I'm afraid there's nothing new to see in the news/blog portion of your website. I can't see where I'm supposed to click to read this article.

Please forgive me but with all the conversation about quality and appropriate music in good taste, I. always fail to see how hymns like this are any better or worse than "Sing to the Mountains"?

Chris, are you referring to the tradition of having a May Crowning? I would like to read this essay but I couldn't locate it on the Adoremus website.

Thank you so much, Don, for initiating “the hymn of the month.” What a wonderful idea! And nothing could be more appropriate for Our Lady’s month of May than your choice of “Bring Flowers of the Rarest.” This hymn was the most popular hymn for May Crownings in the 20th Century among Catholics in all English-speaking countries; it was never replaced by trendy songs. Prior to Vatican II—and maybe a few years afterward—students would learn this hymn starting in the first grade in Catholic schools. If taught to the young, it is a hymn they will cherish for their lifetime—never to be forgotten.

I liked reading your historical perspective and reflections on the hymn, too. I always thought this hymn first appeared in S.N.D.’s Wreath of Mary of 1883. Now I have learned from you, however, that it actually was found a few years earlier in the Laudis Corona Book of 1880.

Your reflections on the hymn were quite moving—even stirring--also. I recall learning the words to the second verse, which you have reflected upon, when I was in Catholic elementary school: O thus shall we prove Thee, How truly we love Thee, How dark without Mary, Life’s journey would be. To this day, they remain my favorite words of any hymn; and I continue to reflect upon them.

Fortunately, this hymn, has reappeared in some recently published hymnals including Noel Jones’, A Catholic Book of Hymns, which includes the best accompaniment for Bring Flowers of the Rarest I have ever seen.

Thanks for your excellent research and for sharing this truly Catholic gem! I look forward to the hymn of the month in June.

We sang "Bring Flowers... " today, The head reads the text and thinks ? ... while the heart is happy with the sentimentality. We sang this in school May crowning 40 years ago and have sung this at every Parish May crowning for over 40 years... Could we sing something better? possibly, will it mean as much? Other options won't be as sentimental, which could be a good thing.

N.B. This is the only English Hymn / English text we have sung this year!

Chris, not to worry. I get the bulletin from Adoremus as well. I actually miss the Mouse Squeeks that Lucy Carroll contributed.

We specifically didn’t sing this hymn for our May Crowning or Marian procession today because we feel, after singing it years prior, it’s too shmaltzy and syrupy. We sing Holy Mary Now We Crown Thee, with a strong regal pulse and stop registration.

Anyone who is against Bring Flowers, if you are married, suggest throwing your wife's grandmother's china in the trash.

'Cause that's what you are doing to your congregation, right in front of them.

Most of our congregation is quite young, isn’t familiar with the old Marian devotional songs that are written as waltzes, as that was the popular music at the time it was written, and no one sings anyways. Maybe if they’d sing the hymns and songs in the processions we’ve had over the years we’d sing it again.

Anyone who is against Bring Flowers, if you are married, suggest throwing your wife's grandmother's china in the trash.
'Cause that's what you are doing to your congregation, right in front of them

Noel
While I remember our school crownings each May from 40 years ago, we were one of the only schools to still do this... We have a 97% lapsation rate in the U.K, so only a very tiny minority of current catholics will remember it.
My original Parish also did May crownings but this died out decades ago when a new Parish priest destroyed the Latin N.O. Mass, and key members gradually left. With the decline of that parish due to 2 very poor parish priests only a few members of the congregation remember such things, and they have not experienced them for decades.

Our Parish restarted a May crowning as part of the Trad community that had been doing a May crowning in various places for the last 60 years. So our Trad parish crowning is only a decade or so old, and only a minority of those remember May crownings from previous places.

The N.O. community have caught on over the last couple of years and they have a smaller crowning before the main N.O. Mass. I do not know what the N.O. community sing, but could find out. The Sisters who run the children's groups at the N.O. phoned us up to sort out the parish statue, flowers and crowns on Friday. A few years ago they had a new statue of Our Lady erected outside their convent, so the Trad May procession processed down there with our bier and smaller semi portable statue to crown their new statute. We had fresh flower crowns for our statue and flower girls, using fresh flowers left over from an EF wedding on Saturday.

For many of us we are building new traditions, so we need to think carefully as to what we introduce. Just because it was done in the past does not always make it suitable or worthwhile to reintroduce. These new traditions can mean just as much to people starved of devotions as the older practices were to catholics decades ago. Our music programmefrom our crowning.

We are having May Crowning next Sunday. I hope we get to sing 'Bring Flowers of the Rarest'. It may be syrupy and schmaltzy, but it is what we sang as I was growing up on May Crowning. And what's wrong with being a little syrupy and schmaltzy when we are honoring our mother?

Anyone who is against Bring Flowers, if you are married, suggest throwing your wife's grandmother's china in the trash.

'Cause that's what you are doing to your congregation, right in front of them.

Could you not say the same about phasing out songs like Here I Am, Lord, I am the Bread of Life, On Eagle's Wings, and others that inspire similar feelings from many members of the congregation, but are similarly of little lasting theological import?

No one wants grandma's china these days and you can't give the stuff away to the younger folks. I agree "bring flowers...etc." is saccharine, but I only had to use it once a year. That's not often enough to react negatively toward it. It is one of those hymns that seem to have nostalgic meaning to many people. I don't see that it does any harm.

About thirty years ago, while visiting the gift shop at Westminster Cathedral in London, I purchased a cassette, “Hymns We Used to Sing—a selection of favourite Catholic hymns of the past.” Father Charles Shepherd, C.SS.R., formerly Provincial of the English Redemptorists, introduces and reflects upon each of the 12 hymns before it is sung. Naturally, Bring Flowers of the Rarest is included in the selection; and I wanted to share Father Shepherd’s apt reflection with you of this hymn:

“…and what about the children themselves? We complain today about their sophistication; we often think they grow up far too quickly. The world and its attractions can all too soon entice and capture their hearts, but are we adults any better? Perhaps this devotional practice of crowning Mary Queen of May will help all of us. May the words of this simple hymn help to keep our children in innocence and purity of heart. May they touch that hidden spark in the ashes of our own wasted years and bring our faith and love to light once again.”

I was confused by what Noel meant, and now I can't figure out whether you're arguing in favor or HIAL, IATBOL, OEW et al.

My point is that this community would not really tolerate such an idea when it came to that repertoire, and so it should not be applied to Bring Flowers either.

I was invited to my home parish of St. Mary's in Akron, Ohio for Mother's Day, a first communion and May Crowning. I thought you might like to read about this and see some of the photos I took of this event. It was a beautiful sunny day and for an outdoor May Crowning.

https://www.motherofmercycatholichymns.com/st-mary-parish-may-crowning/