Written by Barb Spies, OFS, Director of Mission Services and Pastoral Care

We honor mothers on the first Sunday of May. It’s a hard time for many. Maybe it’s because of the loss of their mother. Maybe it’s due to the loss of a child. Maybe it’s from the desire for a child that has not been fulfilled. I think about the many women I know who fall into one of these categories and other groups for whom this time is difficult.

Mary, the mother of Jesus had so many complications: explaining an unplanned pregnancy, giving birth under dire circumstances, fleeing as a refugee when threatened by her government, and the torture and death of her Son. Mary was there when the apostles gave birth to the church. Her model has provided guidance for people through the ages. St. Francis said in his Letter to All the Faithful, “We are mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ when we carry him in our hearts and in our bodies, lovingly, and with a pure and sincere conscience, and give birth to him through the working of his grace in us which should shine forth as an example to others.”

Blessed Mary Angela Truskowska, Foundress of the Felician Sisters, was a mother to her congregation, and continues to mother them through the centuries with the wisdom of her words. The work of these women shows us the fruit of her guidance.

I’m including Kate Bowler’s Blessing for Mother’s Day here to conclude:

 

Bless all who mother,
holding us in their arms,
in the quiet corners of their hearts.
The weight of small hands in yours,
the joy that catches you off guard,
the quiet power of being needed–
and the love that makes you braver
than you were.
Bless all the exhausted and overextended,
the ones holding it all together and
the ones hanging on for dear life.
The ones doing the best they can
with what they have,
and all of those learning to forgive
or let go or start anew.
Bless all who grieve,
missing a mother or a child,
or a relationship that wasn’t what it
should have been.
And bless all those for whom mothering is
complicated, heartbreaking, or incomplete.
May there be tenderness today.
Enough to honor what’s beautiful.
Enough to name what still hurts.
Enough to hold the complexity
without needing to tidy it up.
And may love–real, honest, ordinary love–
be what finds you.
Today and every day after.

Blessed Angela: “Throughout your life look at Mary as your model which you must imitate.”