May Resources

May 2021

Pope Francis led the faithful in the recitation of the Holy Rosary on Saturday to inaugurate a “Marathon of Prayer” for an end to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a press release announcing the initiative, the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization explains that “in response to the Holy Father’s heartfelt wish, the month of May will be dedicated to a ‘marathon’ of prayer, to ask for the end of the pandemic, which has afflicted the world for more than a year now, and to ask for the resumption of social and work activities". Read the full article here.

Family Resources to Celebrate and Honour Mary

Holy Heroes: 21 Ways to Pray a Family Rosary - Holy Heroes shares 21 ways for you and your family to pray the Rosary, honor Our Lady and grow as a domestic church. 

Catholic Icing: Honouring Mary in the Month of May With Kids - Lacey of Catholic Icing shares some Catholic traditions to help you and your family honour Mary this May.

Catholic Sprouts: A Child's Mary Garden (with free printable statues) - Nancy of Catholic Sprouts shares her experience of creating a Mary Garden with her children and shares resources to help you do the same.

Real Life at Home: Cut and Paste Hail Mary Prayer Printable (free worksheets) - Angie Kauffman of Real Life at Home shares a free printable cut and paste Hail Mary Prayer printable to help your little ones learn the Hail Mary Prayer. 

Click here for Mary resources from CARFLEO (Catholic Association of Religious and Family Life Educators of Ontario).

Look to Him and Be Radiant has many crafts (free printables) for school-aged children and youth to learn and pray with Mary. the resource list can be found by clicking here.

Here are just a few: 

Catholic Icing offers many other ways to celebrate Mary, check out Lacy's list by clicking here.

Mary's not God, but she's super important. In “Catholic Central: Mary” Kai and Libby look at the Jewish girl who said “Fiat!” (Latin for “Let It be done”), became Jesus’ mother and His first disciple, and, per Christ’s edict from the Cross, mother to us all. We learn that she’s venerated, not worshiped; asked to pray for us; and makes occasional appearances to the faithful to achieve her one mission: bringing people closer to her Son. (6:58 minutes, Catholic Central)

Short videos from Ascension Press's study program

A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother:

Edward Sri, presenter of the study program A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother, takes a closer look at what has been called the most important event in salvation history, the Annunciation. See the place where the Archangel Gabriel came to announce to Mary that she would become the Mother of God, and discover in depth the meaning behind the angel’s greeting, “Hail, full of grace!” Dr. Sri explores the Scriptures to show the great significance of the event that changed Mary’s life forever. (4:49 minutes, Ascension Press)

Filmed in the home of Mary, Part 2 of Ascension Presents’ series on Mary focuses on the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and how it is rooted in the Archangel Gabriel’s greeting, “Hail, full of grace.” Dr. Edward Sri explains why this biblical support of the Church’s teaching doesn't take away from Christ’s saving power, but shows how Mary received God's salvation at the point of her conception. God gave Mary this special grace so she could be the holy vessel who held his son. Taken from Mary: A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother. 3:28 minutes, Ascencion Press)

In this third part of Ascension Presents’ Mary study, Dr. Edward Sri, presenter of A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother explains why the Catholic Church teaches that Mary remained a virgin throughout her life. Dr. Sri points out that Jesus is called the “firstborn son” of Mary in Luke 2:7 not because Mary had other children, but because to be the firstborn son had such great significance in Jewish tradition. He also refutes the popular belief that Jesus had brothers, explaining that the term for “brother” is used quite often in the Bible while refering to extended family. He concludes with the greatest biblical proof for Mary’s perpetual virginity, John 19, when Jesus entrusts his mother to the care of the Apostle John. Dr. Sri argues that if Mary had other children Jesus would have entrusted his mother to them instead. (4:39 minutes, Ascension Press)

Ascension Presents continues its study on Mary through the month of May in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Saint Mary, the traditional spot of her assumption. Dr. Edward Sri, the presenter of Mary: A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother, explains that even though there is no biblical reference to Mary’s assumption, Scripture does tell us that other biblical characters such as Enoch and Elijah were taken up into heaven after living holy lives. Mary’s assumption into heaven shows that she shared in her son’s victory over death. Since she was the first in the New Testament to hear God’s word and remained faithful throughout her life, it’s only fitting that she should go ahead of us. Taken from Mary: A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother. 4:52 minutes, Ascension Press) 

More Marian Resources (Loyola Press): 

On May 1st, 2020 the Catholic Bishops of Canada dedicated their dioceses or eparchies to Mary, Mother of the Church, asking for her protection during the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Special Diocesan Mass on May 1st - Consecration of Canada to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

On Friday, May 1^st, 2020 the Catholic Bishops of Canada dedicated their dioceses or eparchies to Mary, Mother of the Church, asking for her protection during the Coronavirus pandemic. In our archdiocese, special masses will be celebrated on May 1 at 7:30 PM. The French liturgy presided by Bishop LeGatt was broadcast live on the diocesan Facebook page, as well as on YouTube. It can be accessed via the YouTube channel of the parish of Saints-Martyrs-Canadians: www.youtube.com/channel/UCFLbnkM6HlRYpb4QjiXeBOg/live or on the Archdiocese of Saint Boniface's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ArchSaintBoniface/live
The English liturgy was presided by Father Kevin Bettens at Mary, Mother of the Church Parish. This Mass was presented at 7:30 PM on the archdiocesan website, www.archsaintboniface.ca as well as on the Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ArchSaintBoniface/live
We invite you to pray to the Virgin for our country and the world. For a beautiful prayer or consecration click here. As, well, during May, the month of Mary, we invite you to pray the rosary every day. For a brief reminder on how to pray the rosary, click here. 

Click here for a flyer from Holy Heroes about Consecration to Jesus through Mary.

Saint Joseph Resources  May 1st is the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker

 Get to know the life of St. Joseph the Worker, the patron of the Universal Church and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ in this episode of iLumen. (3:22 minutes, University of Santo Tomas)

 St. Joseph doesn't say a word in Scripture, but that doesn't mean he wasn't important. Libby fills us in on exactly why Scripture describes St. Joseph as a righteous man and how he can help us out today. (2:39 minutes, Catholic Central)

 Thomas and Helen teach their children about how St. Joseph, was a protector of the family and an example of faith and obedience to God. (22:52 minutes, EWTN)

 Click here for an article and a short audio reflection from Franciscan Media.

 Look to Him and Be Radiant has great resources to celebrate Saint Joseph.

  Here are some links below from Kate at https://www.looktohimandberadiant.com/

Marian Apparitions and Shrines Around the World

How familiar are you with the twenty-six Church-approved Marian Apparitions?

We’ve compiled information on all of the Marian apparitions within the Catholic Church to make this ultimate guide.  

Do you want to:

• Understand what a Marian Apparition is?
• Learn the process the Church uses to approve them?
• Grow in your knowledge of the twenty-six Marian apparitions in the Catholic Church?
• Learn the difference between “bishop-approved” and “Vatican-recognized” apparitions?
• Successfully help others understand the importance of Marian Apparitions?

If so, you came to the right place! Click here to go to Ascension Press's "Ultimate Guide to Marian Apparitions".

Holy Heroes: Visits from Our Lady Colouring Pages - Holy Heroes has made 6 colouring pages for you and your children to learn more about Our Lady’s messages in many of her apparitions. The colouring pages feature: Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of La Vang, Our Lady of Pontmain, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Grace and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Holy Heroes: 21 Ways to Pray a Family Rosary - Holy Heroes shares 21 ways for you and your family to pray the Rosary, honor Our Lady and grow as a domestic church. 

Catechist's Journey offers a PDF poster with a list of Mary Feast Days and titles of Mary around the world. Click here https://catechistsjourney.loyolapress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Marian-Devotions-5-5.pdf to view or print. 

Seven Days With Mary

Artist Holly Schapker, whose work is featured in the May 2019 "St. Anthony Messenger" magazine, explains that she has tried to express Mary's unfinished story through her art. Click here and flip to Page 28 for the Article that appeared in May 2019.

(each reflection video below from Franciscan Media is under 4 minutes)

Day One

Mary's Unfinished Story

Day Two

Mary's Relinquishment

Day Three

Pondering in Our Hearts Like Mary

Day Four

Mary's Omnipresence

Day Five

Mary As the New Eve

Day Six

Mary's Movement Toward Christ

Day Seven

Mother Mary

Ways to Pray and Honour Mary

Three links below are from Look to Him and Be Radiant. Kate is  eacher, DRE, crafter. All about sharing ideas and resources to teach the faith.

Click here for beautiful and easy printable Mary Shrine with instructions.

Click here for a list of more than 25 activities that are Mary related, from retreats to crafts to prayers!

Click here for a playlist on YouTube of Mary songs.

 From Loyola Press:

May is traditionally a time to honour Mary in special ways, such as with May Crowning celebrations. This year, we can look to Mary as a model for facing uncertain times. When faced with the news that she would be the Mother of God, Mary had questions but accepted God’s plan for her with complete trust.

Explore Mary’s faith and trust in God with the help of our family faith-sharing guide. Excerpted from 52 Simple Ways to Talk with Your Kids about Faith by Jim Campbell, the guide invites parents to start meaningful conversations with their children inspired by natural teachable moments.

May Dates 

Below is information from www.catholicculture.org

Click here for Catholic Culture's full month of May resources.

The month of May is dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary. The entire month falls within the liturgical season of Easter, which is represented by the liturgical color white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored).

Catechetics