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May: Honoring The Mother of God and Motherhood

By Deacon Paul Williams, Our Lady of Guadalupe - Helotes

The month of May is our Mother’s month. Here in the United States, the celebration of Mother's Day is a secular holiday. Mother’s Day is primarily a secular celebration, intended to honor all mothers and the importance of motherhood in the family and society.

In the classical Greek and Roman cultures, May was considered the month of new life, when winter ends and the spring begins. It was the time when trees bud, flowers bloom, and grass sprouts. The Greeks dedicated May to the pagan god Artemis, the goddess of the moon and hunting, and particularly young girls and fertility; while the Romans dedicated May to the pagan god Flora, the goddess of flowers. May celebrated the fruitfulness of Mother Earth, but eventually it was broadened to celebrate all mothers who bring new human life. For Christians, if May celebrated motherhood, the logical next step would be to adopt May as the month to honor Mary, the Mother of God.

Therefore, in the Catholic church, the month of May has become the month for motherhood. It is the month in which we celebrate the motherhood of Mary. Mary, who by becoming the Mother of God, assumed a special role in our lives and became a mother to all of humanity. For those outside the Catholic Church this can seem a foreign concept. After all, how can a woman, a mere mortal, who lived 2000 years ago be a mother to all of humanity.

However, through our relationship with Jesus we have become adopted sons and daughters of the Father (St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians 1:5) making us the brothers of Christ. Therefore, because of this, his mother has also become OUR mother, by this adoption. And through this adoptive motherhood, a true motherhood bursts forth into existence for all of us. Being adopted means you were conceived in your mother’s heart, rather than your mother’s womb. This is the motherhood of Mary. It is a true motherhood, in which we were conceived in her heart, rather than her womb. We honor her as our mother, because we are the recipients of her full motherly love.

Because of the blooming of flowers, the month of May was adopted by the Church in the 18th century, as a celebration of the flowering of Mary’s, maidenly spirituality. "In the medieval period, the rose, was adopted as the flower symbol, of the Virgin Birth. Also, in the medieval period, when monasteries were the centers of horticultural and agricultural knowledge, and with the spread of the Franciscan love of nature, and the actual flowers themselves, in the fields, waysides and gardens, then all flowers became to be seen as symbols of Mary.

Therefore, it is fitting that we celebrate Mother’s Day for our earthly mothers, in the month of May, as well. The fruitfulness of motherhood has so much in common, with the blossoming of early spring. Just as the earth cradles and conceals a seed within itself, so does a mother cradle and conceal the miraculous gift of life, in her womb. Both, the earth and mothers, nurture life from the depths of their own resources, through long periods of invisible growth, that shoot forth with vibrant colors of life.

Motherhood itself is a sign of the fruitfulness of God’s love and expression of fruitful bounty. For each child, is the product of a unique act of God’s blessing, on a husband and a wife. “Motherhood, is the fruit of the marriage union, of a man and woman, of that biblical ‘knowledge’ which corresponds to the ‘union of the two in one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24). It is magnified, when a child is conceived, for the child makes permanent, that expression of unity. The child is the literally inseparable union, of both the husband and wife. However, the child draws its physical building blocks from the mother, as she gives of her own flesh, to provide the nutrients for the child, in her womb. Therefore, the mother, is uniquely connected to God’s fruitfulness. In this way, “Motherhood involves a special communion with the mystery of life, as it develops in the woman's womb,” as stated by Saint Pope John Paul II. This unique contact with the new human being, developing within the woman, gives rise to an attitude towards all human beings - not only towards her own child, but every other human being - which profoundly marks the woman's personality.”

And this is the mystery we celebrate each Mother’s Day and each month of May. 

Happy Mother’s Day to All!

Saturday, May 2 | Annual May Crowning 

Join us on Sat., May 2 for Mount Schoenstatt’s annual May Crowning of the Blessed Mother. This year, we will be crowning Mary as Queen of Hope in Our Covenant. We invite you to bring flowers to present to the Blessed Mother.

3:45 PM  Welcome

4:00 PM  Holy Rosary (bilingual)

4:30 PM  Procession with Flowers

5:00 PM  Vigil Mass

Fellowship in Kentenich Hall to follow.

Bring your friends and families! All are welcome!