AMDG
Dear OSJ Family,
The Church, in her wisdom, gives us the Month of May in which to honor Holy Mary, our Mother and our Queen. Mary, the Queen of Heaven, is honored for her unique relationship with Jesus and her love and guidance to each of us, her earthly children. You will note that to the left of our altar is the stunning stained glass window of Mary being crowned Queen of Heaven—it is a true treasure of our parish.
In the early 70’s, Pope Paul VI declared that May is the month that Christians offer the Virgin Mother more “fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration; and it is the month in which a greater abundance of God’s merciful gifts comes down to us from our Mother’s throne.” Notably, Pope Francis consecrated his papacy to Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Fatima, and he invited everyone to consecrate themselves to her tender, loving care.
This month, as we honor our Mother and Queen, let us consider praying the rosary, lighting a candle at Mary’s shrine, or praying one of the various novena prayers of Our Lady (Perpetual Help, Fatima, Un-tier of Knots, Guadalupe, Lourdes).
Finally, I share with you a few lyrics from a favorite Marian hymn of my youth that still serves to inspire me to greater devotion to Our Lady, the infamous “May Procession” song:
Bring flow’rs of the fairest,
Bring flow’rs of the rarest,
From garden and woodland
And hillside and vale;
Our full hearts are swelling,
Our glad voices telling
The praise of the loveliest
Rose of the vale.
O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May!
Grace and peace,
Fr. Phil Florio, S.J.
