May 12: Mary, Mother of Graces and Mediatrix
This feast day celebrates Mary as mediator of Divine Grace. According to Father Robert Backherms, SM, “When we want something from another, we often have a mutual friend intercede for us. This person becomes a mediator. Jesus, the God-man, is the mediator between God and man; the Mother of Jesus is the Mediatrix between Jesus and us. Mary is both the Mother of Christ and our Mother. No wonder she is such a perfect mediatrix.” In 1921, a papal indult permitted the Society of Mary to celebrate this feast, in commemoration of Pope Gregory XVI’s Decree of Praise in 1839 and Pope Pius IX’s Decree of Approbation of the Society of Mary in 1865, which were two key steps in the Vatican’s recognition and approval of the Society of Mary.
May 25: Mary, Help of Christians
While it has been a Marian Feast in the Catholic Church since 1814, a papal indult granted the Marianists special permission to celebrate the Feast of Mary, Help of Christians to commemorate the founding and papal recognition of the Daughters of Mary. Father Backherms states, “Mary is the help of the world, of countries, of states and cities, of communities and families…all may claim her special help.”
May 31: The Visitation
The Feast of the Visitation, an official Marian feast in the Catholic Church since the Medieval Era, commemorates Mary’s visit with her cousin, Elizabeth. Both women were overjoyed by the other’s pregnancy, and Mary praised God with her Magnificat. The Magnificat continues to be an influential prayer for the Marianist Family and our relationship with Mary. Father Backherms says, “It is a beautiful example of humility Mary gave us. She who was God’s Mother became the servant of another.”
Published in the May 2024 edition of the NACMS Newsletter.
To utilize Marianist prayers for these feasts, see The Marianist Family Prayer Book, (2nd Edition), available for purchase in our online bookstore. You can also learn more about Mary’s Magnificat and its implications for Marianists today through our Magnificat Series videos. The quotes are from Robert E. Backherms, SM, Sparks from a Marian Flame: Meditations on Mary’s Principal Feasts (Dayton, OH: Marianist Publications, 1953).