The month of May is a reminder to strengthen family

With each passing year, it seems to me that the month of May becomes busier and busier with so many wonderful events all of which are very much family oriented. Be they more secular events like Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, graduations and the like; or be they clearly religious events like First Holy Communions, confirmations and weddings, they all are very enjoyable and present us with nice opportunities to just be with family and friends.

However, we cannot and should not forget that the month of May is dedicated in its entirety to Our Blessed Mother. After the big snows of April which surely were a help to us in relieving some of the effects of the drought, the better weather of May is like a signal from the Lord that He has listened to His mother and foster-father and given us these occasions to enjoy our families and strengthen those bonds which increase and deepen that familial love for one another and for the Lord.

While the feast of the Holy Family is celebrated at the end of December, it would be well to ask Our Blessed Mother’s intercession to strengthen our families always but especially in May. Every family experiences many joys and satisfactions but also some sorrows and disappointments. Do not forget that the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived a family life with its own joys and sorrows and sufferings. Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph are our best models and our best intercessors before the Lord for our families. Go to them both in your prayers and do your best to imitate them as spouses and parents and you will have the graces needed to increase and strengthen your family life in every way, especially spiritually.

Look at your Catholic calendar and see that May 1st is the feast of St. Joseph the Worker; May 31st is the feast of the Visitation. Just a coincidence? Not at all. The Church has enclosed this month with the two persons chosen by God Himself to have and to protect Jesus and, as a family, to be the model for the Church as the family of God’s holy people. As our recent popes have taught, the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is that school of mutual and selfless love which gives glory and honor to God and sanctifies daily life.

While we celebrate several beautiful feasts in May and we participate in many of those religious and secular events as families which are such a joy, let us not forget that Our Blessed Mother is watching over all of us. It just seems that after the rains and snows of April even nature points us to her as the one who loves us, cares for us, and keeps us in her embrace, just as she did for Jesus and St. Joseph.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!