Mense Maio
Mense Maio ( Latin Mense Maio instante = when the month of May approaches ) is the title of the second encyclical of Pope Paul VI. It was published on April 29, 1965 and is subtitled “Encyclical of Pope Paul VI. on prayers in May for the maintenance of peace ”. The occasion was the 50th anniversary of the first apparition of Mary in Fátima on May 13, 1917.
Key message of the encyclical
Pope Paul goes into the tradition of devotion to the Virgin Mary in May and gives these prayers a new theme: Praying to keep peace. It is also known as the “Marian Encyclical”, with it the series of “ Marian Encyclicals ” is continued and in it the devotion to Mary culminates in a fixed form of prayer, the content of which is also the rosary .
May devotion
As the most beautiful month of the year, May should be dedicated to the “most beautiful of all women”. May tariffs and May devotions come from a baroque piety tradition. May devotions are in part still privately held: the family meets in front of a picture of Mary richly decorated with fresh flowers, sings Marian songs, says prayers to the Mother of God or prays the rosary as a Marian Christ meditation. Marian devotions also take place in churches - sometimes in connection with the sacramental blessing . In peasant communities, neighbors meet at chapels and wayside shrines to celebrate May devotions. Pope Paul VI in his encyclical recommended the veneration of Mary in May. He referred to it as
- a dear habit of our predecessors to choose this month of Mary to invite the Christian people to public prayer whenever the needs of the church or an impending world danger demanded.
The Marian month of May
Pope Paul Vl. says in his encyclical:
- At the beginning of May, which the Christian faithful have long been in the habit of consecrating the Mother of God, our hearts rejoice with joy at the thought of the moving spectacle of faith and love that will soon be offered in the whole world in honor of the Queen of Heaven. It is the month in which, in the churches and in domestic security, praise and veneration for the virgin Theotokos rise more zealously and more deeply from the hearts of Christians; it is also the month when the gifts of divine mercy tend to pour down upon us in abundance from our mother's throne.
And a little later the Pope says:
- Mary is rightly called the way that leads us to Christ; every encounter with her becomes at the same time an encounter with Christ.
