May, the Month of Mary
Garland of Flowers with the Madonna and Child
Christiaen Luyckx [Web Gallery of Art]
You can also find this painting on Wikipedia here.
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.
Bring Flowers of the Rarest (Queen of the May)
Composed by Mary E. Walsh, sung by Frank Patterson
Bring flowers of the rarest
bring blossoms the fairest,
from garden and woodland and hillside and dale;
our full hearts are swelling,
our glad voices telling
the praise of the loveliest flower of the vale!
Refrain:
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.
Their lady they name thee,
Their mistress proclaim thee,
Oh, grant that thy children on earth be as true
as long as the bowers
are radiant with flowers,
as long as the azure shall keep its bright hue
Refrain
Sing gaily in chorus;
the bright angels o'er us
re-echo the strains we begin upon earth;
their harps are repeating
the notes of our greeting,
for Mary herself is the cause of our mirth.
Refrain
bring blossoms the fairest,
from garden and woodland and hillside and dale;
our full hearts are swelling,
our glad voices telling
the praise of the loveliest flower of the vale!
Refrain:
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.
Their lady they name thee,
Their mistress proclaim thee,
Oh, grant that thy children on earth be as true
as long as the bowers
are radiant with flowers,
as long as the azure shall keep its bright hue
Refrain
Sing gaily in chorus;
the bright angels o'er us
re-echo the strains we begin upon earth;
their harps are repeating
the notes of our greeting,
for Mary herself is the cause of our mirth.
Refrain
Request for Prayers
May I ask your prayers for Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder and her husband Pieter. Mariette frequently
comments on my blog. Pieter is very ill at the moment. Mariette blogs at
Mariette’s Back to Basics.
Mariette and Pieter on 17 March this year
3 comments:
Dearest Father Seán,
Thank you so very much for asking for prayers.
Pieter fought like a lion and he sure made it till his 95th Birthday. Three hours before that I told him—you are going to make it—only three more hours!
Pieter smiled so happy and then I said: 'And the very BEST Birthday gift ever would be if Jesus would come, hold your hand and bring you HOME. I let you go, I set you free because you earned it. I've never seen a bigger smile on Pieter's face.
He sure made it and had some very warm and happy moments together with loved ones, via phone call, WhatsApp short video, flowers being delivered for him all the way from The Netherlands. He got emotional for being showered with love.
The next day at 8:00 AM I found him and knew that Jesus had come...
So happy for him to be without suffering and grateful to God that he left his mind so clear and functional till the very end.
https://www.stanleyfuneralhome.com/obituaries/obituary-listings?obId=31354060
Honoring Pieter's Last Will there will be a special Memorial Service in the Church where I sang for years in the chancel choir.
Pieter received his Last Rites a week before passing on.
Knowing that his soul will be forever fused with mine—I move on and feel priveledged for having been married to him over 40 years.
Hugs,
Mariette
Dear Mariette
What a beautiful death Pieter had, being graced by so much love as his time approached, and your handing him over to Jesus to take him home. Our faith in the Resurrection of Jesus and our hope of sharing in it gives us great comfort. Yet we need to grieve, as Jesus himself grieved for Lazarus.
But there is also a sense of joy at the death of someone who has been blessed with a long and fruitful life. I have experienced that at the many funerals of Columban confreres here since I came back to Ireland in 2017, most of them in their 80s and 90s. There is a sense of joyful gratitude to God.
But the relationship of husband to wife is the closest of all. May our Blessed Mother and St Joseph her husband comfort you in your loss.
I will offer Mass for the soul of Pieter.
We have a beautiful expression in the Irish language when someone dies: 'Solas na bhFlaitheas ar Pieter' - 'The Light of Heaven on Pieter.'
Dearest Father Seán,
Thank you ever so much for offering Mass in Dublin, Ireland and indeed that Irish expression is a beautiful one!
Hugs,
Mariette
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