mother."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

Jesus himself, when we receive him in holy Communion.

 May 9
MARY: WELCOMING THE SHEPHERDS

"You must look at the Child in the manger. He is our Love.

Look at him, realizing that the whole thing is a mystery. We
need to accept this mystery on faith and use our faith to
explore it very deeply. To do this, we must have the humble
attitude of a Christian soul."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

Small hidden sacrifices, especially those that go against the

grain.
 May 10
MARY: PRESENTING JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

"She teaches us to have charity. Remember the scene of the

presentation of Jesus in the temple. An old man, Simeon, said
to Mary, ‘Behold: This child is destined to bring about the fall
of many and the rise of many in Israel-and to be a sign, which
people will refuse to acknowledge, so that the thoughts of
many hearts shall be made manifest. As for your own soul, it
shall have a sword pierce it.' So great is Mary's love for all
mankind that she, too, fulfilled Christ's words: ‘Greater love
has no man than this, that he should lay down his life for his
friends.' "

Let us offer to our Mother today:

A pilgrimage to one of her shrines.

 May 11
MARY: WELCOMING THE MAGI

"‘Going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his
mother. Our Lady is always near her Son. The Magi are not
received by a king on a high throne, but by a child in the arms
of his mother. Let us ask the Mother of God, who is our
mother, to prepare for us the way that leads to the fullness of
love .... Her sweet heart knows the surest path for finding
Christ."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

A visit to a poor person to communicate our Lady‘s concern

for that person.
 May 12
MARY: HER FLIGHT TO EGYPT WITH
JOSEPH AND THE CHILD JESUS

"The mystery of Mary helps us to see that in order to

approach God, we must become little. Christ said to his
disciples: ‘Believe me, unless you become like little children
again, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.'
"To become children, we must renounce our pride and self-
sufficiency, recognizing that we can do nothing by ourselves.
We must realize that we need grace and the help of God our
Father to find our way and keep to it."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

A visit to a lonely person to share the joy of trusting in God

alone.
 May 13
MARY: HER HIDDEN LIFE WITH JESUS

"I like to go back in my imagination to the years Jesus spent

close to his mother, years which span almost the whole of his
life on earth. I like to picture him as a little child, cared for by
Mary, who kisses him and plays with him. I like to see him
growing up before the loving eyes of his mother and of
Joseph, his father on earth. What tenderness and care Mary
and the holy Patriarch must have shown toward Jesus, as
they looked after him during his childhood, all the while,
silently, learning so much from him. Their souls would
become more and more like the soul of that Son, who was
both man and God. This is why his mother , and after her St.
Joseph, understand better than anyone the feelings of the
heart of Christ; and the two of them are thus the best way, I
would say the only way, to reach the Savior."
Let us offer to our Mother today:

The effort of doing our ordinary work well, on time, with

competence and finesse.
 May 14
MARY: LOSING AND FINDING THE CHILD
JESUS

"The Mother of God, who looked for her Son so anxiously

when he was lost (through no fault of her own) and
experienced such great joy in finding him, will help us retrace
our steps and put right whatever may be necessary when,
because of our carelessness or our sins, we have been unable
to recognize Christ. With her help, we will know the
happiness of holding him in our arms once more and telling
him we will never lose him again."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

A good, sincere, sorrowful confession of our sins and failures,

in the sacrament of Penance.
 May 15
MARY: AT CANA

"In the Gospel, St. John has recorded a wonderful phrase of

our Lady. At the wedding of Cana she turned to the waiters
and said: ‘Do whatever he tells you.' That is what it is all
about -- getting people to face Jesus and ask him: ‘Lord, what
do you want me to do?' "

Let us offer to our Mother today:

Prompt obedience, when we are called or asked to do some

errand or some act of service.
 May 16
MARY: AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS

"We find her on Calvary, at the foot of the cross, praying. This
is nothing new for Mary. She has always acted like this, in
fulfilling her duties and looking after her home. As she went
about the things of this earth, she kept her attention on God."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

An act of contrition, said many times, asking her to offer our

sorrow for our sins to Jesus crucified.
 May 17
MARY: THE SORROWING MOTHER

"Our Lady is there listening to the words of her Son, united to

him in his suffering, when he cried out ‘My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?' What could she do? She united
herself fully with the redemptive love of her Son and offered
to the Father her immense sorrow, which pierced her pure
heart like a sharp-edged sword."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

The mortification of keeping quiet about any pain or

discomfort, any inconvenience or disappointment, uniting it
with her pain as she stood by her crucified Son..
 May 18
MARY: THE CO-REDEMPTRIX

"It is with good reason that the popes have called Mary co-
redemptrix. ‘So fully, in union with her suffering and dying
Son, did she suffer and nearly die; so fully, for the sake of the
salvation of all souls, did she abdicate the rights of a mother
over her Son, and immolate him, insofar as it was in her
power, to satisfy the justice of God, that it can rightly be said
that she redeemed mankind together with Christ.' This gives
us a deeper understanding of that moment in the Passion of
our Lord on which we shall never tire of meditating: Stabat
autem iuxta crucem Iesu mater eius, ‘There, standing by the
cross of Jesus, was his mother.'"

Let us offer to our Mother today:

Five small hidden sacrifices in honor of the five major

wounds of our Lord.
 May 19
MARY: HER FAITH

"If our faith is weak, we should turn to Mary. St. John tells us
that it was because of the miracle that Christ performed, at
his mother 's request, at the marriage feast at Cana, that ‘his
disciples learned to believe in him.' Our Mother is always
interceding with her Son, so that he may attend to our needs
and show himself to us in such a way that we can cry out,
‘You are the Son of God!' "

Let us offer to our Mother today:

The "Memorare" for the person in our family who most needs
the help of our Lady.
 May 20
MARY: OUR HOPE

"Our Lady, a full participant in the work of our salvation,

follows in the footsteps of her son: the poverty of Bethlehem,
the everyday work of a hidden life in Nazareth, the
manifestation of his divinity in Cana of Galilee, the tortures of
his passion, the divine sacrifice on the cross, the eternal
blessedness of paradise.
"All of this affects us directly, because this supernatural
itinerary is the way we are to follow. Mary shows us that we
can walk this path with confidence. She has preceded us on
the way of imitating Christ; her glorification is the firm hope
of our own salvation. For these reasons we call her ‘our hope,
cause of our joy.' "

Let us offer to our Mother today:

A smile when we do not feel like smiling.

 May 21
MARY'S PRAYER

"Let us ask the Blessed Virgin to make us contem¬platives, to

teach us to recognize the constant calls from God at the door
of our heart. Let us ask her now: Our Mother, you brought to
earth Jesus, who reveals the love of our Father God. Help us
to recognize him in the midst of the cares of each day. Stir up
our mind and will so that we may listen to the voice of God,
to the calls of grace."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

A visit to Jesus truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

 May 22
MARY: EVER VIRGIN

"The purity, humility, and generosity of Mary are in sharp

contrast to our wretchedness and selfishness. To the extent
that we realize this, we should feel moved to imitate her. We
too are creatures of God, and if we strive to imitate her
fidelity, God will surely do great things in us. Our small
worth is no obstacle, because God chooses what is of little
value so that the power of his love may be more manifest."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

The prayer "Blessed be your purity"

 May 23
MARY: QUEEN OF THE APOSTLES

"If we take our Lady's hand, she will make us realize more
fully that all men are our brothers -- because we are all sons
of that God whose daughter, spouse, and mother she is. Our
neighbors' problems must be our problems. Christian
fraternity should be something very deep in the soul, so that
we are indifferent to no one. Mary, who brought up Jesus and
accompanied him through his life and is now beside him in
heaven, will help us recognize Jesus as he crosses our path
and makes himself present to us in the needs of others."
Let us offer to our Mother today:

A kind word, a friendly conversation, a helping hand to

persons with whom we live or work.
 May 24
MARY: HELP OF CHRISTIANS

"Yes, we are still pilgrims, but our Mother has gone on ahead,
where she points to the reward for our efforts. She tells us
that we can make it. If we are faithful, we will reach home.
Not only is the Blessed Virgin our model, but she is also the
Help of Christians. And as we besiege her with our petitions -
- 'Show that you are our Mother' -- she cannot help but watch
over her children with motherly care."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

In addition to the mysteries of the day, one more part (five

decades) of the Holy Rosary.
 May 25
MARY: OUR MOTHER

"Find out for yourself by personal experience the meaning of

Mary's maternal love. It is not enough just to know that she is
our Mother, and to think and talk about her as such. She is
your Mother and you are her child. She loves you as if you
were her only child in this world. Treat her accordingly. Tell
her about everything that happens to you; honor her and love
her. No one will do it for you or as well as you."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

Many affectionate thoughts and prayers, by saying "Mary,

my mother" each time we pause in our work.
 May 26
MARY: THE WAY TO JESUS

"Mary does the immense favor of bringing to the cross, of

placing face to face with the example of the Son of God, those
who come close to her and contemplate her life. It is in this
confrontation that Christian life is decided. And here Mary
intercedes for us so that our behavior may lead to a
reconciliation of the younger brother -- you and me -- with
the firstborn Son of the Father.
"Many conversions, many decisions to give oneself to the
service of God have been preceded by an encounter with
Mary. Our Lady has encouraged us to look for God, to desire
to change, to lead a new life."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

Teaching someone how to say the Holy Rosary.

 May 27
MARY: MOTHER OF FAIR LOVE

"This is what explains Mary's life -- her love. A complete love,

so complete that she forgets herself and is happy just to be
there where God wants her, fulfilling with care what God
wants her to do. That is why even her slightest action is never
routine or vain but, rather, full of meaning. Mary, our
Mother, is for us both an example and a way. In the ordinary
circumstances in which God wants us to live, we have to try
to be like her."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

The resolution to say, before going to sleep every night, three

Hail Mary.
 May 28
THE ASSUMPTION
MARY: TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN

"Mary has gone to heaven in both body and soul, and the
angels rejoice. I can imagine, too, the delight of St. Joseph, her
most chaste spouse, who awaited her in paradise. Yet what of
us who remain on earth? Our faith tells us that here below, in
our present life, we are pilgrims, wayfarers. Our lot is one of
suffering, of sacrifices, and privations. Nonetheless, joy must
mark the rhythm of our steps. ‘Serve the Lord with joy' --
there is no other way to serve him."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

A smile when someone corrects us or misjudges us.

 May 29
MARY: THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN

"She lives now and is protecting us. She is there [in heaven],
body and soul, with the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit. She is the same person who was born in Palestine, who
gave herself to God while still a child, who received the
message from St. Gabriel the Archangel, who gave birth to
our Savior, and who stood beside him at the foot of the Cross.
In her, all ideals become a reality. But we should never think
that this sublime greatness of hers makes her inaccessible to
us. She is the one who is full of grace and the sum of all
perfections . . . and she is also our Mother."

Let us offer to our Mother today:

The "Hail Holy Queen" at each hour.

 May 31
THE VISITATION
MARY SINGS OF THE LOVE OF GOD

"God is interested in even the smallest events in the lives of

his creatures -- in your affairs and mine -- and he calls each of
us by name. This certainty that the faith gives enables us to
look at everything in a new light. And everything, while
remaining exactly the same, becomes different, because it is
an expression of God's love. Our life is turned into a
continuous prayer, we find ourselves with good humor and a
peace that never ends, and everything we do is an act of
thanksgiving running through all our day. ‘My soul
magnifies the Lord,' Mary sang, ‘and my spirit rejoices in
God, my Savior.'"

Let us offer to our Mother today:

The Holy Rosary said with concentration and affection.