Here is the Prayer for the Month of May dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary “O Blessed Virgin, it is the month of May that we specially dedicate to You” extracted from the “Catholic Hours of Ars” , prayers of a Servant of God or exercises of Piety specially intended for the pilgrims of Ars.
The devotion of the month of May or the Month of Mary:
It was in Florence, capital of Tuscany in Italy, that the devotion of the Month of Mary was founded. The exercises for the month of May began there in the magnificent church of Sainte-Marie-des-Flowers. Here is the practice that we can follow to properly do the exercises of this Month of Mary:
1°If we do not have the facility of going every day to the foot of an altar of the Blessed Virgin, it is It is necessary, the day before or the day before May 1st, to choose the most suitable place in the house. We decorate a place as best we can to place the image or statue of Mary.
2°We propose to honor Mary during the month of May with particular zeal: we determine which Virtue of the Blessed Virgin we especially want to imitate, what particular Grace we want to obtain, what sin or fault we especially want to avoid.
3°Every day upon waking up and from time to time during the day, we offer our actions to Mary, and we do not fail to come and recite some Prayer in front of the image or statue prepared for the worship of the Month of Mary; we end this month of May with a fervent Communion and a Consecration to the Most Holy Virgin Mary (cf. “Prayer of Consecration to the Most Holy Virgin Mary”).
The Prayer of the Month of Mary“O Holy Virgin, it is the month of May that we specially dedicate to You”:
“O Holy Virgin, it is the month of May that we specially dedicate to You. If spring offers us the ravishing beauties of nature, do we not find infinitely more admirable wonders in Your greatness and in Your virtues? You are daughter of the Father, mother of the Son, wife of the Holy Spirit. You were designed without sin. You are of all beauty, and there is no stain in You. You are a virgin and mother of God. You were presented to the celestial court, which compared You sometimes to the star of the night, sometimes to the brighter light of the dawn, sometimes to the splendor of the sun. You were the first channel through which God spread his ineffable benefits on the human race, plunged for four thousand years in the darkness of death. You crushed the head of the serpent and opened Heaven, which sin had closed. From the top of the Cross Your divine Son declared You our Mother. From then on all generations have celebrated and will celebrate Your praises until the end of the world; every day Your children address this prayer to You: “Hail Mary, full of Grace” and every day You pour out Your blessings in our hearts to make all the virtues germinate, as the beautiful days of May give to all nature life and fertility. O Mother of Mercy, who obtain from your Son so many miracles, ask for the conversion of sinners who never cease to blaspheme her Name and Yours; avenge his Glory and Yours; do not allow them to imitate the impious Nestorius, who died in despair for having preached against Your divine Maternity, a heresy renewed today by a pestilential sect. O Mary, who love the unity of the Church and the purity of Her doctrine, remove from us the false prophets who have the exterior of sheep and who are interiorly ravishing wolves. Do not allow them to devour Your children as the fire devoured the temple of Solomon. Your powerful Protection, in which we have the most perfect confidence, will protect us from all scourge, as soon as we are faithful to Your inspirations, as we follow Your examples of humility and obedience, sharing Your joys and Your pains without ever forgetting Your benefits, which are our life, our hope and our consolation. How great, O Mary, is the happiness of Your faithful servants who are close to You! Your love consoles us and the scent of Your virtues attracts us to You. Yes, O Holy Virgin, my soul, freed from the cares and interests of the earth, rests at the foot of Your altars and enjoys, in the shadow of Your protection, perfect tranquility and assured calm, like a child asleep on his mother's breast fears no danger, likewise, O Mary, near You who have all my confidence, nothing terrifies me: neither the artifices of the world, nor the rage of the demon, nor the weakness of my heart, neither the violence of my passions, nor the justice of God himself,who cannot reach Your children in Your arms. When You lower upon me a look of love and compassion, one of those looks which heal all pain, I immediately feel all the precious Gifts of grace and the abundance of divine Mercy descend into my soul; I see my God opening his Heart to the return of my soul which invokes Him, and I hear His mouth address these consoling words to her: “My daughter, have confidence; your Mother prayed for you, I have forgotten all your iniquities.” O the best and most tender of Mothers, take an interest in so many sinners who do not participate in this happiness, and who, despite their ingratitude, have not ceased to be Your children. Since Calvary is an assured asylum that no one can violate and which the justice of God respects itself, since the sacred wounds of your Son are the refuge of sinners, since his Blood still asks for mercy for them and his adorable Heart burns again for them of the same Love which immolated Him on the Cross, since he demanded with a dying voice your Mercy for them, mingle Your voice with that of Your divine Son, who brought the dead out of the tombs, obtain for them the lights and graces which they need to enter the path of salvation; let them one day unite with us to celebrate Your benefits and sing Your praises throughout eternity.”
So be it.
Prayer of the Month of May or of Mary -“Catholic Hours of Ars: prayers of a Servant of God or exercises of Piety specially intended for pilgrims of Ars”, pages 350-353, by H. Pélagaud and Roblot, 1875
