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Spirit on 7th Street

May 2021

The Month of May Honoring Mother Mary

As Catholics, we have honored Mary, mother of Jesus, during the month of May since the 13^th century. Traditions have included praying the rosary each day, a “crowning” of Mary event, and special readings, devotions, and prayers.

Here are few ways we invite you to celebrate Mary’s special month:

Visit our own gardens. We have the Mary Garden with a chime, complete with a beautiful statute of Our Lady of Grace, brought here from the front of the Convent at the old church. The Sorrowful Mother garden area where another statute of Mary resides. This statue was brought here from the cemetery where she was blown over in the strong winds of the 1997 tornado, the statues of Joseph and Jesus that had accompanied her were destroyed. The Rosary Walk garden area is full of flowers, as well, planted around a boulder where the Crucifix rests.
Pray the rosary each day in May, whether at church, in your home, or within the Mary Gardens.
Create your own Mary Garden: Visit Flowers of the fairest: How to plant a Mary garden | CNA (catholicnewsagency.com) or simply plant flowers that have historically been matched with Mother Mary. According to author Vincenzia Krymow in her book, “Mary’s Flowers – Gardens, Legends and Meditations”, a Mary Garden is a garden dedicated to Mary, which can be as small as a clay pot, or as large as a city block. A statute of Mary will be surrounded by herbs and flowers, which have special significance, through legends or naming. Historians believe that the first gardens honoring Mary were cloister gardens in monasteries. They contained flowering plants and herbs used for medicinal purposes, as well as vegetable and fruit trees. Plants for the first-time could Mary gardeners include:
- Madonna Lily
- Forget-Me-Nots – representing the eyes of Mary
- English daisies – referred to as Mary-Loves
- Bachelor’s Button – Mary’s crown
- Marigolds – Mary’s Gold
- Violets – Mary’s Humility
- Alyssum - Mary's Little Cross
- Lily of the Valley - the tears of Mary
- Geranium - Lady Beautiful
- Impatiens - Our Lady's Earrings, Mother Love
- Bleeding Heart - Mary's Heart
- Petunia - Lady's Praise
- Zinnia - The Virgin
- Canna - Rosary Beads
- Fern - Our Lady's Hair
- Hosta - Assumption Lily

Suggestions of places to purchase your very own statue of Mary.

St. Patrick’s Books and Gifts 25 Birch Ave S in Maple Lake www.stpatricksonline.com

Leaflet Missal 976 W Minnehaha Ave in St. Paul www.leafletonline.com

Click on the links below to view past newsletters.

Spirit on 7th Street 2019 Spring/Summer Newsletter

Spirit on 7th Street Winter 2017 Newsletter Continued - Page 5 Continued - Page 6