May is jam-packed and starts off with a bang with the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. Please scroll down for our recent post on the indulgences in the “Year of Saint Joseph.” There are 2 that deal specifically with him under this title and one that refers to his feasts. Get yourself to confession and you’re all set!
There are various major feasts this month of Our Lord, Our Lady, the Holy Ghost and the Holy Trinity. We celebrate 3 Apostles and 5 Doctors of the Church, including Saint Athanasius, the earliest of the Doctors (born c 297). We recently discussed Saint Isidore the Farmer on his minor feast, but this month we have his main feast on the 15th.
May also contains both the Ember Days (of summer) and the Minor Rogation Days! These have separate origins but are very similar in character. Basically, these are traditional times of prayer and penance, associated with nature and the seasons. Trinity Sunday marks the end of Eastertide and the beginning of the Time after Pentecost, which we remain in until Advent.
And of course, May celebrates our Heavenly Mother. We have 4 major Marian feasts and a number of minor or less standard ones, not mentioned here. I will not give you a list this time of obvious ideas for Marian devotions, but pray on it and use your creativity, especially if you have young children (check this out: How to Plan a May Crowning for Kids ). Here are some wonderful products from The Catholic Company, which will serve you. As a prepper, I would be remiss if I failed to encourage you to purchase these types of products while you still can. Especially, I recommend good hardcover Catholic books and Bibles, as many as you can afford.
Here is a sampling of the feasts of May…
5/1-St. Joseph the Worker / First Saturday
5/2-St. Athanasius, Doctor, “The Father of Orthodoxy”
5/3-Sts. Philip & James the Less, Apostles, Martyrs (new)
5/4-St. Monica, Mother of St. Augustine
5/7-First Friday
5/9-St. Gregory Nazianzen, Doctor, “The Theologian” “The Christian Demosthenes”
5/10-Rogation Day / St. John of Avila, Doctor, “Apostle of Andalusia” “The Master”
5/11-Rogation Day / Sts. Philip & James the Less (trad)
5/12-Rogation Day
5/13-ASCENSION OF THE LORD (ASCENSION THURSDAY-please check your diocese for info on Holy Days of Obligation) / OUR LADY OF FATIMA / St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor, “Prince of Apologists” “Gentle Doctor of The Controversies”
5/14-St. Matthias, Apostle who replaced Judas, Martyr
5/15-St. Isidore the Farmer
5/16-ASCENSION OF THE LORD (some dioceses)
5/22-Vigil of Pentecost
5/23-PENTECOST SUNDAY (WHITSUNDAY)
5/24-BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH
5/25-St. Bede the Venerable, Doctor, “Father of English History” (new)
5/26-Ember Wednesday after Pentecost (trad meat at one meal)
5/27-St. Bede the Venerable (trad)
5/28-Ember Friday after Pentecost
5/29-Ember Saturday after Pentecost (trad meat at one meal)
5/30-TRINITY SUNDAY / St. Joan of Arc
5/31-THE VISITATION / QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Notes: The titles of the Doctors of the Church are taken from The 35 Doctors of the Church , a wonderful book of 728 pages, well worth the price. We give both old and new feasts, since people are coming from all parts of the world and all perspectives. Also, the future Church will not be divided-we must work toward unity.