News Briefs - Diocese of Shreveport

6
May is Mary’s month! It is also a
good time of year to recall the
goodness of our Blessed Mother
and a good time to ask her to watch over
us in the summer months ahead.
These days we don’t seem to note
Mary’s month in the ways we once did.
Years back all our churches and Catholic
schools enjoyed celebrating Mary’s
month by crowning a statue of the
Blessed Mother with a ring of flowers.
Back in the “old days” we would always
work to prepare Marian Altars with
candles and bouquets or we’d gather to
plant a garden for the Blessed Mother
near the statue next to the rectory. Some
of us even remember the times when
children toiled over creating a small
Marian Shrine. The best one got a prize
– usually a new rosary or a small statue.
These were definitely not works of art
but when they were taken home moms
proudly kept them for a good time on
the kitchen windowsill. We can still do
things to commemorate this special saint
you know! Mary is still with us. I think
that we should still celebrate her witness
and her love as the Mother of God!
So. . .this month’s Home Plate will
involve making a small “shrine” and, as
a family, sharing the Hail Mary prayer
together, and bringing “gifts” to the
Mother of Jesus.
Celebration of Mary –
Our Blessed Mother
You can have your Marian Shrine out
all month. To prepare your shrine put a
candle in the center of a shallow bowl and
fill the bowl with some water. (Water in
the bowl will keep the flowers you bring bright
and beautiful!) You can use a picture of the
Blessed Mother from a book or Catholic
magazine – or you can use a statue of
Mary you may have in your home or can
purchase one in a Catholic supply store.
(Your grandma may still have one she’d be
willing to share.) Flowers are blooming
everywhere now. Consider bringing
these as special signs of the gifts we bring
to Mary this month.
Place your statue or picture of Mary
beside the bowl. Now – for your gifts and
prayer think of good things you can do
each day – like helping Mom with dinner
– weeding the garden – feeding the dog
– taking flowers to a neighbor – going
through your old clothes to give to a St.
Vincent de Paul group or a Goodwill
Center. At your time together – at dinner
or lunch each day – light your candle and
pray the Holy Mary Prayer. Take some
time to talk about the good things you
have done as a gift for Mary. Each time
you do something good and loving, place
another flower for Mary in the bowl.
Here’s Mary’s prayer in case you
want to cut it out and put it beside the
“shrine.”
Diocese of Shreveport Western Deanery
Red Mass
Our Prayer
Watch over us, Blessed Mother, today
and in the summer months ahead.
Hail Mary full of grace
The Lord be with you.
Blessed are you among women and
Blessed is the fruit of your womb – Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners
now and at the hour of our death.
AMEN
Share your prayer, your gifts of
service and kindness, bring flowers
and soon your bowl will be filled with
beautiful flowers – honoring Mary and
thanking her for her guidance and love
in our lives. Try to pray and bring
flowers each day. Through this month
think of ways you can follow Mary’s
example of loving God and loving
others. Mary is a perfect Patron Saint
for families! Remember her especially
this month! F
Mary MCGill
Director of Catechetics
The Annual Red Mass in the Western Deanery will be held at 9:00 a.m.
on Friday, May 4 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 315 Marshall St.
in downtown Shreveport with Msgr. Earl V. Provenza, the Diocesan
Administrator and pastor of Holy Trinity Church, as this year’s homilist.
This Solemn Votive Mass is offered to invoke the Holy Spirit as the source
of wisdom, understanding, counsel or fortitude and is sponsored annually
by the Diocese of Shreveport and the Red Mass Society, a group of lawyers most, but not all, of whom are Catholic.
The Red Mass is celebrated throughout the world. It is generally held at the beginning of the judicial year, but in
Shreveport is usually celebrated during Law Week. Judges, lawyers, law enforcement officers and public officials of all faiths,
and the public at large, participate in the Red Mass. The primary purpose of the Red Mass is to evoke God’s blessing and
guidance in the administration of justice. The tradition of the Red Mass dates back to the 13th century in Europe and is called
the Red Mass for the color of the vestments worn by the celebrants of the Mass which symbolize tongues of fire representing
the Holy Spirit.