My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
Mother’s Day, by a wonderful coincidence, falls in the month of May, which is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. As we contemplate the great gift of motherhood, there is no better backdrop from which to view motherhood than looking to the Motherhood of Mary, the Mother of Jesus — the Mother of God.
The Blessed Mother offers us an insight into both human and divine motherhood. A complete openness to God’s will enabled Mary to become not only the Mother of Jesus and Mother of God but also mother to all humanity. Mary was shared by Jesus with all of us, as He gave her as His only inheritance to each and every one of us on the Cross. In this month dedicated to Mary, it is so fortunate that we can honor our own mothers, both living and deceased. We offer a special prayer for those mothers who have died because of the COVID-19 virus.
As you know, the institution of Mother’s Day in our own country is a special Sunday on which we can contemplate the great gifts that our mothers are to each and every one of us. Even if they are no longer with us, we can still remember the wonderful maternal care we receive from them. Mother’s Day should be a day on which we truly pray in thanksgiving for the gift of our mothers. It is not only the cards, flowers, candy, and other gifts that we can bestow upon them that show our appreciation, but it is the intimate prayers we offer in the silence of our hearts that show our deep appreciation of the gift of life that came through our mothers.
It is a very difficult thing for most who lose their mothers not to be able to have them available for those chats that put us back in contact with our origins. However, prayer again bridges the gap of time and eternity and allows perhaps more intimate contact, as we pray for and to our deceased mothers for their help and intercession. This past year of the pandemic has been difficult for us all; however, those who lost a mother during this time may feel that loss in a deeper sense.
Of course, for those who are younger, the relationship with mothers is rather different. Many times mothers become, besides the chauffeurs of our modern-day society, sparring partners with whom young people are able to argue out the difficulties and challenges of life. Whatever the relationship is with our mothers, however, it is the relationship that is important. It is not the physical distance in time and eternity, but rather the loving bond that makes us truly children recognizing our dependence on our human mothers.
Perhaps this Mother’s Day, we can make a special effort to remember in prayer and in our charity the many mothers today who struggle to feed their children, especially during the pandemic, sometimes raise them without the benefit of a spouse and those who have to deal with the premature death of their children from many causes. Most difficult today is the death from violence that takes the lives of so many children and makes so many mothers prematurely mourners of their children. There are no more difficult circumstances than to bear the death of a child. It inflicts a deep wound on a mother’s life, which time cannot completely heal. Perhaps, the greatest attribute of a mother is the ability to never forget. Mothers never forget their children, never forget their needs, and never forget, unfortunately, sometimes the pain inflicted by their children themselves.
On this Mother’s Day, as we put out into the deep of our love for and memories of our mothers, we can pray for the healing of memories, our own and those of our mothers, both living and deceased, that together we might thank God for the great gift that motherhood is and at the same time seek the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother to us all. Happy Mother’s Day!
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