Entering May With Mary
Newman shows us why deep meditation on the Litany of Loreto is the perfect way to mark the month
Spring lands differently in modern times. Our electric lights, insulated homes, glass windows, and push-button heat all take some of the bite out of winter. Even our long journeys overland are conducted in warmth and light.
Not so for our ancestors, particularly in the northern latitudes, who greeted the deliverance from the cold and dark of winter with celebrations second only to Christmas. Lent was the turning point, the embrace of suffering in a period when food may have been growing short, and the battle against cold and hunger had begun to wear on our forefather. Easter was the bursting forth of new life in Christ and the world at the cusp of spring. Pentecost marked an embrace of coming abundance.
In traditional practices, all of this converged upon May, the most natural month to devote to the Blessed Mother. Folk celebrations took place at all levels of society to greet spring with signs of purity, fertility, light, and the coming of new life.
As cultures converted to Christianity, the kernel of truth expressed in pre-Christian traditions bloomed into the fullness of Truth found in the Catholic faith. Garlands, maypoles, beating the bounds, casting clouts, going a-maying, bonfires, Morris dancing, giving out Muguet, crowning the Virgin, Whitsunday, and a diverse array of folklore all attached themselves to the month. Ancient customs of Floralia and Beltane took on new meanings through the flower of Mary and fire of the Spirit. Traditional May veneration of pagan mothers, such as Maia Maiestes, fell away with the revelation of the Theotokos.
Proving that it’s never too late to baptize a day, in 1955 Pope Pius XII snatched May 1st from the Godless Commies to make it the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, kicking off a month devoted to the Mother of God by remembering the humble earthly father who raised Him and taught Him his trade. Thus, the workers of the world are already united under the patronage of the Defender of Christ, Guardian of the Virgin, Patron of Artisans, Mirror of Patience, Terror of Demons, and Lumen Patiarcharum.
Newman and the Litany of Loreto
One of my favorite devotional books is the Ignatius Press edition of Newman’s Prayers, Verses, and Devotions. I like this version because it’s the most complete and comes closest to what Newman himself longed to finished, which was a “Year-Book of Devotions,” which would have included meditations for each day of the year.
Although it was never finished, he did complete the month May by writing 31 meditations upon titles found in the Litany of Loreto, grouped under the Immaculate Conception, the Annunciation, the Seven Sorrows, and the Assumption.
You can find the text at The Newman Reader. Here’s a sample:
May 6
Mary is the “Domus Aurea,” the House of Gold
{15} WHY is she called a House? And why is she called Golden? Gold is the most beautiful, the most valuable, of all metals. Silver, copper, and steel may in their way be made good to the eye, but nothing is so rich, so splendid, as gold. We have few opportunities of seeing it in any quantity; but anyone who has seen a large number of bright gold coins knows how magnificent is the look of gold. Hence it is that in Scripture the Holy City is, by a figure of speech, called Golden. “The City,” says St. John, “was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” He means of course to give us a notion of the wondrous beautifulness of heaven, by comparing it with what is the most beautiful of all the substances which we see on earth.
Therefore it is that Mary too is called golden; because her graces, her virtues, her innocence, her purity, are of that transcendent brilliancy and dazzling perfection, so costly, so exquisite, that the angels cannot, {16} so to say, keep their eyes off her any more than we could help gazing upon any great work of gold.
But observe further, she is a golden house, or, I will rather say, a golden palace. Let us imagine we saw a whole palace or large church all made of gold, from the foundations to the roof; such, in regard to the number, the variety, the extent of her spiritual excellences, is Mary.
The Litany Itself
The 31 meditations do not include all of the Marian invocations found in the Litany. Indeed, the precise form of what we commonly call the Litany of Loreto, also sometimes just called the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, has evolved over the years, and its origin is uncertain. Litanies date at least the 6th century, and possibly as early as the 3rd, with the Litany of the Saints being the first, and litanies of Mary evolving from those.
Eventually, the most popular form became associated with the Holy House at Loreto, a popular pilgrimage site in Italy which was believed to be the house of the Annunciation, mystically transported to Italy by angels. The text appears to be derived from a longer version dating at least to the 13th century. Pope Sixtus V formally approved and granted indulgences for the litany in 1587, with Pope Clement VIII reaffirming this approval in 1601.
The number of invocations in the Litany varies, and different popes have added new titles to emphasize particular qualities of the Blessed Mother. Leo XIII, for example, added Mother of Good Counsel, which long had been in use when the litany was prayed at St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. John Paul II added Mother of the Church and Queen of Families. Francis added Mother of Mercy, Mother of Hope, and Solace of Migrants. With local adaptations, you may find anywhere from 50 to 70 invocations.
These call and response litanies were very popular because they were devotional, liturgical, catechetical, and could be easily be prayed by one literate leader and any number of people of who couldn’t read. Anyone who has prayed this kind of repetitive prayer knows that it can induce a profound sense of peace which is only partly psychological. The other part is pure grace, and if you give yourself over to it, and devote yourself to contemplating the mystery of the incarnation through the Blessed Mother, you’ll encounter that grace.
Litany of Loreto
Here is the current version found on the Vatican site, which has 54 titles plus the Kyrie, Angus Dei, etc. It is prayed with a single leader announcing the first part, and everyone responding with the part in bold. You’ll find that in practice it develops its own rhythm, and the leader should be attentive to maintaining that rhythm.
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Christ hear us.
Christ graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven,
have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Holy Mary,
pray for us.
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of the Church,
Mother of Mercy,Mother of divine grace,
Mother of Hope,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Saviour,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honour,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Solace of Migrants,
Comfort of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of Angels,
Queen of Patriarchs,
Queen of Prophets,
Queen of Apostles,
Queen of Martyrs,
Queen of Confessors,
Queen of Virgins,
Queen of all Saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most holy Rosary,
Queen of families,
Queen of peace.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
Grant, we beseech thee,
O Lord God,
that we, your servants,
may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body;
and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin,
may be delivered from present sorrow,
and obtain eternal joy.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Thank you so much, Deacon!
Thank you for the explanation. Our daily morning Rosary group prays this. (Now I see that we are praying an older version 😊) It's good to know what the titles mean.