Mother’s Day will be here soon. We all have earthly mothers, someone who gave birth to us. Some of our moms are still with us here on earth. Some of our moms have left this life and moved on to the next. My earthly mom passed away six years ago after struggling with mental illness for 20 years. Just before she passed away though, God gave me hope in a clear vision in a dream that she would be okay. And I often still pray for her that she is there in heaven with her mom, dad, and sisters.
Each of our relationships with our mother is different and personal. For some of us, our relationships are loving, and tender and our mother cares for, teaches, and nurtures us. But for some, the relationship, for one reason or another, is not so healthy. Our mother may seem mean, indifferent, or even absent, and thinking about the relationship can be upsetting. How then, can we celebrate Mother’s Day in a healthy, uplifting way?
While we all have earthly mothers, we also have a spiritual mother. Mary, Jesus’ mother is our mother too. God chose Mary to be his earthly mother. Mary gave birth to Jesus, cared for and protected him. If Mary is the mother of God, and we are all God’s children, then it makes sense that Mary is our mother too. We see in John’s Gospel (Jn 19:26-27) that when Jesus was dying on the cross, he gave his mother, not just to John, but to all of us, for all time, “Behold your mother.”
Mary is a central figure in the Catholic Faith and her life illustrates how our Almighty Father works in our lives. Mary came from a simple background and yet she was called by God to fulfill a very extraordinary role; that of becoming the mother of Jesus Christ.
This role was no easy feat. when Jesus was born, King Herod ordered infants everywhere to be slaughtered so Mary had to flee to Egypt to escape the massacre and save her child. Despite the hardships she had to go through, Mary became an instrument of faith and stayed committed in her role of bringing to life God’s promised son.
In our Catholic Faith, we are taught the three core values of Mary. These were embodied by the Holy Mother in the way she lived her life. As her children, we, too, should aspire to embrace these values in our own lives and in the way we treat others.
1. The Value of Humility
Humility is one of the most fundamental values we should have as Christians. Mary teaches us that pride and selfishness is something that we must avoid. She had an extraordinary role as the Mother of God and yet she remained humble in her ways and continued to serve the Lord with devotion. Being humble is not always easy. The Marian value of humility teaches us to put others first. When we are humble, we let go of our selfish, human ways and become in tune with the ways and will of God.
2. The Value of Simplicity
Mary lived her life in the simplest way. Despite having found favor in the Lord, she accepted what was given to her with grace and humility. Our world puts a premium on material wealth. We become blinded by material pursuits, the latest gadgets, fancy cars and expensive vacations. While there is nothing wrong with enjoying these gifts per se, it is important to remember that being obsessed with these things can distract us from God. It makes us believe that true happiness can be found in the physical world rather than in the spiritual.
We are reminded that this world is not our permanent abode and that eternity is waiting for us at the end of our earthly journey. Finally, when we live simply, we become closer to the people who are needy because we understand their plight. We learn to have God’s heart for those people in need.Click to Tweet
3. The Value of Charity
Charity is at the heart of everything that Mary did. Being a mother involves being charitable and deeply generous in one’s actions. It is an act of sacrifice. Charity literally means love in action. Charity is a theological virtue that lets us love God above all things.
Practicing all other Catholic virtues is animated and inspired by charity and it is the value that binds everything together in perfect harmony. By being charitable, we exhibit other fruits of the spirit like joy, peace and mercy.
So, no matter the condition of our relationship with our earthly mother, we have hope in a spiritual mother who is forever kind, caring, and attentive to us. From her place in heaven, Mary looks upon us, her spiritual children, with love and tenderness. When we encounter this love, we are moved and filled with hope. We know we can always turn to Mary for help, asking her to pray to her son Jesus on our behalf, especially in times of our greatest need.
Have a Blessed and Happy Mothers’ Day