O, My Son !
O, My God !
What Mystery !
O, Mon Fils !
O, Mon Dieu !
Quel Mystère !
Illustration: HOLY CARD HEAVEN
01 May, 2026
May Is The Month Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. In Praise Of The Creator’s Masterpiece. The Perfection Of His Grace. “Our Tainted Nature’s Solitary Boast” (William Wordsworth).
The Blessed Virgin Mary
is Crowned in Heaven by her Beloved Son.
Illustration: AD MOIOREM DEI GLORIAM
“Litaniæ Beatæ Virgin Mariæ”.
“Litany of The Blessed Virgin Mary”.
Available on YouTube
This Litany of The Blessed Virgin Mary (also called The Litany of Loreto) originated during the Middle Ages, but in a form that was still in the process of development. It was definitely approved for public use by Pope Sixtus V in 1587.
Like the Rosary, it is primarily an Act of Praise and Devotion to The Blessed Virgin. Its Titles and Invocations set before us Mary’s exalted privileges, her Holiness of life, her amiability and power, her motherly care for her children for whom she continually intercedes.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless otherwise stated.
The month of May Devotions to The Blessed Virgin Mary refer to special Marian Devotions held in The Catholic Church, during the month of May, honouring The Virgin Mary as “The Queen of May”.
These Services may take place inside or outside of a Church. A “May Crowning” is a Traditional Roman Catholic ritual that occurs in the month of May.
A number of Traditions link the month of May to The Blessed Virgin Mary. King Alfonso X of Castile, in the 13th-Century, wrote in his Cantigas de Santa Maria about the special honouring of The Blessed Virgin Mary during specific dates in May. Eventually, the entire month was filled with Special Observances and Devotions to The Blessed Virgin Mary.
The origin of the conventional May devotion is still relatively unknown. Herbert Thurston identifies the 17th-Century as the earliest instance of the adoption of the custom of Consecrating the month of May to The Blessed Virgin by Special Observances.
A number of Traditions link the month of May to The Blessed Virgin Mary. King Alfonso X of Castile, in the 13th-Century, wrote in his Cantigas de Santa Maria about the special honouring of The Blessed Virgin Mary during specific dates in May. Eventually, the entire month was filled with Special Observances and Devotions to The Blessed Virgin Mary.
“Queen Of The Angels,
Queen Of The May”.
Available on YouTube
The origin of the conventional May devotion is still relatively unknown. Herbert Thurston identifies the 17th-Century as the earliest instance of the adoption of the custom of Consecrating the month of May to The Blessed Virgin by Special Observances.
It is certain that this form of Marian devotion began in Italy. Around 1739, witnesses speak of a particular form of Marian devotion in May in Grezzano, near Verona. In 1747, the Archbishop of Genoa recommended the May devotion as a devotion for the home. Specific Prayers for them were promulgated in Rome in 1838.
According to Frederick Holweck, the May devotion, in its present form, originated at Rome, where Father Latomia of The Roman College of the Society of Jesus, to counteract infidelity and immorality among the students, made a Vow at the end of the 18th-Century to devote the month of May to Our Blessed Virgin Mary.
From Rome, the practice spread to the other Jesuit Colleges and thence to nearly every Catholic Church of The Latin Rite. In Rome by 1813 the May devotions were held in as many as twenty Churches. From Italy, the May devotions soon spread to France. In Belgium, the May devotions, at least as a Private devotion, were already known by 1803. The Tradition of honouring The Blessed Virgin Mary, in a month-long May devotion, spread eventually around the Roman Catholic World in the 19th-Century, together with a month-long devotion to Jesus in June and the Rosary in October.
The Litany of Loreto is used to honour Mary, The Mother of God. The Litany recalls Mary’s unique role in our salvation history as The Mother of Our Saviour and invokes various Titles for her as a way of honouring her and reminding us of the role she has played.
The Litany owes many of its Praises to the Greek Akathist Hymn, which was first translated into Latin in Venice around 800 A.D.
According to Frederick Holweck, the May devotion, in its present form, originated at Rome, where Father Latomia of The Roman College of the Society of Jesus, to counteract infidelity and immorality among the students, made a Vow at the end of the 18th-Century to devote the month of May to Our Blessed Virgin Mary.
From Rome, the practice spread to the other Jesuit Colleges and thence to nearly every Catholic Church of The Latin Rite. In Rome by 1813 the May devotions were held in as many as twenty Churches. From Italy, the May devotions soon spread to France. In Belgium, the May devotions, at least as a Private devotion, were already known by 1803. The Tradition of honouring The Blessed Virgin Mary, in a month-long May devotion, spread eventually around the Roman Catholic World in the 19th-Century, together with a month-long devotion to Jesus in June and the Rosary in October.
“As I Kneel Before You”.
Available on YouTube
English: The Crowning of The Virgin Mary
in Heaven by The Holy Trinity.
Español: Coronación de la Virgen.
Deutsch: Die Krönung Marias.
Artist: Diego Velázquez (1599–1660).
Date: Circa 1645.
Current location: Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.
Source/Photographer: https://www.museodelprado.es/
(Wikimedia Commons)
“The Litany of Loreto”.
Available on YouTube
Text from PRECES-LATINAE.ORG
The Litany of Loreto is used to honour Mary, The Mother of God. The Litany recalls Mary’s unique role in our salvation history as The Mother of Our Saviour and invokes various Titles for her as a way of honouring her and reminding us of the role she has played.
The Litany owes many of its Praises to the Greek Akathist Hymn, which was first translated into Latin in Venice around 800 A.D.
The other Titles and Praises addressed to Mary are found extensively in the writings of the Early-Church Fathers of the first six Centuries A.D.
Over time, a number of Titles for Our Lady were removed and added to the Litany. Originally, the Litany had fifteen additional Titles, such as Our Lady of Humility, Mother of Mercy, Temple of The Spirit, Gate of Redemption, and Queen of Disciples.
Over time, a number of Titles for Our Lady were removed and added to the Litany. Originally, the Litany had fifteen additional Titles, such as Our Lady of Humility, Mother of Mercy, Temple of The Spirit, Gate of Redemption, and Queen of Disciples.
Recent history has seen the addition of five Titles. The last four Titles of the Litany, which refer to The Immaculate Conception, The Assumption, The Rosary, and Mary as The Queen of Peace, are of recent origin. The latest addition, Mother of The Church, was added by Pope Saint John Paul II.
Most likely, the Litany was composed in or around Paris between the years 1150 and 1200. It gets its name [Editor: “Litany of Loreto”] from the Italian shrine (Loreto) where it was adopted in 1558. Pope Sixtus V approved its use in public Worship in 1587.
Most likely, the Litany was composed in or around Paris between the years 1150 and 1200. It gets its name [Editor: “Litany of Loreto”] from the Italian shrine (Loreto) where it was adopted in 1558. Pope Sixtus V approved its use in public Worship in 1587.
The Litany is used especially during May Services, the month Traditionally dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary. It is also used at Benediction, and some Congregations use it in The Divine Office. The Litany is approved for public use and carries a Partial Indulgence.
THE VIRGIN.
Mother ! whose Virgin bosom was uncrost
With the least shade of thought to sin allied.
Woman ! above all women glorified,
Our tainted nature's solitary boast;
Purer than foam on central ocean tost;
Brighter than Eastern skies at daybreak strewn
With fancied roses, than the unblemished moon
Before her wane begins on Heaven's blue coast;
Thy image falls to Earth. Yet some, I ween,
Not unforgiven the suppliant knee might bend,
As to a visible Power, in which did blend
All that was mixed and reconciled in thee
Of Mother's love with maiden purity,
Of high with low, celestial with terrene !
Saint Philip And Saint James-The-Less. Apostles. Feast Day 1 May. Red Vestments.
unless stated otherwise.
Saint Philip And Saint James-The-Less.
Apostles.
Feast Day 1 May.
Double of The Second-Class.
Red Vestments.
Saint Philip and Saint James-the-Less.
Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY
Artist: René de Cramer.
"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".
Used with Permission.
Saint Philip.
Artist: Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640).
From Rubens’ famous “Apostle Series”.
Date: Circa 1611.
Current location: Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.
Source/Photographer: Museo del Prado.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The following two paragraphs are from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.
In The Roman Catholic Church, the Feast Day of Saint Philip, with that of Saint James-The-Less, was Traditionally observed on 1 May, the Anniversary of the Dedication of the Church Dedicated to them in Rome (now called the Church of The Twelve Apostles).
The Eastern Orthodox Church Celebrates Philip's Feast Day on 14 November. One of the Gnostic Codices, discovered in the Nag Hammadi Library in 1945, bears Philip's name in its Title, on the bottom line.
Saint James-The-Less, Apostle, is so called because he was younger than the other Apostle by the same name, James-The-Great. James-The-Less was related in some way to Jesus, and, after Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven, he became The Head of The Church in Jerusalem. He was Martyred in 62 A.D.
Illustration: PINTEREST
Saint Philip, like Saint Peter and Saint Andrew, was of Bethsaida, in Galilee. He died at Hierapolis, in Phrygia, on The Cross, like them. It is he whom Jesus addresses at the multiplication of the loaves and it is through him, as intermediary, that the Gentiles seek to address The Saviour.
To him, also, we owe what The Master said in His discourse at The Last Supper: "Philip, who seeth Me, seeth my Father" (Gospel). To go to Christ, is to go to God, for the works of The Messias have proved His Divinity (Ibid.).
Stained-Glass Window, depicting Saint James-The-Less, in Saints Peter and Paul Church, Bow Valley,
Nebraska, United States of America.
Photo: 25 November 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Ammodramus
(Wikimedia Commons)
Saint James-the-Less, called "The Minor", was of Cana, in Galilee. A cousin of Our Lord, he had for brother the Apostle Jude, and was made, by Saint Peter, Bishop of Jerusalem. It is for him that Saint Paul speaks when he says: "I did not see any Apostle, except James, the brother of The Lord." Called upon by the High Priest to deny Jesus, he was thrown down from the terrace of the Temple and his head was broken by the blow of a club.
Their names are inscribed in The Canon of The Mass (First List).
Following the example of the Holy Apostles Philip and James-The-Less (Collect), let us confess by a generous life The Divinity of The Risen Christ.
Every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.
Mass: Clamavérunt.
Credo: Is said.
Preface: Of the Apostles.
Saint Philip And Saint James-The-Less. Apostles. Two Of The Favoured Witnesses Of Our Beloved Jesus’s Resurrection. Feast Day 1 May. Red Vestments.
Saint Philip.
Artist: Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640).
Collection: Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Source/Photographer: Museo del Prado, Madrid.
(Wikimedia Commons)
_-_Saint_James_the_Less_-_266909_-_National_Trust4.png)
Saint James The Less.
Artist: Pompeo Batoni (1708–1787).
Collection: National Trust.
Source: Art U.K.
(Wikimedia Commons)
By: Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
Volume 8.
Paschal Time.
Book II.
Two of the favoured witnesses of our Beloved Jesus’s Resurrection come before us on this first day of May.
Philip and James are here, bearing testimony to us that their Master is truly risen from the dead, that they have seen Him, that they have touched Him, that they have conversed with Him, during these forty days.
And, that we may have no doubt as to the truth of their testimony, they hold in their hands the instruments of the Martyrdom they underwent for asserting that Jesus, after having suffered death, came to life again and rose from the grave.
Philip is leaning upon the Cross to which he was fastened, as Jesus had been; James is holding the club wherewith he was struck dead.
Philip preached the Gospel in the two Phrygias, and his Martyrdom took place in Hierapolis. He was married when he was called by our Saviour; and we learn from writers, of the 2nd-Century A.D., that he had three daughters, remarkable for their great pity, one of whom lived at Ephesus, where she was justly revered as one of the glories of that early Church.
James is better known than Philip. He is called, in the Sacred Scripture, “Brother of The Lord”, on account of the close relationship that existed between his own mother and the Blessed Mother of Jesus.
He claims our Veneration during Paschal Time, inasmuch as he was favoured with a special visit from our Risen Lord, as we learn from Saint Paul. There can be no doubt but that he had done something to deserve this mark of Jesus’ predilection.
Saint Jerome and Saint Epiphanius tell us that our Saviour, when ascending into Heaven, recommended to Saint James’s care the Church of Jerusalem, and that he was accordingly appointed the first Bishop of that City.
The Christians of Jerusalem, in the 4th-Century A.D., had possession of the Chair on which Saint James used to sit when he assisted at the assemblies of the Faithful. Saint Epiphanius also tells us that the holy Apostle used to wear a lamina of Gold upon his forehead as the badge of his dignity. His garment was a tunic made of linen.
He was held in such high repute for virtue that the people of Jerusalem call him “The Just”; and when the time of the siege came, instead of attributing the frightful punishment they then endured to the Deicide they or their fathers had committed, they would have it to be a consequence of the murder of James, who, when dying, Prayed for his people.
The admirable Epistle he has left bears testimony to the gentleness and uprightness of his character. He there teaches us, with the eloquence of an inspired writer, that “works” must accompany our “Faith” if we would be just with that justice which makes us like our Risen Lord.
The bodies of Saint Philip and Saint James repose in the Basilica of The Holy Apostles at Rome. These relics are counted as one of the richest treasures of the Holy City, and there is reason to believe that this first of May is the real anniversary of their translation.
For a long period, the Church of Rome kept special Feasts in honour of four only of the Apostles: Saint Peter and Saint Paul; Saint John the Evangelist; Saint Andrew (Saint Peter’s brother); the rest of the Apostles were united in the Solemnity of 29 June, and a vestige of this is still to be found in the Office of that day, as we shall see later on.
The reception of the bodies of Saint Philip and Saint James, which were brought from the East somewhere about the 6th-Century A.D., gave rise to the institution of today’s Feast, and this led gradually to the insertion into the Calendar of Special Feasts for the other Apostles and Evangelists.
The Greek Church celebrates the memory of these two Apostles on distinct days, which are the anniversaries of their Martyrdom.
“Totus Tuus”. “Totally Yours”.
“The Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary”.
Artist: Mariano Salvador Maella (1739-1819).
(Photo: Public Domain).
“Totus Tuus”
(Totally Yours).
Composer: Henryk Górecki.
Sung by: The Choir of New College, Oxford.
Available on YouTube
“Totus Tuus”, a Latin phrase meaning “Totally Yours,”
was the motto of Pope Saint John Paul II.
Taken from Saint Louis de Montfort’s “True Devotion to Mary”, it signifies our desire to give ourselves entirely
to Jesus Christ through Mary.
It also expresses our effort to give our all
to every young person we encounter.
30 April, 2026
Saint Catharine Of Siena. Virgin. A “Lily Of Dazzling Whiteness”. Doctor Of The Church. Feast Day 30 April. White Vestments.
English: Saint Catharine of Siena.
Deutsch: Hl. Katharina von Siena
Artist: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770).
Date: Circa 1746.
Collection:
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Gemäldegalerie.
Source/Photographer:
(Wikimedia Commons)
Text is from “The Liturgical Year”.
By: Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Volume 8.
Paschal Time. Book II.
The Dominican Order, which, yesterday, presented a Rose to our Risen Jesus [Editor: Feast Day of Saint Peter of Verona], now offers Him a Lily of beauty.
Saint Catharine of Siena follows Saint Peter of Verona (Saint Peter The Martyr): It is a coincidence willed by Providence, to give fresh beauty to this Season of grandest Mysteries.
Our Divine King deserves everything we can offer Him; and our hearts are never so eager to give Him every possible tribute of homage as during these last days of His sojourn among us.
See how Nature is all flower and fragrance at this loveliest of her Seasons !!!
See how Nature is all flower and fragrance at this loveliest of her Seasons !!!
The Spiritual world harmonises with the visible, and now yields her noblest and richest works in honour of Our Lord, the Author of Grace.
How grand is the Saint whose Feast comes to gladden us, today !!! She is one of the most favoured of the Holy Spouses of the Incarnate Word.
How grand is the Saint whose Feast comes to gladden us, today !!! She is one of the most favoured of the Holy Spouses of the Incarnate Word.
She was His, wholly and unreservedly, almost from her very childhood. Though thus consecrated to Him by the Vow of Holy Virginity, she had a mission given to her by Divine Providence which required her living in the World.
But God would have her to be one of the glories of the Religious State; He, therefore, inspired her to join the Third Order of Saint Dominic. Accordingly, she wore the Habit, and fervently practised during her whole life the holy exercises of a Tertiary.
From the very commencement, there was something Heavenly about this admirable Servant of God, which, we fancy, existing in an Angel who had been sent from Heaven to live in a human body.
But God would have her to be one of the glories of the Religious State; He, therefore, inspired her to join the Third Order of Saint Dominic. Accordingly, she wore the Habit, and fervently practised during her whole life the holy exercises of a Tertiary.
From the very commencement, there was something Heavenly about this admirable Servant of God, which, we fancy, existing in an Angel who had been sent from Heaven to live in a human body.
Her longing after God gave one an idea of the vehemence wherewith the Blessed embrace the Sovereign Good on their first entrance into Heaven.
In vain did the body threaten to impede the soaring of this Earthly Seraph; she subdued it by Penance, and made it obedient to the Spirit. Her body seemed to be transformed, so as to have no life of its own, but only that of the Soul.
The Blessed Sacrament was frequently the only food that she took for weeks. So complete was her union with Christ, that she received the impress of the Sacred Stigmata, and with them the most excruciating pain.
And yet, in the midst of all these supernatural favours, Saint Catharine felt the keenest interest in the necessities of others.
Her zeal for their Spiritual advantage was intense, whilst her compassion for them in her corporal sufferings was that of a most loving mother.
God had given her the gift of Miracles, and she was lavish in using it for the benefit of of her fellow-creatures.
Sickness and death, itself, were obedient to her command; and the prodigies witnessed at the beginning of The Church were again wrought by the humble Saint of Siena.
Her communings with God began when she was quite a child, and her ecstasies were almost without interruption. She frequently saw Our Risen Jesus, Who never left her without having honoured her either with a great consolation or with a heavy Cross.
Sickness and death, itself, were obedient to her command; and the prodigies witnessed at the beginning of The Church were again wrought by the humble Saint of Siena.
Her communings with God began when she was quite a child, and her ecstasies were almost without interruption. She frequently saw Our Risen Jesus, Who never left her without having honoured her either with a great consolation or with a heavy Cross.
A profound knowledge of the Mysteries of our Holy Faith was another of the extraordinary Graces bestowed upon her.
So eminent, indeed, was the Heavenly Wisdom granted her by God, that she, who had received no education, used to dictate the most sublime writings, wherein she treats of Spiritual things with a clearness and eloquence to which human genius could never attain, and with a certain indescribable unction which no reader can resist.
But God would not permit such a treasure as this to lie buried in a little Town of Italy.
The Saints are the supports of The Church; and, though their influence be generally hidden, yet, at times, it is open and visible, and men then learn what are the instruments which God uses for imparting Blessings to a World that would seem to deserve little else besides chastisement.
The great question, at the close of the 14th-Century, was the restoration to the Holy City of the privilege of having within its walls the Vicar of Christ, who, for sixty years, had been absent from his See.
One Saintly Soul, by merits and Prayers, known to Heaven alone, might have brought about this happy event after which the whole Church was longing; But God would have it done by a visible agency, and in the most public manner.
In the name of the widowed Rome - in the name of her own and The Church’s Spouse - Saint Catharine crossed the Alps, and sought an interview with the Pontiff, who had not so much as seen Rome.
The great question, at the close of the 14th-Century, was the restoration to the Holy City of the privilege of having within its walls the Vicar of Christ, who, for sixty years, had been absent from his See.
One Saintly Soul, by merits and Prayers, known to Heaven alone, might have brought about this happy event after which the whole Church was longing; But God would have it done by a visible agency, and in the most public manner.
In the name of the widowed Rome - in the name of her own and The Church’s Spouse - Saint Catharine crossed the Alps, and sought an interview with the Pontiff, who had not so much as seen Rome.
The Prophetess respectfully reminded him of his duty; and, in proof of her mission being from God, she told him of a secret which was known to himself, alone. Pope Gregory XI could no longer resist; and the Eternal City welcomed its Pastor and Father.
But, at the Pontiff's death, a frightful schism, the forerunner of greater evils to follow, broke out in The Church.
But, at the Pontiff's death, a frightful schism, the forerunner of greater evils to follow, broke out in The Church.
Saint Catharine, even to her last hour, was untiring in her endeavours to quell the storm. Having lived the same number of years as Our Saviour had done, she breathed forth her most pure Soul into the Hands of her God, and went to continue in Heaven her ministry of intercession for The Church she had loved so much on Earth, and for Souls redeemed in the Precious Blood of her Divine Spouse.
Our Risen Jesus, Who took her to her eternal reward during the Season of Easter, granted her, whilst she was living on Earth, a favour which we mention here as being appropriate to the Mystery we are now Celebrating.
Our Risen Jesus, Who took her to her eternal reward during the Season of Easter, granted her, whilst she was living on Earth, a favour which we mention here as being appropriate to the Mystery we are now Celebrating.
He, one day, appeared to her, having with Him His Blessed Mother.
Saint Mary Magdalen - she that announced the Resurrection to the Apostles - accompanied The Son and The Mother.
Saint Catharine’s heart was overpowered with emotion at this visit. After looking for some time upon Jesus and His Holy Mother, her eyes rested on Saint Mary Magdalen, whose happiness she both saw and envied.
Jesus spoke these words to Saint Catharine: “My beloved !!! I give her [Editor: Saint Mary Magdalen] to thee, to be thy mother. Address thyself to her, henceforth, with all confidence. I give her special charge of thee”.
From that day forward, Saith Catharine had the most filial love for Saint Mary Magdalen, and called her by no other name that that of Mother.
Pope Pius II (Papacy Reign 1458 - 1464), one of the glories of Siena, composed two Hymns in honour of his Saintly and illustrious fellow-citizen.
From that day forward, Saith Catharine had the most filial love for Saint Mary Magdalen, and called her by no other name that that of Mother.
Pope Pius II (Papacy Reign 1458 - 1464), one of the glories of Siena, composed two Hymns in honour of his Saintly and illustrious fellow-citizen.
They form part of the Office of Saint Catharine of Siena in the Dominican Breviary.
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