Praying with Mary through May: Celebrating the Queen of Heaven

Throughout the month of May, we will be sharing posts focused on journeying alongside the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Share your experiences in the comments or on social media using #praywithmary.

If you’re a mother, you know how delightful the first flowers picked and given to you by your child are–even when they are dandelions. And more often than not, the tiny bunches of flowers and hand-crafted bouquets brought to me are bright yellow poofs of dandelions, even still. Aren’t they sweet, though? Weeds or not, they are picked and bundled and given with love and a huge smile.

I’m 35 years old, but I feel more like a child bringing dandelions to my mother when it comes to honoring our Blessed Mother, Mary.

“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.” – St. Maximillian Kolbe

I want to do something special in her honor, and celebrate her love for us with my children. I want them to know her love and protection, and somehow I hope that celebrating in special ways with flowers and food and drink will spill over into their hearts, and make a lasting impression. I want our celebrations as a family to instill a love for our Blessed Mother that stays with our children for a lifetime.

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It’s nearly May. My days are so full (still) I can barely think in peace for 5 minutes, let alone come up with original ideas for a Marian celebration.

Thank goodness for wiser women who have done the planning already! All I have to do now is gather a few ideas and make them happen, praying that even my simple attempts at honoring our Blessed Mother will delight her as much as thoughtful gestures from my children delight me.

Here are the ideas I’ve picked from the myriad of great suggestions in the blogosphere. Please share what traditions and ideas you have for your family, too!

Make some food to enjoy, combined with some prayers in honor of Mary. I like the idea of tea and treats, personally. Catholic Cuisine has more ideas than I could ever try, so take your pick! I especially like the idea of herb tea to go with food. It wouldn’t be a celebration without a sweet treat, such as macarons blue macarons (which I love to make for Marian feasts), or meringues like a throne of clouds for the Queen of Heaven, or cake.

Flowers. Of course, any flowers will be a lovely addition to your table and prayer space, but if you are wanting to bring a little symbolism into your floral choices, consider any of these, including roses, lilies, geraniums, and so many more.

Prayer. Anything Marian, such as the Hail Holy Queen, Memorare, or Rosary. I might see about memorizing the Hail Mary in Latin this month. Another special idea is to consecrate your family and children under Mary’s protection. You can use a simple prayer such as this or this, or if you are more ambitious, try the 33-day preparation/self-retreat as St. Louis de Montfort promoted.

I will probably choose a weekday and use many these ideas as part of a special Marian celebration, and crown our statue of Mary. Why not a weekend? It just happens this year that most of our weekends are already full, so a weekday will work better and stand out more to my children. Choose any day that works best for your family!

“If you ever feel distressed during your day, call upon our Lady, just say this simple prayer: ‘Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.’ I must admit, this prayer has never failed me.”
– Blessed Mother Teresa

This post originally was published on Someday Saints.