Month of Mary, Prayer for Our Mothers

Rev. Fr. John Fullerton, US District Superior, writes to faithful Catholics about the importance of remembering our Heavenly Mother, as well as our earthly mothers and grandmothers during the month of May:

Dear friends,

Catholics worldwide have long recognized May as a month of fervent devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

As early as the 13th century, Latin Catholics in Spain embraced May as a particular time to honor Mary. Before his death in 1284, King Alphonse of Spain, in one of his poems, sings of May as the month of Mary, describing how the people gather around her altar to sing her glories. Not long after, the German monk Blessed Henry Suso, O.P., adopted the practice of honoring Mary uniquely during springtime by weaving flowers into a crown, and then placing it on a statue at Our Lady's altar. Similar devotions spread throughout Germany and beyond in the succeeding centuries.

Closer to our day, Pope Pius XII established the Feast of the Queenship of Mary on May 31 in his 1954 encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, which contains these words:

From the earliest ages of the Catholic Church, a Christian people, whether in time of triumph or more especially in time of crisis, has addressed prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven and never has that hope wavered which they placed in the Mother of the Divine King, Jesus Christ; nor has that faith ever failed by which we are taught that Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, reigns with a mother's solicitude over the entire world, just as she is crowned in heavenly blessedness with the glory of a Queen.

So beautiful, moving, and powerful is this Marian devotion that today it has spread throughout the Catholic world. All acknowledge Mary as Our Mother and show gratitude for her countless intercessions before the Throne of Heaven. 

It should come as no surprise then that Catholics naturally incorporate the secular holiday of Mother’s Day into this month-long celebration. Just as Catholics honor the special role Mary played in salvation history, they join in honoring the special place of motherhood in the life of the Church and society. In an age when the family, including motherhood, is under frequent attack, Catholic society needs to highlight the important role mothers play in forming young Catholics, especially those who will go on to be our future priests and religious. Also, since motherhood does not stop after one generation, this familial vocation continues to bear fruit through the special love and attention given by grandmothers, too.

This is why I invite you to make a special gift to the Society of Saint Pius X in honor of your mother and grandmothers between now and the end of May. The Society’s apostolate supports Catholic motherhood throughout the United States, through its schools, retreat centers, and—most importantly—its chapels, where the sacraments are offered according to the traditional Roman Rite. To show my appreciation for your generosity, I will be offering a special Mass at the end of May for all those mothers and grandmothers whose names are included with your donation.

Or, if you are not able to make a gift at this time, you may still send the names of those mothers and grandmothers you want remembered via the webform linked here: https://sspx.org/en/submit-names-your-mothers-remembrance-altar-44474

Your generous material and spiritual support allow the Society of Saint Pius X to continue its mission of restoring Catholic Tradition. Please continue to pray for our apostolate and ask the Blessed Virgin for her protection in these difficult times.

In Our Lady,

Fr. John Fullerton
U.S. District Superior