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The month of August: Devoted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Devotion to Our Lady, the mother of Jesus, and our mother, among Franciscans is legendary. When this page was originally prepared, it was an early Sunday morning in May 1959. It is too bad that the old "May Crowning" tradition has fallen largely by the wayside. I spent some time being educated in Latin and Classical Greek (of which I remember absolutely nothing), some 60 years ago, at "the High School," a Capuchin-Franciscan preparatory seminary, in Garrison, New York. This property is no longer theirs but they do have a presence in that little town by way of a new center a mile south along route 9D, last I checked. Anyway, it was at the High School where we met outside on a sunny day, with a light Hudson River wind keeping the temperature pleasant, to celebrate "May Crowning." All sixty students plus various friars began the ceremony by singing Marian hymns, as we stood at the base of a life-sized statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus, and a student placed a flower arrangement of wild roses on her head. Then we all knelt and prayed a "May crowning prayer." This was followed by another hymn or two and we returned to our classes convinced that Our Lady would take care of us as long as we kept remembering her in our prayers. And she did.
More recently, in Indiana (1996) where I spent about six months, I used to drive by a very large and imposing statue of Our Lady and Child. The statue, full-sized on a tall base, at least a dozen feet high, stood in a large but otherwise bare piece of meadow right along a well-traveled road. Whomever owned the land must have had a wonderful devotion to Our Lady to use his acres for her. We are blest by the faith of others.
From our earliest recollection, children in old-time Catholic families, and maybe even now, recall our mothers speaking about Our Lady and Jesus. Children, as they go through their first couple of years are fascinated with blocks and colors, and when the cognitive stage sets in, with Jesus and Mary. As I recall my own pre-teen years, I remember not so much any particular story as I do a great intimacy with Jesus and Our Lady. She is part of us, and Her Son saved us on the Cross. This belief is a mystery of our Faith, for none of us have ever met Mary and her Son, but we know each intimately. We go to great lengths to please them with our love.
Mary and the Child Jesus, enjoy a very special bond. We know that when we get to Heaven, if we do, we shall also share in this immense love. In 2005, the Catholic Church at the Vatican buried our long-time friend, (Saint) John Paul II, whose devotion to Mary was always strong and he told the world about it through a symbol. A shield consisting of a blue background, with the letter "M" - the sign of his "Totus Tuus" (All Yours) or total dedication, to Our Lady. Of all the prayers available to us, the Lord's Prayer (Our Father) and the Hail Mary, as in the Rosary, are the most powerful prayers we can use. Let's not forget that great gift of Mary in our daily prayers - because they were first spoken by Mary and her son Jesus. And, as our Faith teaches us, Mary is in Heaven. She is conceived without sin.
Our Blessed Mother, Mary, is the Immaculate Conception. So we ask her to intercede for us, to lay our needs at the feet of Jesus, at the throne of the Father, so that our prayers are answered. In various apparitions, Mary promised she would intercede for us.
To St. Bridget of Sweden, in the fourteenth century, Our Lady gave her 21 powerful promises. These promises and prayers were acknowledged by the Roman Catholic Church in May of 1862 by Pope Pius IX.
Many people wear scapulars. These are little pieces of cloth, preferably wool, attached by a string so that when worn, the strings hang over both shoulders and one cloth is worn on the chest, the other on the back. Religious, that is those wearing a habit, have a scapular that often is part of the habit. Franciscans wear either a short mantle (Conventuals and Third Order Regular), or a hood attached to a cloth (OFM and Capuchins). These are Scapulars. They are worn over the tunic, the garment of work. On July 16, 1261, Our Lady in a vision to St. Simon Stock, a Dominican, said "Whosoever dies clothed in this (scapular) shall not suffer eternal fire." Many wear scapular medals because in hot climates wool scapulars are very uncomfortable to wear.
A prayer largely forgotten in this busy and hectic world is the "Angelus." In the old days, farmers used to bow their heads in prayer when the Angelus bell rang at 6 AM, 12 Noon and 6 PM. Oftentimes one could barely hear the little church's bells. And, at the end of the day, we prayed or sang the Hail Holy Queen, the Salve Regina. Those who pray Night Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, sing a Marian Antiphon (such as the Salve Regina) at the conclusion of the Hour.
Secular Franciscans pray the Liturgy of the Hours (Breviary) we should remember that those prayers are also dedicated to the Blessed Mother. Each day, in Evening Prayer, we pray the Gospel Canticle (see Luke 1:46-55), the words of Mary in Nazareth, as she prays: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.” I cannot tell you the joy I feel as I pray this Canticle every evening. I am often brought to tears and I thank God for having made me a Franciscan, a son of my Seraphic Father, Francis of Assisi.
Please pray for me, because in my old age (81 next month), I no longer own a car because I cannot afford it. I miss many things without a car, but most of all, I cannot get to Holy Mass. Mass for me is on TV, at EWTN at 8:00 AM daily (Eastern time) but it just isn’t the same as being there.
Our Lady, pray for us!
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
August 1, 2021