Service

Service Commission-Geri Burns

Service- Geri Burns

May is the month for many celebrations, Mother's Day, graduations and sometimes even weddings  It is also the month we honor Mary, our Mother in Heaven.  I have very fond memories growing up participating in the May Crowning in our parish.  The high school Junior and Senior girls would process in wearing our prom dresses and a Senior would have the honor of crowning Mary.  The other CCD students would be in a group singing Marian songs.  One of my favorite songs I first learned at May Crowning.  It is "On This Day O Beautiful Mother".  The chorus is beautiful:  "On this day, O beautiful Mother, on this day we give you our love.  Near thee Madonna, fondly we hover, trusting thy gentle care to prove."  If you haven't heard this song lately, look it up on the internet.  There are many verses and it is a nice tribute to Mary.

The grade school children in our parish have a May crowning each year.  It is so refreshing to see our young people honoring Mary and hearing the Marian songs I grew up with.  If your parish does not have a May crowning, talk to your pastor about getting it started.  Another activity is to have the children build a small shrine to Mary to display in their home.  It can be as simple as using a kleenex box and decorating it with silk or live flowers.

Let us remember our graduates this month.  Honor the high school graduates with a mass and have them do some of the parts of the mass; taking up the collection, carrying up the gifts, doing the petitions and doing the readings. Depending on the timeframe, you can have rolls and coffee for them and their families after the mass.  It is important for these students to know that they have the support of their home parish as they prepare to go off to college or their next step in life's journey.  Even more important, let us pray for college graduates, as they prepare to enter the work force. 

May you enjoy the beauty that Springtime brings and God Bless you!!