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Gospel: John 14: 15-21
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Abraham Lincoln once said, “All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my mother.”
Isn’t that true for many of us? So much of our faith, our morality, and the wisdom we’ve gained in life started with our mother.
It was she who first welcomed us into this world. She who comforted us when nightmares woke us up, who held us in her arms when our hearts first broke, who dared us to dream.
The same could be said of Mary and Jesus.
God not only understood the unique bond a mother shares with her child; but he also desired it, so much so that he became a child himself. Mary was the only person to be with Jesus, from his conception in her womb to his being laid in a tomb.
On this Mother’s Day, we honor the love and sacrifices made by our mothers – those who are still with us, and those who’ve gone before us. May those who’ve gone before us rest from their labors, and intercede for us alongside Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, and our Blessed Mother.
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Curious to gain different perspectives, I asked a few moms about the struggles, joys, and rewards of motherhood.
One mom said, “The greatest joy is watching my children make good choices, becoming who God created them to be.”
Another said, “Watching them grow and discover their talents. Each stage of their life is precious and a wonder to watch.”
When asked about the challenges of motherhood, one said, “Worrying about their safety… letting them learn from their mistakes… and wondering what kind of people they’ll become once they leave the nest.”
All of them said the most difficult struggle was witnessing their child experience pain.
Every mom has been there – you know that helpless feeling of watching your child weep from a fractured bone, from the ache of disappointment, even from a broken heart. You’d do anything to take their pain away, desperate to bear it yourself.
But all you can do is hold them in your arms, assuring them that everything will be okay because, “Mommy’s here.” I still remember being that child, feeling absorbed, safe, and protected by Mom’s warmth and soft embrace.
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My Mom went to heaven twelve years ago. Physically speaking, I lost that safe space. But I also recognize how blessed I am to have known it in the first place.
Sadly, some children grow up without knowing the warmth of their mother’s embrace. Perhaps their mom was emotionally absent, or she bore some hidden pain in her heart, or she left this world too soon.
Maybe this is why today’s Gospel is providentially paired with Mother’s Day. Jesus seeks to comfort all of us when he says, “I will not leave you orphans.” God assures us that we will never be deprived of love.
As I’ve grown in my relationship with Jesus, I’ve found his words to be true. Everything that is holy, good, and beautiful in motherhood we can also find in the Lord.
Like a mother, Jesus has the ability to nurture, to calm, and to feed… He nurtures us with his grace, calms us with his peace, and feeds us with his very Self in the Eucharist.
Like a mother, Jesus willingly sacrifices himself for us, seeking to shoulder our burdens, to protect us from evil, to heal us from our sorrows, and to reconcile us with our heavenly Father whenever we go astray.
As the prophet Isaiah foretold nearly 800 years prior, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”
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That is what we celebrate today – not only the love of our mothers, but also the unconditional love of God, who is always tender and will never forget us. Taking Abraham Lincoln’s words a little deeper, we could say, “All that I am or hope to be, I owe to Jesus.”
May the Lord and his Blessed Mother intercede for us as we pray:
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
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Image credits: (1) Thera-Mom (2) Relief Society Women (3) The Virgin with Angels, William-Adolphe Bougeareau