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"May reflection" by Fr. Willy Raymond, CSC (CatholicMom.com) May Crowning at Holy Cross Family Ministries, North Easton, MA. Copyright 2018 Holy Cross Family Ministries. All rights reserved.At CatholicMom.com and Holy Cross Family Ministries, the month of May unleashes once again the wonder and beauty of the creation renewing itself. We love May because it has thousands of  7-year-old children receiving Jesus in Communion for the first time; because May celebrates the special genius of women in their unique role as mothers; and May is Mary’s month par excellence. Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. captured all the wonders of Mary, May and motherhood in his stunningly beautiful poem "May Magnificat" and depicts how they celebrate renewal in the world of nature and the world of families. No wonder the beautiful hymn, beloved of Saint John Paul II, sings of Mary as the Mother of Mercy filled with Holy Joy. {Salve Mater Misericordiae, Mater plena sanctae laetitiae, O Maria} May Magnificat {shortened} May is Mary's month, and I Muse at that and wonder why: Her feasts follow reason, Dated due to season— Candlemas, Lady Day; But the Lady Month, May, Why fasten that upon her, With a feasting in her honour? Is it only its being brighter Than the most are must delight her? Is it opportunest And flowers finds soonest? Ask of her, the mighty mother: Her reply puts this other Question: What is Spring?— Growth in every thing— Flesh and fleece, fur and feather, Grass and greenworld all together; All things rising, all things sizing Mary sees, sympathising With that world of good, Nature's motherhood. Their magnifying of each its kind With delight calls to mind How she did in her stored Magnify the Lord. Well but there was more than this: Spring's universal bliss Much, had much to say To offering Mary May. This ecstasy all through mothering earth Tells Mary her mirth till Christ's birth To remember and exultation In God who was her salvation. Gerard Manley Hopkins Each weekday, the homily from Daily Mass at Holy Cross Family Ministries is shared online. Visit Family Rosary: World at Prayer and sign up to receive notifications of each day's homily.
Copyright 2018 Fr. Willy Raymond, C.S.C.

About the Author

Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C.

Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C.

Father Wilfred J. Raymond, C.S.C. (Father Willy), a native of Old Town, Maine, is the eighth of 12 children. He joined the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1964 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stonehill College in 1967 and a master’s in Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. He served in ministry at Stonehill College (1979-1992), Holy Cross leadership (1994-2000), National Director of Family Theater Productions, Hollywood (2000-2014), and President of Holy Cross Family Ministries (2014-2022). In addition to English, he is conversant in French and Spanish. He remains a diehard fan of the Boston Red Sox, even though he has served as Chaplain for the Los Angeles Dodgers.