May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary: Difference between revisions

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'''May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary''' refer to special [[Marian devotions]] held in the [[Catholic Church]] during the month of May honoring [[Mary, mother of JesusGod]], as "the Queen of May". These services may take place inside or outside. A "May Crowning" is a traditional Roman Catholic ritual that occurs in the month of May.

A number of traditions link the month of May to Mary. [[Alfonso X of Castile|Alfonso]] in the 13ththirteenth century wrote in his ''[[Cantigas de Santa Maria]]'' about the special honoring of Mary during specific dates in May. Eventually, the entire month was filled with special observances and devotions to Mary.

According to [[Frederick_George_Holweck|Frederick Holweck]], the May devotion in its present form originated at Rome where Father Latomia of the Roman College of the [[Society of Jesus]], to counteract infidelity and immorality among the students, made a vow at the end of the eighteenth century to devote the month of May to Mary. From Rome, the practice spread to the other Jesuit colleges and thence to nearly every Catholic church of the Latin rite.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10542a.htm Holweck, Frederick. "Special Devotions for Months." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 1 May 2013]</ref> In Rome by 1813, May devotions were held in as many as twenty churches. From Italy, May devotions soon spread to France. In Belgium, the May devotions, at least as a private devotion, were already known by 1803. The tradition of honoring Mary in a month-long May devotion spread eventually around the Roman Catholic world in the 19thnineteenth century together with a month-long devotion to [[Jesus]] in June and the [[Rosary]] in October.

There is no firm structure as to the content of a May devotion. It usually includes the singing of Marian anthems, readings from scriptures, and a [[sermon]]. Although prayers likely include the recitation of the [[Hail Mary]], the [[rosary]] itself is not usually a part of this particular devotion. Catholics offer Mary in May: pilgrimages, visits to churches dedicated to her, little sacrifices in her honor, periods of study and well-finished work offered up to her, and a more attentive recitation of the [[rosary]].<ref name=cna>[httphttps://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resourcesresource/prayers/devotions/to-the-blessed-virgin-mary240688/month-of-mary-may-devotions/ "Month of Mary-MayMary–May Devotions", Catholic News Agency]</ref>

The last devotion on May 31 is often followed by a solemn procession, during which a statue or portrait of the Virgin Mary is carried back into the church. Some May devotions may take place outside or in a forest or a dedicated special place.

This specific devotion has been supported beby several popes including [[Pope Pius XII]] in his encyclical ''[[Ingruentium malorum]]'':

* ''The custom of the family recitation of the Holy Rosary is a most efficacious means. What a sweet sight -– most pleasing to God -– when, at eventide, the Christian home resounds with the frequent repetition of praises in honor of the High Queen of Heaven! Then the Rosary, recited in the family, assembled before the image of the Virgin, in an admirable union of hearts, the parents and their children, who come back from their daily work. It unites them piously with those absent and those dead. It links all more tightly in a sweet bond of love, with the most Holy Virgin, who, like a loving mother, in the circle of her children, will be there bestowing upon them an abundance of the gifts of concord and family peace.'' <ref>''Ingruentium malorum'', 13</ref>

{{quote|''Hail Virgin, dearest Mary! Our lovely Queen of May! O spotless, blessed Lady, Our lovely Queen of May. Your children, humbly bending, Surround your shrine ..''...<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chantcd.com/lyrics/hail_virgin_dearest.htm|title = Hail Virgin dearest Mary – Mary Fatima hymns songs Immaculate Heart Blessed Virgin Mother marian hymn song}}</ref>}} In German-speaking countries, the equivalent term is ''Maienkönigin'' ("May-Queen"):

Another similar song greets Mary, the queen of May, who is greeted by the month of May.<ref>"Maria, Maienkönigin, dich will der Mai begrüßen. O segne ihn mit holdem Sinn ..." kirchensite.de/?myELEMENT=112087 -– 23k</ref>

* ''Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May''.<ref>campus.{{Cite web|url=https://udayton.edu/maryimri/mary/resourcesm/mayhymnsmay-hymns.htmphp| author=University of Dayton |title=May Hymns |access-date = May 13, 2022}}</ref>

The custom fell out of vogue in many places during the 1970s-80s1970s–80s, but has since made a comeback along with many other traditional Catholic practices.<ref name=mcnamara/> An image or likeness of the [[Blessed Virgin Mary]] is ceremonially crowned to signify her as [[Queen of Heaven]] and the [[Mother of God]].

In the [[Philippines]] and other countries, Mary is fêted in May with the ''Flores de Mayo'' ("Flowers of May"), where devotees collect colourful flowers with which to decorate the altars of [[parish]] church's altarschurches and aisles''[[Chapel of ease|visitas]]'' (cf. [[chancel flowers]]).<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.2camels.com/flowers-of-may.php Bayan, Ruby."Flowers of May"]</ref> Catholic communities often congregate in the afternoons to pray the rosaryRosary, offer flowers to an image of the Virgin Mary, and share homemade delicacies and snacks. In more formal processions, children and adults wear their [[wikt:Sunday best|Sunday best]], singing and dancing to welcome the rains that will water the new crops.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

The celebration is highlighted by the ''[[Santacruzan]]'', a ritual pageant celebrating the [[Finding of the Holy Cross]]. Young ladies, often called ''reynas'' ("queens"“queens”), are chosen to represent biblical figures such as [[Book of Judith|Judith]], [[Titles of Mary|Marian titles]] taken from the [[Litany of Loreto]] (e.g. ''[[Rosa Mystica|Rosa Mística]]''), and other traditional or allegorical figures from religious and national history (e.g. ''Reyna Emperatríz'', ''Reyna Mora''). The ''reynas'', dressed in their finery and bearing various attributes, walk through the towncommunity escorted by young men or boys. The ''Reyna Elena'', representing [[Helena (empress)|Saint Helena]], is the last and grandest; the most beautiful woman in the pageant, she bears a cross or crucifix symbolising the [[True Cross]], as she is escorted by a young boy playingrepresenting Emperor [[Constantine I|Constantine]]. All participantsParticipants walk under mobile arches, often carried and festooneddecorated with flowers or othersymbols decorations connotingof bounty.

The ''Santacruzan'' custom in the Philippines is thus a fusion of both the May Marian devotions and celebrations surrounding [[Roodmas]], which was once celebratedobserved liturgically on 3 May.

'''<big>===In Lithuania</big>'''===

May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary are also called Mojava. They are sung not only in churches, but also in the homes of the faithful, -– villagers and townspeople sing together after their day’s labours. For the occasion of the May devotions a small altar with a statue of Mary is prepared at home.

Floral imagery from scripture and nature has been applied to Mary in the writings of the Church Fathers and in the liturgy, providing the foundation in tradition for the subsequent naming of hundreds of flowers for Mary's life, mysteries, virtues, excellences and divine prerogatives in the popular religious folk traditions of the medieval countrysides -– as recorded by botanists, folklorists and lexicographers.<ref>[http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/resources/m_garden/marygardensmain.html Stokes, Jr., John. "Mary's Gardens"]</ref> The practice of honoring Mary with flowers originated among monasteries and convents in [[medieval Europe]]. During the Middle Ages, people saw reminders of Mary in the flowers and herbs growing around them.<ref name=krymow>[http://www.americancatholic.org/messenger/may2000/feature2.asp Krymow, Vincenzina and Frisk, M. Jean. "Honoring Mary in Your Garden", ''St. Anthony Messenger''] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20050503012019/https%3A//www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/May2000/feature2.asp |date=2005-05-03 }}</ref> The first reference to an actual garden dedicated to Mary is from the life of St. [[Saint Fiacre|Fiacre]], Irish patron saint of gardening, who planted and tended a garden around the oratory to Our Lady he built at his famous hospice for the poor and infirm in France in the seventh century.