May is a month that is welcomed for many reasons – not least because it marks the start of Summer – for Irish people at least! 

It feels as though brighter, longer days are ahead and there are more reasons to be cheerful.

Many people will be familiar with the tradition of the month of May being a ‘Marian’ month – a month that the Catholic Church dedicates to Mary.  We might remember May altars at school, decorated with flowers. 

This might seem somewhat twee or sentimental. But behind the gesture is a rich history of Marian devotion dating back to the Middle Ages that I’m all too glad to have been exposed to. 

In the UK, I have been struck by the various devotions and rich history attached to Marian shrines, such as Our Lady of Walsingham.  This dispelled my assumption that it was somehow more provincial or ‘Irish’ to have a month dedicated to Mary – full of visiting shrines and recitations of the Rosary.

Thinking of Mary’s motherhood got me thinking of my own mother, which always brings a smile to my face!  

My mother, like many mothers, has a mother's presence -  the gift of bilocation. A presence, for whatever is needed;  immediate attention to a nasty cut, advice that gets to the nub of something or that tells you it's not such a good idea to do what you are contemplating, the assurance that tells you that she knows you better than you know yourself. 

More recently when my fiancé met my mother for the first time, she was not content until every dinner dish was at his elbow for fear of his not feeling her absolute regard and hospitality. 

Mary is a human being just like our own mothers. She has that same warmth and familiarity. 

Mary didn't exert power but she had extraordinary influence. A quiet presence at the moment of her son's brutal torture and death. A warmth and love that meant the apostles naturally gathered around her for strength, devastated as they were after the death of Christ. 

As with the apostles, she draws us together to God. She is the greatest of saints. 

Indeed Mary’s own “yes” to God, when she was asked to be the Mother of Jesus, is something which resonates with women in particular.  Mary let things unfold. She gave herself space to take things in and choose. She paused and pondered and practised acceptance.   It is through Mary, this one woman, that we encounter God. 

As the mother of God and our mother she is our mother par excellence. 

And yet like most mothers, motherhood was so much bigger than anything Mary had experienced. There was a before and after. With it came not only changes in routine and the dependence of a defenceless baby on its mother but a change in identity. 

For those of us who are not mothers, we may think this has nothing to do with me, (motherhood that is).  But in every woman isn’t there that maternal spirit, dormant at times,  that inner capacity that enables us to be dependable for others, family or friends? So often we celebrate doing over being. And yet isn’t it true that being there for someone in their time of need means more to them than any kind words. 

Like all mothers, we can rely on her for motherly protection. Perhaps we can experience her maternal protection, her spiritual presence by discovering her favourite prayer, the Rosary – invited as we are by Pope Francis to rediscover the beauty of this prayer, in solidarity with others around the world.