Mother’s Day

This weekend we will be celebrating Mother’s Day! It is a holiday that we have only been celebrating for a little over a hundred years. Most of us have a very fond memory of our mothers. We love them and care about them. A mother’s love is a very special one, even in Sacred Scriptures it is mentioned fondly.

In the Gospel of John, it talks about when a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. Even Jesus himself listened to his mother at the wedding feast of Cana and after the finding in the temple Jesus went down with Mary and Joseph and was obedient to them. While on the Cross, Jesus still wanted to know that his mother was going to be taken care of, so he entrusted her to the disciple whom he loved. God himself knows about the special love of a mother, and wants us to know that as well.

Even though we may not be able to be with our mothers, we can still pray for them. If our mother has passed away, pray for her that she will be in the loving arms of God, if we are estranged from her, pray that God will bring healing in her and your hearts, if we are physically far away from her call her. The respect for parents is so strong that God even gave us a commandment to honor them. I know that everyone does not always have a good relationship with their parents, but we can continue to pray for healing and to remember that we have the perfect mother in the kingdom of heaven that is always interceding for us in the Blessed Virgin Mother. For most though, we do have a good relationship and we can remember those wonderful times (and still remember our perfect mother in heaven.) Remember May is the month that we celebrate Mary, both her role in the raising of Jesus, and her continued role to bring us to Him.

During Mother’s Day we often think of what we should get our mothers, but sometimes the greatest gift is to be with them. I think that it is fun to hear stories about different traditions within families about different holidays, or events. A friend of mine who has a couple of her kids that do not go to Mass every Sunday and others that go to different parishes, asks her kids for the gift of coming to Mass with her on Mother’s Day and then to do something. As we celebrate this Mother’s Day in the best way that we can, let us always remember to ask our heavenly mother to pray for our mothers. Happy Mother’s Day!

God bless,
Fr. Ken