Living May under Our Lady’s Mantle
Mother Church provides so much richness for the domestic church to feast on. Living liturgically is a banquet, but lately I feel like we’ve been going through the drive-thru. Through prayer I have been reflecting lately on the great need for gentility in the home. A gentleness in voice. A gentleness in lessons. A gentleness in movement. There is so much harshness around us – a loss of innocence, noise, distractions, temptations. My home must be a haven of quiet, simplicity, order, loveliness, generosity. There is no better month to re-focus the domestic church than the month of May because there is no better teacher of gentility, loveliness, simplicity, and tenderness than our Blessed Mother.
I want to take time this month in spite of a very busy schedule to allow for focusing on the great gift God gave to us in His Mother. Here are my plans:
- Prepare the Feast Table.
- The children will choose their favorite artwork of the Blessed Virgin to display.
- We will spend an afternoon on a Mary hunt through the house collecting every statue we have of Mother Mary and bringing all of them to the Feast Table. Throughout the month we will study about Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Grace, Our Lady of Fatima and other apparitions of Our Lady. Each child will take a statue of the Blessed Virgin from the Feast Table to their room to watch over them.
- Collect fresh wildflowers daily and set out on the Feast Table at Mary’s feet. Each child will have their own vase.
- The Regina Caeli throughout Easter, and the Angelus after Easter – daily at noon.
- Mary’s basket of reading:
- Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue and the Knights of Our Lady
- Our Lady of Guadalupe
- The Holy Rosary
- Mary my Mother
- Jesus and Mary
- Journeys with Mary
- Visions of Our Lady – out of print (so sad because this is a wonderful book!)
- Mary’s Flowers – Gardens, Legends and Meditations
- Crowning of the Blessed Virgin as the Queen of our home and our hearts.
- Seven Sorrows of Mary project – (CHC’s A Year With God p. 200) to be displayed when finished on the Feast Table.
- A walk with Mary – Sweet Pea and I to take a walk together to discuss Mary’s example for us in modesty, charity, patience, suffering, obedience, femininity.
- Miraculous Medal Craft – (CHC’s A Year with God p. 54)
- Marian hymns accompanied by Sweet Pea on the piano:
- Immaculate Mary Your Praises We Sing
- Sing of Mary
- Oh Most Holy One
- Be Joyful Mary
- Hail Holy Queen
- Hail Queen of Heaven the Ocean Star
- Ave Maria
- Salve Regina
- Magnificat
- Nature Walk – Hunt for Mary’s flowers. Collect flowers and press onto a collage page to be displayed on the Feast Table. Resource: Mary’s Flowers – Gardens, Legends and Meditations
- Roses
- Violet
- Columbine
- Thistle
- Clematis
- Rosemary
- Juniper
- Forget-Me-Not
- Strawberry
- Lavender
- Marigold
- Lily of the Valley
- Saintly Supplements for the children at Castle of the Immaculate.
Yours in life, yours in death, yours in affliction, fear and misery.
Yours on the Cross and in bitter grief, yours for time and eternity.
Virgin Mother of my God, let me be all yours! Amen.”
Pope John Paul II
This is beautiful, I wish you and your sweet family a delightful May full of Our Lady and all she has to offer your family!!
Thank you-lovely!