May, Mary's Month

As spring is everywhere around us, we dedicate this month to Mary. This is our special place for Mary this month. Our icon is of Our Lady of Czestochowa. (We do not have a statue of Mary large enough for a May crowning--*hint* to husband for gift.) St. Luke is said to have painted the original on the table where Mary ate her meals. Many miracles are attributed to Our Lady of Czestochowa, including the saving of Poland from Russian invaders in 1920.

Pope Benedict said today, "In the encyclical Deus caritas est I wrote that Mary is a woman who loves. Yes, dear brothers and sisters, Mary is the fruit and the sign of the love God has for us, of his tenderness and of his mercy."

Help of the half-defeated, House of gold,
Shrine of the Sword, and Tower of Ivory;
Splendour apart, supreme and aureoled
The Battler's vision and the World's reply.
You shall restore me, O my last Ally,
To vengence and the glories of the bold.
This is the faith that I have held and hold,
And this is that in which I mean to die.
~Hillare Belloc
Ballade to Our Lady of Czestochowa