Happy Mother's Day to all who are moms, grandmothers, godmummies, step-moms, and just-like-mom's.
Happy Mother's Day as well to all who miss their mothers or babies.
No matter what kind of mom you may you may be or what kind of mom you may know, may your day today be especially blessed as you remember our Mother in Heaven.
The month of May is dedicated to Our Lady. As such, our family has been making some extra time to learn about, celebrate, and of course, pray for the intercession of Our Mother in Heaven.
1. Make a Pilgrimage
On the first day of the month, we were blessed to be able to visit the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima at a beautiful church not too far from us, Saint Anthony of Padua. During our visit, we witnessed the farewell procession of the statue's visit to the church and were also able to spend extra time in prayer.
If you, too, would like to see the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima, check to see if the Fatima Centennial U.S. Tour will be coming your way.
Or, perhaps you could make a pilgrimage to a holy place that is strongly connected with Our Lady this month.
2. Pray the Rosary
I "caught" Nina praying extra decades in our minivan the other day after visiting the St. Anthony's church. While her brothers jibber-jabbered away, she intently prayed, pausing only to ask if anyone had special intentions they would like her to pray for.
On another day, Luke asked if we could pray more than one decade during our first car ride of the day, during which we always pray at least one decade. He had just heard that morning of the fire that destroyed the home of a fellow Catholic homeschool blogger, Lisa, and wanted to offer extra prayers for her and her family. Since then, we have continued to pray for Lisa and her family, for, although they all made it out of their home safely on the day of the fire, they lost everything. If you could join us in praying for Lisa and her family, that would be fabulous!
If you feel moved to offer practical help to Lisa and her family as well as prayer power for them, you could join the Facebook community page that has been put together to support Lisa and her family, donate to the GoFundMe account that has been set up to help them (which is legit), or do any and all Amazon shopping you have to do this week through the affiliate link on Lisa's blog, Home to 4 Kiddos. As I hear, Lisa is ever-grateful this Mother's Day to have all her children safely with her and, through the devastation of losing their family home and pet, is still counting the blessings of faith and family. I am sure she would welcome any other blessings that come her way as she and her family recover from their losses.
Now, back to the specific topic of the rosary:
If the rosary is a struggle for your children to pray, perhaps one of the strategies I used with my crew will help you.
You might also be interested in how we enjoyed a successful rosary celebration with friends before. Or, perhaps you'd like to layer some literal sweetness into praying the rosary through a simple idea like a cookie rosary.
If you are feeling ambitious, you might consider initiating a Children's Rosary group at your parish or homeschool co-op. We have been participating in a small chapter for a while now and always find it a blessing to be able to pray in unison with others.
3. Plant a Mini-Mary Garden.
Later this month, we'll enjoy making mini-Mary gardens with friends again. In the past, we've also made Mary spoon puppets to go along with Mother's Day Mary baskets. Of course, before making either of these gardens, we pray. Then, we also chat about the symbolism of the plants we use.
4. Play and Study Marian Art
You can, too, can enjoy them if you wish. Simply click through the links to download your own free copies.
5. Sing-Look-Pray
With young children, you might also consider simply singing, looking, and praying. I used these simple strategies with my children with success. Actually, I still do. Maybe you can, too.
However you choose to make extra time for Our Mother this month, may your efforts be blessed.
Our Mother in Heaven loves us tremendously. For that, I am grateful.
I am also ever-thankful for the gift of motherhood that I have been given through the blessing of my three children. I know I will never be a perfect mother, but I pray that every day I get closer and closer to being the mother I am called to be and that my children never, ever have cause to question just how much I love them!
How will you honor the earthly mothers in your life today and how might you spend extra time with Our Mother in Heaven?
