Celebrating mother of all mothers
Opinion
Mother’s Day, which is celebrated on the second Sunday of May, can evoke a strong and complex range of emotions.
For many it’s a day of breakfast in bed, homemade cards, and flowers; a day when family members get together to honour the matriarch of the clan. It’s a day many mothers receive tokens of gratitude in recognition of the love, care and sacrifices they make every day.
However for others, this day can evoke pain: those seeing the empty chair where their mother used to sit, the empty crib of infertility, miscarriage, or the loss of a child.
We also need to acknowledge that not all mother/child relationships are joyous. For some, Mother’s Day is a stark reminder of the strain in relationships that sometimes can never be healed.
This year as we celebrate another Mother’s Day, let us be conscious of all those who experience grief and pain on this day. We hold you in our hearts and in our prayers.
This month is also a special time for Catholics when the Church celebrates the mother of all mothers, Mary, mother of God. As we celebrate Mary’s role as the mother of Jesus, we discover a role model for all mothers. Mary’s story serves as hope and consolation for mothers navigating the challenges of raising children.
Her unwavering faith in the face of the extraordinary circumstances of her pregnancy as an unmarried woman and as a refugee who had to birth her child in a manger. Her unconditional love for her son, even as he left her care to fulfil his ministry and ultimately give up his life for us, may offer solace to mothers who experience the pain of the loss of a child. Mary, with all her trials and tribulations, never wavered in her love for her son.
This Mother’s Day let’s not only pay tribute to our earthly mothers but also recognise the importance of honouring Mary, the mother of God.
This month, many parishes encourage the faithful to recite the Rosary daily. Some churches and private homes create May altars adorned with a statue or picture of Mary. It is good to reflect on Mary’s life and learn from her graciousness and faithfulness to God. While we do not pray to Mary we might ask her to intercede on our behalf through prayers like the Memorare prayer and as we pray the Rosary, we can take time to reflect on the Mysteries and ponder how these events in the lives of Jesus and his Mother can speak to our lives today.
In this Archdiocese, on May 19 our Lady is honoured in a very special and public way through the Marian Procession. It is an opportunity for us as Catholics to put on a public display of our faith, to show the world that we believe.
We invite as many of you as possible to join us for the 75th anniversary of the Marian Procession. Participants are asked to gather at 1.30pm in Victoria Park, with the parade starting at 2pm. Just bring your rosary beads, weather appropriate clothing, and your water bottle – along with a Spirit of prayer.
Orla Wright, pastoral support, Community Life and Worship.
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