Among all the Saint, Mary has a special place of love and venerationMary is the greatest among all the Saints because of her unique and outstanding calling to be the Mother of God. No other human being was entrusted with such a privileged mission. the devotion to the Blessed Mother began then also to develop especially after the Council of Ephesus (432) which declared her to be truly the Mother of God. All the Christian Churches recall her memory under this great title in the Eucharistic Prayers.
Mary is worthy of special veneration not only because of her particular position in the history of salvation, but also because she cooperated in the most perfect way with the plan of God. She was the humble handmaid of the Lord, totally submitted to his will, and the close companion of Jesus during his life her on earth. She was at his side from the very beginning of his earthly life until the hour under the cross. In the most selfless way she understood her human existence as being in the service of the salvific plan of God. Truly the great example for every follower of Christ.
Rightly the Second Vatican Council has declared that the cult in honor of Mary "has always existed in the Church" (Dogmatic constitution on the Church 66). We find traces of it in the Gospels when they mention her as standing under the cross suffering with her Son, as being present at the marriage at Cana mediating the first miracle of Jesus, and as the one entrusted to the special care of the beloved disciple. We find traces of it also in the Acts of the Apostles when she is described as being with the disciples in the Upper Room awaiting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the centuries Marian devotion developed unhappily not always in a correct and meaningful way. Sometimes Mary was seen as being too much isolated from Christ and the history of salvation, and exalted in her own dignity. The Second Vatican Council therefore had to warn theologians and preachers "to be careful to refrain as much from all false exaggerations as too summary form an attitude in considering the special dignity of the Mother of God" (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church 67). The graces and privileges of the Blessed Virgin must always refer to Christ, the source of all truth, sanctity and devotion.
HOW DID THE MONTH OF MAY BECOME A MARIAN MONTH?
May is the month of blossoms, flowers and new life
This can be understood on the background of the seasons of the year in Europe where the practice of celebrating May as month of Mary began. During the winter season nature seem to be dead; it is very cold, snow covers the earth, the trees are bare, no leaves, no fruits and no flowers can be seen except on indoor plants. With the spring season, nature comes to life gain; the trees develop fresh green leaves, flowers begin to sprout everywhere and the season of planting has come. In April to May the trees begin to blossom promising a good and rich harvest in autumn. It is therefore quite a contrast: winter as a symbol of death, spring as a symbol of new life, a rising from the death; winter a season of bareness and cold, and spring the season of beautiful flowers promising new life. To celebrate this May festivities are going on everywhere especially in rural areas.
The lovely month of May ws brought in relationship to Mary. She is the most beautiful flower and creature of God, through her God brought salvation and life to the world. May-meditations of the past two centuries are full of descriptions of the beauty of Mary, how God elected her and prepared her to be a worthy Mother of God. The analogy between flower and Mary is wide open for the christological dimension of Marian devotion. While the blossoms are beautiful to look at and a value in themselves, their real purpose is to bring about a fruit. Applied to Mary this would mean her beauty must always be seen in relationship to the fruit she brought forth Jesus Christ. Unhappily this Christ dimension was sometimes neglected in May-devotions; the whole attention was given to the blossom, while the fruit coming forth from the blossoms remained secondary.
May is the month of the Easterseason
The Church gives us fifty days to celebrate and to reflect the effects of the Paschal Mystery: our redemption in and through Jesus Christ. During Easter season we meditate about the power of the Risen Lord who made of us a new creation and heirs of the kingdom. In a special way. we look at the most perfectly redeemed one, Mary. The month of May as Marian month shows the connection between Mary and Easter, between the mother and the redemptive work of her Son. All the beauty and perfection of Mary comes from the salvific action which the Church celebrated in the Pascal Triduum.
Comparison between Maia and Maria
The month of May derives its name from Maia, the goddess of spring. According to Greek mythology she was the daughter of Atlas and Pleione and the mother of the messenger-god Hermes. Especially during the planting season, sacrifices were offered to her to petition for a good harvest. It is easy to make a comparison between Maia and mary. As Maia was the mother of the messenger-god Hermes, Mary was the mother of the Messenger-God Jesus Christ. As the month of May was dedicated to Maia, the Christians began to dedicate this month Mary. As to Maia were offered sacrificial offerings, so the Christians began to honor Mary with floral offerings.
FORMS OF MAY DEVOTIONS
The daily May Devotion
It is a prayer or a Bible service in honor of Mary, done everyday during the month of May. Its form and content are free, but always Marian. It became a widespread practice during the past two hundred years, often encouraged by the Popes and very much liked by the people.
The origin of the daily May devotion - like in the case of so many popular devotions - is still obscure. There exists a prayer book, published in 1726, by an Italian Jesuit Annibale Dionisi which contains prayers for May devotions. Fr. Dionisi suggests that flowers should be offered to Mary during this month of May, symbolizing good deeds we offer to God through Mary. In 1784 we have the record of a first publicly celebrated May devotion in the city of Ferrar (Italy). From Italy it spread to other countries of Europe: since 1808 May devotions were celebrated in Switzerland, 1829 in France and 1814 in Germany. The practice of May devotions received a special impulse and promotion through the declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. Especially in times of extraordinary political or ecclesial events the May devotions were recommended by the Pope or individual bishops.
Flores de Mayo or Flores de Maria
As the name indicates it is an offering of flowers in honor of Mary during the month of May. In many localities and towns this is very popular and it is often done in connection with a prayer service. What is important seems to be that the floral offering symbolizes good deeds offered to God as already mentioned in the prayer book of Fr. Annibale Dionisi. In some places, the culminating point of the Flores de Mayo is a procession with the statue of the Blessed Mother, greatly decorated with flowers; today this is often done combined with the Santacruzan.
DEMANDS ON MAY DEVOTIONS
The Relationship to Easter
As explained above every devotion to a Saint must always point out to Christ, his redemptive work and the power of his grace. If this is neglected there is the danger of cult of person and even idolatry. History teaches that in the veneration of the Saints there seems to be an inherent trend to become so important that the christological dimension is obscured. How often did the Church have to revise an reform the liturgical calendar because of an overpowering presence of feasts of Saints to the detriment of the feasts of the Lord! The May devotions will have to be carefully checked that the christological dimension does not get lost. Mary has no other mission than to bring us to her son Jesus Christ. Paul VI in his Encyclical about May devotions expresses this beautifully: "The person who encounters Mary cannot help but encounter Christ likewise. For what other reason do we continually turn to Mary except to seek the Christ in her arms, to seek our SAvior in her?" Especially since the month of May is part of the Easter season in the May devotions a connection should be made between Mary and the Paschal Mystery. This can easily be done by putting the paschal candle or a cross in the vicinity of the "May altar". Only in this way the demand of Constitution on the Liturgy will be fulfilled, that popular devotions must harmonize with the liturgical seasons.
Interiorization
Every devotion connected with external practices is in danger of overemphasizing the external activities at the expense of the internal attitude. This is probably given in the very nature of man who in those external practices finds satisfaction because they correspond to the material dimension of his existence. A serious effort will have to be made to penetrate through the externals to the true spirit of the devotion. Especially during the month of May, the floral offerings and the processions are in danger of getting lost in externals. Offering flowers to Mary does not mean anything if it is not an expression of true love and devotion. And true devotion includes always a surrender to God and a willingness to do is will. To interpret the flowers offering and to show concrete ways how it has to assume forms of involvement for human beings is essential to the Flores de Mayo, otherwise it will remain on a shallow and superficial level. The Philippine Bishop's Conference mentions explicitly the Flores de Mayo as being in need of reform: "Public and traditional Marian celebrations like the Flores de Mayo, often connected with the Santacruzan, must be prevented from becoming fashion shows that take away their spiritual meaning, with the danger of converting Marian devotions into beauty parades rather than religious manifestations of faith. Similarly the traditional forms of devotion must never be an ostentatious show to be displayed for guests or visitors. The real spirit of these devotions should be emphasized, and not merely the external practice."