May Activities

May is the month in which Catholics all over the world participate in special devotions and celebrations for Mary, the mother of Jesus.  In order for Jesus to be born, God wanted to prepare a special mother for him. From the moment that Mary was conceived in her own mother’s womb (St. Anne), Mary was without the stain of original sin. Throughout her entire life, Mary never sinned and was always a faithful servant to God. This is why Mary is called “full of grace.” God granted her every blessing he could to help prepare her to become the mother of Jesus.

God wanted to prepare Mary for a special task — but only if she was willing to accept it. Because God allows each of us to make our own decisions (free will), he left it up to Mary to decide if she wanted to become the mother of Jesus. And so Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38)

Mary, with the help of St. Joseph, taught Jesus many skills and lessons, just like your parents do. The Bible tells us that Jesus, “went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient” to Mary and Joseph (Lk 2:51). In fact, Jesus did not even start his public ministry until his mother asked him to!

At the wedding at Cana, when Jesus was about 30 years old, Mary told Jesus that there was no more wine to celebrate the occasion. Because Mary asked Jesus to help, Jesus decided to perform his very first miracle: turning water into wine. Since that day, Mary has been a great intercessor for us. She will tell Jesus about our prayers, and she will pray that we come to know and love him more.