Making May Really a Mary Month by Tami Kiser

Visit Tami Kiser's wonderful website for this week's "Smart Martha" tip of the month and learn to make your own laundry detergent!

I am always talking about being more like Mary and less of Martha, so let’s really take that to heart this month of May. And yes I know that they are different Mary’s, but this is really the Mary we want to be like. She always seeks her son. So the best way for us to find Christ in all our situations is to ask Mary. How can we remember to do this?

It’s simple: Devote ourselves to her. She always comes through. I am serious about it being that simple. Try it if you don’t believe me. Next time you find yourself in a troublesome situation, beg Mary for help or say a "Hail, Mary." Then see what happens. . .

Our problem is that we don’t remember to do this. We’d rather curse the situation or wallow in self-pity or find someone else to blame. Even in non-troublesome, everyday situations, we like to handle the situations in our own Martha-like way. We can’t seem to remember that we should always look for Christ, and that the best way to find Christ is to ask his mother.

This is why devotion to Mary is so helpful to our devotion to Christ. To help with this devotion to Mary, here are some

Ideas Old and New:

I really like the Total Consecration to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort. Find out about it in many different places. This group will send the devotion info for free: http://www.ourlady33.com/main.htm and this group has the whole consecration on line for you http://totalconsecration.ageofmary.com/index.html

You can also get the book at any Catholic bookstore. These sites explain it better than I can so check it out.

Up the rosary count. Once a day? Once a week? A decade a day? Don’t make the mistake of going too big—if you know what I mean. We do once a week as a family, which isn’t much, but this is the only way we have remained consistent. Since it is May, I will up my own Mary devotion this month by saying my own rosary a day, and with the kids, one decade at their bedtime prayers. By simply saying that rosary once a day, we have that "Hail, Mary" fresh on our tongue ready to come out again when we really need it.

Or try a new way to say the rosary with the kids. I found this rosary with meditations by Benedict Groeschel and pictures from movies clips. Here is the link to the Glorious mysteries on YouTube.

Not for every family, but for elementary aged children and younger, I think these are a great lesson in what we are suppose to thinking about when we say the rosary. Your teens might even like them, and you can’t beat Fr. Benedict’s meditations.

Move the Mary statue. Place her in a more noticeable spot. Keep fresh flowers near her. Can someone fashion a flower crown for the statue?

Make a Mary Garden. Check this site out for ideas and suggested flowers. Basically, plant flowers around your Mary statue outside. Starting a Mary Garden.

Color a Mary picture for your refrigerator and put up a list of prayer requests with it. Here is a picture of the Assumption:

Or better, let your little artists do their own.

Aren’t these activities considered Martha-like in that we are doing or making something, not really praying? Do they really count? As with all devotions or activities like this, we need to be careful not to just go through the motions. These signs and activities are only meaningful if they remind us to seek Mary’s help through our day.

Remember no one can help us find Christ better than his mother. And we'll take every reminder we can!

Visit Tami Kiser's wonderful website for this week's "Smart Martha" tip of the month and learn to make your own laundry detergent!