Pray in May with Mary's Meals

Rinda and Fatmeh, Credit: Mary's Meals

Since discovering the Catholic tradition of honouring Mary during the month of May several years ago, I always look forward to this month. Singing our beautiful Marian hymns and seeing the special traditions like May Crowning and May Devotions helps to breathe new life into my connection to Mary, our Mother.

This month has also taken on a new meaning for me since I began working at Mary's Meals three years ago. Mary's Meals provides school meals to more than 2.4 million children living in poverty around the world, helping to attract them into the classroom where they can gain an education, paving the way for a brighter future. We carry out this work joyfully in the name of Our Lady, and while I seek Our Lady's intercession throughout the year for this mission, I do so in a special way during our annual Pray In May campaign.

It has been amazing to see our annual prayer campaign grow, with churches, schools, prayer groups and individuals joining us. Together, we give thanks for the blessings God has given to this mission, ask for Our Lady's intercession for the children and families we serve, and pray in earnest for those we haven't yet reached with our meals, who are waiting for them to arrive.

Seeing so many different groups coming together to support our work at Mary's Meals - whether in prayer, fundraising or volunteering - is a mirror image of the driving force at the centre of every school serving Mary's Meals: the community. Our feeding programmes are run by local communities, who despite facing great hardship, come together and respond with hope and determination.

In my own prayers this month, I am remembering the different people who make up these powerful communities - teachers, family members, volunteers. All of them play such an important part in providing our life-changing school meals, preparing the children of their community for a brighter future.

A story that stands out is that of Rinda and Fatmeh, who volunteer together in Lebanon. Rinda is Lebanese and Fatmeh is a Syrian refugee living in Lebanon. They might never have met, but their children attend school together and both mothers were motivated to support the school feeding programme as volunteer cooks.

They see how important the meals are, with Fatmeh telling us: "My kids enjoy the teaching, but they also enjoy the food. The food is the most important thing to them."

There is significant food insecurity in Lebanon, and with a large refugee population struggling alongside Lebanese families, this has created the potential for tension between the communities. But for volunteers like Rinda and Fatmeh, working together to prepare the meals has been a catalyst for unity and understanding.

Rinda says: "Regardless of the background of each person, we are all brothers and sisters, and we are all on the same page".

As you honour Our Lady during the month of May, at home, or in your church, I invite you to keep mothers like Rinda and Fatmeh, and their children, in your prayers. We know that these families face adversity, from poverty, conflict and food insecurity, yet they are a great example to us in their hope and trust, that the future can hold something better for their children, and for our world.

There are many ways to take part in Pray in May this year. On our website, you can find our prayer resources and complete our Prayer Pledge to let us know you are taking part. Our resources include a prayer calendar for May, guiding you to pray for our work in a different way each day, with links to find out about our work in different countries, and hear the stories of some of the children who receive Mary's Meals.

Our prayers for Catholic churches and prayers for children are also flexible resources to guide your prayers, and can be used at home, in your prayer group, or to help you organise a dedicated Holy Hour or prayer service. You could also simply remember our work in your personal prayers over the course of the month.

Together, our community of prayer can help strengthen our amazing volunteer communities around the world, without whom the work of Mary's Meals would be impossible.

Sarah Mallon is Supporter Engagement Officer - Western Scotland for Mary's Meals

Please visit www.marysmeals.org.uk to find out more about the work of Mary's Meals.

If you would like to find out more about our Pray in May campaign or would like a volunteer from Mary's Meals to give a talk in your church or school, please visit www.marysmeals.org.uk/prayinmay or call 0800 698 1212.