Dear Parishioners,
As a child growing up Catholic in the eastern part of Nigeria, I was taught right from father’s house, in the school and in the church that the fifth month of the year, the month of May, is a special month for a special devotion to our Blessed virgin Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, the Queen of Heaven and Earth. Therefore I grew up in a community where Marian devotion was encouraged and highly promoted. It contributed greatly to my love and devotion to our Blessed Mother.
As a child I remember that the young and old used to gather every evening at the village square for the Rosary, other prayers and sing Marian hymns and I am happy that the practice is still on today under the auspices of Bloc Rosary Crusade. In my Diocese of Orlu, different parishes gather at different times this month mostly in the evening to say the Rosary and conclude with benediction.
The month of May, it will be recalled in 1917, was when Our Blessed Mother first appeared at Fatima to the three young children, admonishing them to pray for peace and to encourage others to do so as well. In the Archbishop’s column of the catholic Sentinel of April 29, 2010, our Archbishop John Vlazny made a powerful point when he was referring to the admonition, he said “that admonition needs to be taken seriously today as it was back then during the first World War. The kind of peace we seek is not only an end to wars with weapons but also an end to wars with words, feelings and resources.”
As Catholics we are encouraged to be more devoted and fervent in saying our Rosary especially during the month of May. Commenting on this special month of May, the late Pope Paul VI, in a letter to the world in 1965 wrote, “for this is the month during which Christians, in their churches and their homes, offer the virgin Mother more fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration; and it is the month in which a greater abundance of God’s merciful gifts come down to us from our Mother’s throne.”
Providentially in this Country, we celebrate the gift and dignity of motherhood in the month of May. On mothers’ Sunday (2nd Sunday in May) we show our special love to our sweet mothers and pray for them in a special way and surprise them with special gifts. Imagine the world without the woman/mother, but thank God there is. Motherhood among other good qualities is a symbol of productivity and fertility. Rejoice for being a woman/mother. We love you all and appreciate your significant roles in the family, church and society.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, Blessings, Rev. Paschal Ezurike
St. Patrick of the Forest Catholic Church 