Our Lady’s month came late to England. On the continent, May was widely observed as dedicated to the Virgin Mary, but was only introduced in England in about 1840. The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) enthusiastically spread the devotion. And in less than 30 years’ time, Father Gerard Manly Hopkins, SJ, penned his masterful poem, “The May Magnificat,” at Stonyhurst College in 1878.
In a letter to a friend, Father Hopkins admitted some regret for the poem. “I am not surprised at your not liking the May Magnificat, which has about it something displeasing to myself,” the priest wrote. The admission shocked me. Personally, I’ve only ever admired it. In another letter, he says he sees little good in it “but the freedom of the rhythm.”
And then I learned it was rejected for display by the school’s censors. The poem had been intended for display alongside other Marian poems in a corridor in May (a school tradition marking the erection of a statue of the Virgin Mary), but it didn’t pass muster.
Perhaps it was because it seemed too thoroughly natural, insufficiently praising the Virgin Mary’s special, supernatural grace. Remarkably, Father Hopkins seems to have taken less umbridge at the restriction than I.
“The May Magnificat” asks a lovely question. It wonders why the month of May is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. And Father Hopkins’ answers are as compelling as the poet’s query.
With exceedingly beautiful spring imagery, the poet lauds the Blessed Mother, the one who gave life to the savior. As Father Hopkins writes, “All things rising, all things sizing / Mary sees, sympathizing / With that world of good, / Nature’s motherhood.” The order of things, life-giving spring, is crowned by the Virgin Mary, who shares the joy of motherhood. It is she who makes light and life possible for us, her every grace given in view of Christ.
By dedicating May to Mary, it is as if we were consecrating the month to the praise of God. Fair spring sun, abundantly blooming flowers, freshly leafed trees — they all serve as cheerful reminders to unite our hearts in lauding our heavenly Father. There is all around us, as Father Hopkins says, “universal bliss” and “ecstasy all through mothering earth.” All of creation lends voice to an extended singing of the Virgin Mary’s exuberant hymn of praise.
In the liturgical year, May comes a month or so after the Annunciation. In fact, the feast of the Visitation, the momentous occasion of Mary’s Magnificat, sung to her cousin, Elizabeth, is celebrated May 31. “To remember and exultation / In God who was her salvation,” writes Father Hopkins at the close of the poem. Just as the Magnificat lists the wonders worked by the Lord in salvation history, the poet lists the marvels God continues to ordain all around him. God has remembered Israel, the Virgin Mary declares in the Magnificat. The poet, too, rejoices in God’s remembrance, delighting in the working out of the Father’s plan in the Virgin Mary.
We might not be astute observers of nature like Father Hopkins. Still less likely are we to be poets gifted with his talent. But it is possible for us to adopt one disposition of this month. We can live May as a month of praise. Surrounded by graduations, preparing for Mother’s Day, looking forward to Memorial Day weekend, we can live this month intent on offering cheerful, grateful prayers, like Father Hopkins and like Our Lady.
The lovely things of this month are not distractions or burdens; they are signs. Nature’s hymn will direct our hearts and minds to God, if only we allow it. Let us lend our voices, then, in praise of God and Mary, singing ever-new Magnificats.
Father Patrick Briscoe, OP, is editor of Our Sunday Visitor. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMaryOP