Traditionally, May has been celebrated as the month of "new life." This was true even for the ancient Greeks and Romans who each had goddesses that represented the blooming of new life. It is easy to see this because the earth seems to be coming back to life when winter is over and the flowers and trees begin to sprout their beautiful, lively colors again. Mary is also a bearer of new life. She literally brought Life to the world in bearing her Son, Jesus, who destroyed our death or "winter" of sin. God, working through Mary, gave us new life.
We honor Mary because God deemed her worthy to be crowned the Queen of Heaven. She has power over both heaven and earth, yet still humbles herself to care for us and our every need. Don't be afraid to show your love for your Holy Mother! Tell her everything that is on your heart and ask her to bring your closer to her Son.
The beautiful tradition of May Crowning reflects the beauty of the 5th Glorious Mystery of the Holy Rosary which it evokes. Honoring Our Lady, Queen of Heaven and Earth, honors her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ Who first crowned her as His Queen. Adorning Our Lady with a crown of flowers is a custom of great devotion to Our Holy Mother and recalls the beauty of her love for us during difficult times in the world.
Our Lady always guides as a loving Mother. Her Immaculate Heart and her maternal beauty will always triumph over the ugliness of sin and suffering.
As we crown the Blessed Virgin on Mother's Day, we ask that she intercede for us to her Son.
Hail, holy Queen enthroned above, oh Maria.
Hail, mother of mercy and of love, oh Maria.
Triumph all ye cherubim, Sing with us ye seraphim.
Heaven and earth resound the hymn.
Salve, Salve, Salve Regina.
Chosen by God above all other women, Mary's faith and obedience paved the way for the Incarnation. Her example teaches us faith, obedience, humility and most of all, how to love.
According to St. Thomas of Villanova,
"If in this world any creature ever loved God with whole heart, with whole soul, and with whole mind, she was the creature."
In 2018 Pope Francis added a feast day for Mary, Mother of the Church to be celebrated on the Monday following Pentecost – and the date he chose was intentional. On Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the birthday of the Church, and on the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, we celebrate the fact that Mary, as the mother of Our Lord, is intrinsically linked to the Church as her mother.
The Fathers of the Church often spoke of Mary as the New Eve. Just as the Woman Eve was "the mother of all the living" (Gen 3:20), the Woman Mary was mother of all those living in Christ. In Revelation 12:17, St. John says that this Woman's offspring are "those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus." EWTN, CatholicCulture.org, and the Vatican
