Celebrating Mary Today

Many men and women of my generation who attended Catholic schools recall childhoods filled with May processions, living Rosaries, blue scapulars, and flowers banking classroom shrines devoted to Mary in her special month of May. Some of these traditions endure in some parishes and schools, and occasionally I see shrines and remnants of May processions as I travel around the country.

Today, some young parents, eager for the stability of such traditions, yearn to renew them for their children. Good questions for us as religious educators are these: What do these traditions convey? What traditions can carry similar meaning for us in the 21st century?

As a child I understood clearly that Mary, as mother of the Savior, was Mother of God. I knew that she was always faithful to God’s call to her, and that she would always intercede with God for us. I knew that these were important reasons to honor her throughout the year. I also understood clearly that she was more than her statues and that she was not equal to God. These are important understandings to convey to young people today.

Many years later, I have gained new understandings of Mary. I have reflected longer on her own humble life and recognize her as a champion of the oppressed and disadvantaged. I know better from experience the paradox of joy and suffering that she experienced as a mother. And I know from a lifetime of trying to follow her example the peace that faithfulness can bring.

Every culture has developed its own traditions to honor Mary. In our multicultural society today, it is easier than ever to introduce children to the many expressions of devotion to Mary in our midst. Some of them are in your own textbook series, and young people and their families can introduce you to more. Incorporate some of these devotions, such as those to Our Lady of Guadalupe or Our Lady of Czestochowa, and the Hispanic Christmas posada. Encourage a return to the Angelus as an Advent devotion. (Don’t forget the bells!) Introduce children to the renewed Litany of Loreto, and encourage older students to research the origin of the names of the various petitions, or to visualize them in art.

It is as important today as it was in 1950 to introduce children to their Mother Mary, to know of her life and what she represents for all Christians. Through encountering her courage and faithfulness they will learn how to make their own difference in the world today.

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