For centuries, the month of May has been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary perhaps influenced by the ancient Greek and Roman cultures. In ancient Greece, May was dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of fecundity, and ancient Rome dedicated it to Flora, the goddess of bloom. But what better woman exemplifies the beginnings of life than the one whose fertile fiat ushered Eternal Life into the world?   Mary the Mother of God, Mary the Mother of Mercy, Mary the Mother of the Mysteries of Salvation, Mary the Perfect Woman!

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, put it this way: "The mood of springtime informs the church's interior; nature's blossoming, the warm air of May evenings, human gladness in a world that is renewing itself -- all these things enter in. Veneration of Mary has its place in this very particular atmosphere, for she, the Virgin, shows us faith under its youthful aspect, as God's new beginning in a world that has grown old. In her we see the Christian life set forth as a youthfulness of the heart, as beauty and a waiting readiness for what is to come." (Seek That Which is Above, Ignatius, 1986, pp. 95-96).

For Reflection: 

To what extent do I feel the “fertility of the fiat” stirring within me? Am I filled with a “waiting readiness for what is to come?” Explore this in light of your call to spiritual motherhood. Journal your insights.