Bishop’s Reflection for the Month of May
 
                 May is traditionally the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a month in which we celebrate May crownings in our parishes and schools. On May 13, the Church acknowledges Our Lady’s first apparition at Fátima in 1917 and on May 31 we honor the visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. It is in the month of May that we express our love and appreciation of the gift of motherhood as we honor our mothers, including our Blessed Mother. As Mother of the Church, Mary protects and intercedes for her children, especially for us, in our present day and age.
  As God utilizes Mary’s desire to accept His will in her life, He sends her to communicate His loving plan for humanity. She has faithfully done so in her countless apparitions throughout the ages. The Glorious Virgin, as messenger from heaven, communicates the Truth from God the Father: her Son Jesus. The communication she reveals is to help soften the hardened heart of the sinner and to move one to repentance. It is a message of conversion and an invitation to encounter the mercy of her Risen Son, Jesus.
  She is truly, as St. John Paul II said, the “Star of the New Evangelization.” As in the apparitions, on the hill of Tepeyac, Our Lady of Guadalupe gathers a nation under her motherly care. The result: evangelization on an epic scale!
  In a grotto at Massabielle, in Lourdes, Our Lady communicates a message of prayer and penance to St. Bernadette. It is by means of a life strengthened in faith that we experience spiritual, and in some cases, physical healing. The message at Lourdes given by Our Lady, the Immaculate Conception, is a message of evangelization that brings wholeness into our lives.
  In a hollow known as the Cova da Iria, near the village of Fátima, Portugal, Our Lady of the Rosary communicates a message to pray the Rosary daily, for peace in this world and for the “conversion of poor sinners.” Along with offering prayers and doing acts of reparation for sin, we are to confirm within our lives that we “believe, adore, hope and love Him.” For those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Him, we are to ask pardon of Our Merciful God as we pray for them.
  The Blessed Virgin Mary is truly the Star of the New Evangelization. We, as the Church, along with our recently baptized and confirmed brother and sisters, are called to be the evangelizers among our families, as well as in the market place of society.
  In order to assist you in evangelization and faith formation, and to inform you of the “good news” of what is happening throughout our Diocese, we have redesigned our Diocesan website. We invite you to explore the many engaging topics, resources and events available online at www.StocktonDiocese.org.
  This website will serve as an instrument of communication and evangelization to tell our collective story, to share our witness of living and celebrating the Gospel of Christ. It will assist us to better work in collaboration, “As One,” between the Pastoral Center and your parishes. We have created a mobile-friendly website with integrated features including Weekly News, calendar of events and my monthly reflections. We invite you to share the new website with your family and friends. We hope you make www.StocktonDiocese.org your “go to” source for Diocesan information, tools and resources.
  As we embrace the call to be communicators of the Good News of Jesus, let us entrust all that we do to Our Lady, the Star of the New Evangelization and Mother of the Church.
 
In the Peace of Christ,
Bishop Cotta