Blessing of the Statue of Our Lady

On Thursday 17th May, to start the day, the whole of the Prep School gathered in the secret garden adjacent to the main house.  Thankfully the weather was kind to us!  Some of the children scattered rose petals as they led the way to the statue in the garden.  Together, we recited the Angelus prayer, sang ‘Ave Maria’ and we crowned the statue of Mary, to honour her as the Mother of Christ.  Father Lamb then granted an official blessing to the statue and spoke to the children about her.

The Worship Leaders did an excellent job of organising the children and they even created their own bidding prayers to share, based on Mary’s example.  A very special mention must be given to Trevor, our gardener, who recently painted the statue and has really brought her to life!

Later in the day, Pre-Prep went out to visit the statue of Mary and we all said some prayers accompanied by actions.  This was a very special occasion for the whole school community, celebrating the faith which is at the heart of our school’s ethos.

A little bit about the Marian tradition:

Devotion to our Blessed Mother Mary originates in the earliest days of the church. Concerning the significance of the month of May, towards the end of the 18th century, Father Latomia of the Roman College of the Society of Jesus instituted the practice of dedicating this month to our Blessed Mother. His desire was to promote devotion to Mary among the students as a way to counteract infidelity and immorality. From Rome, the May devotion spread throughout the Jesuit colleges, and eventually throughout the whole church.

May probably seemed most appropriate because the liturgical calendars, former and present, mark several feast days honouring our Blessed Mother: Our Lady, Queen of Apostles; Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament; Our Lady of Fatima; Mary, Help of Christians; Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces (May 31); and the Visitation (May 31).

Article taken from the Catholic Herald