May has always been dedicated to the honour of Our Lady – Welcome month of Mary! I can remember singing this as a child.
Fittingly during the course of the month, we celebrate three important feasts in honour of Mary, Mother of God. On 13th of the month, we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Fatima – a very important day of prayer for peace and conversion of our world as war rages across our globe. Then on the 29th, we remember that Mary is the Mother of the Church, a relatively new feast but one which has always formed part of our belief. After all, the Church was formed at the foot of the Cross as Mary and John stood there contemplating the death of Jesus as blood and water flowed from his side, the source of the sacramental life of the Church. The Holy Spirit of Pentecost finds the apostles gathered together with Mary the Mother of the Lord. Finally, as we reach the last day of May, we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – the meeting of these two women whose obedience to God’s word changed the destiny of the world.
Of course, the month of May is ushered in quietly and humbly by St Joseph, the spouse of our Lady, under his title as “The Worker”. This feast reminds us that in essence work is a calling to participate in the creative action of God who saw that all that he had made was good. Work is not just aimed at material production or economic gain; it is a genuine vocation from God through which we and our world can be sanctified.
Then we have the celebration of the Conation of King Charles and Queen Camilla on Saturday May 6, with all its pageantry and tradition, but, as we are promised, within a modern context. As we pray for our newly crowned head of state, we should also remember all our politicians and those involved in national and local government. We can ask the intercession of St Thomas More, who was declared patron of statesmen and politicians by Pope St John Paul II in October 2000. The evening before the coronation I will celebrate Mass for the King in Middlesbrough Cathedral at 7pm, and I encourage all parishes to do the same.
Amid all these celebrations, we are reminded on Tuesday May 9 to pray for all those who are the victims of sexual abuse. It is a date for us to remember and to call to mind those whose lives have been twisted and brutalised in this way. We are certainly aware nowadays of the necessity of safeguarding protocols and the need to protect the young and the vulnerable. Much progress has been made, but we can never sit back on our laurels or become complacent. Let’s make this day a day of special prayer and awareness in our own hearts and in our communities.
And finally, May is the beginning of the confirmation season and First Holy Communions. Many of our young people have been preparing for these sacraments over a long period of time. Let’s keep them in our prayers also.

On the faithful who are true – and profess their faith in you – in your sevenfold gift descend!

Give us virtue’s sure reward – give us your salvation, Lord – give us joys that never end!

Amen. Alleluia!

In blessed hope,