The month of May is a month of the year that the Church dedicates in a special way to the Blessed Virgin Mary. There are a huge numbers of resources online to help foster and increase devotion to Our Lady. For your convenience, here are just a few suggestions for ways in which you can make the month of May a truly Marian month in your family and in your home.
The Holy Rosary
There is no devotion that is more classically Marian than that of the Holy Rosary. The Holy Rosary has been called (and rightly so) "Our Lady's Psalter." The 150 Hail Marys in the traditional Dominican Rosary parallel the 150 Psalms known as the Psalter in the Holy Bible. During this month of May, please consider praying at least 5 decades of the Holy Rosary every day, if possible with your whole family. If you already do so, you might want to consider adding a second group of five mysteries, or even praying the full 15-decade Rosary daily, which many Saints recommend and which is what Our Lady means whenever she says "Pray the Rosary." She is referring the full Rosary of 15 mysteries. For those who wish, they may want to add the optional Luminous Mysteries as well.
In case you are not familiar with how to pray the Rosary, here is a practical guide which has many beautiful images as well for your meditation on the mysteries:
The Regina Caeli
Most Catholics are familiar with the Angelus that is prayed three times a day every day: at 6 am, at noon, and at 6 pm (or thereabouts). Many Catholics, however, do not know that the Angelus is replaced with another Marian prayer, the Regina Caeli during the entire Easter Season. From Easter to Pentecost, the thrice-daily Angelus is replaced by the Regina Caeli, at the same times of day. If you are not familiar with this prayer, here is a link to the Regina Caeli in Latin and in English:
The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Like the Holy Rosary, the Brown Scapular is a sacramental. This means that it is specially blessed by a priest, and that it imparts many graces when used in faith. The Brown Scapular is a special garment that is worn (usually under one's outer clothes, but it can also be worn visibly outside the clothes) over the shoulders. One cloth hangs down over the persons chest and the other cloth hangs down the back. The two cloths are attached with a string. There is usually an image on the front and on the back cloths, but the images are not required for the scapular to impart graces on the person who wears it.
If you are unfamiliar with the history of the Brown Scapular and would like to find out more about its use, here is a good reference:
The Miraculous Medal
In 1830, the Blessed Virgin gave another powerful sacramental to the Church. This was the Miraculous Medal, which was designed by Our Lady herself and revealed to a holy French nun by the name of Sr. Catherine Labouré. This religious Sister, now a Saint (St. Catherine Labouré) was given by the Virgin Mary the task of spreading devotion to this powerful sacramental. The medal was designed in honour of Our Lady's Immaculate Conception, a dogma that would be definitively proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854, and confirmed by the apparitions of the Virgin Mary's apparitions to St. Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes in 1858.
Wearing the Miraculous Medal, like wearing the Scapular, is a sign of belonging to the Virgin Mary and being under her maternal mantle and authority.
For more information about the Miraculous Medal, click on the link below:
