May the Saints and feast Days of May inspire you to grow closer to Christ Jesus. May is dedicated
to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
May 1: St. Joseph the Worker
“Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man” (Matthew 1:19).
The feast of St. Joseph the Worker was established by Pope Pius XII in 1955. May 1 was the celebration of “May Day” by the Communists. To counter this secular celebration of work, Pope Pius XII instituted this feast day to honor work from God’s perspective, and to give to all workers a model and a protector in St. Joseph.
“Where men and women, in the course of gaining a livelihood for themselves and their families, offer appropriate service to society, they can be confident that their personal efforts promote the work of the Creator, confer benefits on their fellowmen, and help to realize God’s plan in history”.
– Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes
May 3: Sts. Philip and James the Less
The Apostle Philip was one of Christ’s first disciples, called after Jesus’s baptism in the river Jordan. During the Last Supper, as Philip was struggling to grasp Christ’s divinity and His oneness with God the Father, Philip asked “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied. Jesus said “have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father”” (John 14:8-9). Let us ask St. Philip for his intercession to see Jesus as He is, true God and true man.
St. Philip preached the gospel in modern day Turkey. Tradition has it that he was martyred by being fastened to a cross and stoned to death. His relics were later moved to Rome and placed in the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles.
St. James the Less, a brother of the Apostle Jude, is believed to be the author of the Epistle of James in the New Testament. He was given an appearance of the Risen Christ (I Cor. 15:7). After the dispersion of the Apostles, he was made Bishop of Jerusalem. When he refused to deny the Divinity of Christ, the Jews cast him down from the terrace of the temple and clubbed him to death.
“Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him”
(James 1:12).
“Dear sons, be imbued with the hope that is so much a part of the mystery of the Ascension of Jesus. Be deeply conscious of Christ’s victory and triumph over sin and death.”
May 13: Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary following apparitions to three shepherd children — Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco — in Portugal in 1917. The message of Fatima includes a call to conversion of heart, repentance from sin and a dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially through praying the Rosary.
In the summer of 1916, an Angel appeared to them several times and taught them a prayer to the Blessed Trinity:
“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended”.
On Sunday, May 13, 1917, a flash of lightning drew the attention of the children, and they saw a brilliant figure appearing over the trees of the Cova da Iria. The “Lady” asked them to pray for the conversion of sinners and an end to the war, and to come back every month, on the 13th.
Further apparitions took place on June 13 and July 13. On August 13 the children were prevented by local authorities from going to the Cova da Iria, but they saw the apparition on the 19th. On September 13 the Lady requested recitation of the Rosary for an end to the war. Finally, on October 13, the “Lady” identified herself as “Our Lady of the Rosary” and again called for prayer and penitence.
On that day a phenomenon took place: the sun seemed to tumble from the sky and crash toward earth. The children had been forewarned of it as early as May 13, the first apparition. The large crowd (estimated at 30,000 by reporters) that had gathered around the children saw the phenomenon and came away astounded.
Official recognition of the “visions” which the children had at the Cova da Iria came on October 13, 1930, when the bishop of Leiria – after long inquiry – authorized the cult of Our Lady of the Rosary at the site.
“My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that will lead you to God.”
– Our Lady of Fatima
May 26: St. Philip Neri (1515-1595)
St. Philip Neri (1515-1595) was born in Florence and later he came to Rome. After fifteen years, living as a pilgrim and hermit, was ordained a priest. He gathered around him a group of priests and established the Congregation of the Oratory. He was a man of a happy and winning disposition. He spent whole nights in prayer and had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, in addition to reviving the practice of frequent Communion. He died on the feast of Corpus Christi.
“My children, if you desire perseverance, be devout to our Blessed Lady. Believe me, there is no more powerful means to obtain God’s grace than to employ the intercessions of the Holy Virgin.”
– St. Philip Neri
May 14: Ascension of the Lord (or transferred to the following Sunday- May 17)
The Ascension is the elevation of Christ into heaven, by His own power, in the presence of His disciples on the fortieth day after His Resurrection. Today’s feast is the confirmation that we shall all rise from the grave with new, glorified bodies and ascend to heaven, as Christ did. There we’ll begin our true life of eternal happiness.
“He enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard Me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit… and you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When He had said this, as they were looking on, He was lifted up and a cloud took Him from their sight” (Acts 1:4-9).
“Dear sons, be imbued with the hope that is so much a part of the mystery of the Ascension of Jesus. Be deeply conscious of Christ’s victory and triumph over sin and death.”
– Pope St. John Paul II
May 31: Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The second Joyful mystery of the rosary is Mary’s visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. The Visitation was the central mystery of St. Francis de Sales’ devotions. In fact, the order of nuns founded by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal was called the Visitation Order. St. Margaret Mary was a member of this order, and one of the practices of this order is to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“Whoever opens his or her heart to the Mother encounters and welcomes the Son and is pervaded by his joy. True Marian devotion never obscures or diminishes faith and love for Jesus Christ Our Saviour, the one Mediator between God and humankind.”
– Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1: 46-47).