Faith is caught, not taught. Like a lot of sayings, this old adage rings true. Facts of faith might be taught from textbooks, but living, life-giving faith is usually passed along from one person to another. We see someone give witness to his or her own faith and God's free gift of faith is sparked in our own life.

That personal witness can be offered by someone we know, a grandparent, friend, a parent, or by someone we just hear or read about. The faith of a contemporary hero or a long-ago saint can inspire us to emulate their commitment. Mary the mother of Jesus is the first and finest of such witnesses. And May is her month.

Mary is not just a holy individual. Her faith in the God of the covenant sealed that covenant. In Mary, Israel finally committed itself totally to God's covenant. Mary is the model disciple, not just a follower, but also a leader. At the Annunciation, when his name was first spoken, she said "Yes" to all that Jesus was and all that was yet to come. In Cana she pushed her son (like any good mother) to begin the work he was born to do. And at Pentecost she was there to make sure that work continued.

And so, unlike other sainted witnesses who have one feast day a year to be honored, Mary has a whole month. I can still smell the lilac from the May altars of my youth, and the lily of the valleys and white snowball flowers we carried in procession for the annual May crowning. But as a DRE, I remember trying to figure out other ways of honoring Mary in her special month.

Consider finding space somewhere on parish grounds for a Marian garden this year. (Click here for suggested plants for first-time Mary gardeners from the book, Mary's Flowers: Gardens, Legends and Meditations.) Get some adults or families to help plant the flowers. Have various groups write reflections for each of the blooms that are planted. Post the reflections on laminated poster board next to the appropriate flowers.

Encourage small groups as well as individuals to use the garden for private or shared reflections. A Mary's garden is a great way to honor Mary in May, and to continue honoring Mary all through the summer and into the early fall.

In years past we had all sorts of communal celebrations for Mary: May crownings, traveling statues and special altars all helped parishes and families reflect on Mary's place in our lives. And then, as we tried to emphasize the humanity of Jesus, we often put the majestic Mary that these rituals celebrated on a back burner. But Mary's pre-eminence never changed. She is the mother of God, Jesus, our brother. And May remains Mary's month.

Plan on having a May celebration for families. Ask folks to bring in flowers from home to help set up an indoor or outdoor garden for Mary. Have a procession to carry Mary's statue to the garden. Sing some appropriate songs and ask different people to talk about how important Mary was in Jesus' life.

You might just speak directly to the fact that some folks think we "worship" Mary because we pray to her and have statues that we carry around. Remind them of the pictures we have of our loved ones and the statues we have around town of our heroes. Pictures and statues just help us remember who the person is so that we can honor them, and remember the important place they have in our history. We only worship God, and Mary is someone who can bring us closer to God.

The book Holy Bells and Wonderful Smells has additional activities for May, including an outdoors living rosary, or an indoor one if the weather doesn't cooperate. (Click here to read about this activity.) The mysteries of the rosary (including the newest mysteries) are an excellent way to see Mary as the beacon she is to Jesus.

Mary is the first disciple. She gave personal witness to her faith in Christ from the moment of her first, "Yes, let it be." She was the "Christ-bearer," the one chosen to carry Christ within her womb and through whom Christ would enter our human existence in the mystery of the Incarnation.

Each one of us is called to follow the example of Mary, to bring Christ to others through our lives, to respond "Yes" to God's invitation. Each of us is called to personal witness, to share with others the ways in which God is present in our lives.

Each of us has been touched by the lives of others who have done just that. The catechetical world lost such a witness last month. Donald Ham was a writer/director of video projects, first for Franciscan Communications and more recently for St. Anthony Messenger Press. He worked to create video stories such as "Grandma's Bread," "Pardon and Peace" and "Called By Name" for Franciscan Communications. He helped with many of the stories in the Catholic Update Video series for adult faith formation from St. Anthony Messenger Press. Some you may recognize are the updated version of "Pardon and Peace" entitled "Pardon and Peace…Remembered"; "Moving On: Responding in the Spirit"; "On the Way: An Emmaus Journey"; "A Friendship: 20 Years of Memories"; and "Christwalk: A Pilgrim's Way of the Cross." Donald touched so many hearts through his life and ministry. We who knew him personally are deeply saddened by his passing, yet we rejoice in the promise of eternal life. Thank you, good and gracious God, for this remarkably creative yet gentle man who bore witness through his life to your great love. May we serve you as well as he did.

Another person who accepted the call to personal witness is Juan Diego. He was canonized just last summer. The video "Our Lady of Guadalupe" (also available in Spanish) tells the story of Juan's visions of Mary on the Tepeyac hillside in Mexico in 1531. Use this program to tell your parishioners not only about an appearance of Mary but also of a simple peasant's faith and persistence. Click here to see a video clip from "Our Lady of Guadalupe" (Windows Media Player required).

Other video ideas about Mary:

Some of the most moving personal witness in our tradition comes from saints and heroes of the faith. In Every Day Catholic, a "mini-magazine" (4-page newsletter) published by St. Anthony Messenger Press, editor Judy Ball includes two significant articles every month about specific saints and those more contemporary individuals we call "heroes of the faith." Take a look at this month's issue. These stories of saints and faith models are a perfect witness to today's Catholic family. Use Every Day Catholic as a monthly "bonus" for the weekly parish bulletin, or for distribution to families involved in your parish school or religious education program.

St. Anthony Messenger Press author Brennan Hill has compiled a particularly inspiring book of stories about Christian heroes, 8 Spiritual Heroes: Their Search for God. His stories include those of Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Jr., Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Archbishop Oscar Romero, Edith Stein, Daniel Berrigan and Mother Teresa—shining examples of true (and diverse) Christian witness. Hill explains in the introduction that he is using "biographical theology," a lived theology that comes out of experiences and events, coming to life in the varied experiences of these "spiritual heroes."

Finally, two more books from St. Anthony Messenger Press explore lessons from the life of St. Francis of Assisi. The Wondrous Adventures of St. Francis of Assisi, by Tricia Gray, is a retelling of many of the legendary adventures of Francis for 7 to 12-year-old young people. Marvelously illustrated and engagingly told stories witness to the Franciscan approach of interacting with the world. For more mature readers, try Francis For Men: “Otherwise, We Need Weapons” , by Markus Hofer. As the author says in the preface, this book "is for men who want to understand themselves better, who sense that there is more to being a man, and that this has fascinating dimensions."

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How do you honor Mary in the month of May? Our editors will screen and post your ideas on our online bulletin board at AmericanCatholic.org. You can check the board from time to time to see others' ideas. Submit your ideas by clicking here.