“The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father.” ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Today, we observe Mothers’ Day. In our country, this has been a holiday since 1914. In practice, however, people have celebrated motherhood throughout the ages. The image of mother is one that is very important to us.
We use the image of mother to express someone who is loving and supportive, someone who is generative and who helps to sustain. Because of this, we use the term “mother” in a lot of different ways: Mother Nature, Mother Earth, our Mother Country, et cetera.
With tender care, our mothers wrap our world with peace, love, and joy. That is the image that we most often evoke when we think about mothers and motherhood. Of course, we know that is not always the reality.
For some, motherhood is a very troubling experience. There are those who have a negative image of mothers because their own relationship with their mother was marred. For those people, we pray for peace and healing to come into their lives. After all, motherhood is not easy and we can all make mistakes when raising our children.
For most people, though, motherhood is an opportunity to show God’s love to the children to whom they were entrusted to bring into the world and to raise. Mothers are the ones, most often, who convey the faith to their children. They teach their children their prayers and instruct them on the proper way to live their lives.
Being a mother is more than a full-time job. It is also a job that can tend to be a thankless one. More people demand of their mothers without taking the time show their love, respect, and appreciation.
The wonderful mystery that is motherhood is that, done properly, mothers can be one of the concrete examples of God’s love. They are to love unconditionally, to forgive completely, and to guard, guide, and encourage their children to be the best that they can possibly be. A great mother produces great mothers by her own example.
For all mothers on their special day, we give thanks and praise to God and ask God to shine His light upon them.
FAITH ACTION: Pray for all mothers and mothers-to-be, that God’s love may come into their lives and that they may be shining examples of His love to all.