By Jacqueline Kelly –
My parents who by loving and obeying God, taught me to love and obey Him. After, living a full, fruitful life, my mother died a peaceful, saintly death. At the funeral mass, the Priest praised my mother. I felt happy, knowing that the praises were very honest and well-deserved. Now, I do understand how happy Jesus feels when we lovingly praise His Blessed Mother.
With Jesus at the centre, true Catholics have a unique place in their lives for Mary. While worshipping God alone, we venerate God’s Mother as well. The first one to praise Mary was God’s messenger Gabriel. Next, it was Elizabeth who, “filled with the Holy Spirit, exclaimed with a loud voice, “Blessed are you among women and Blessed is the fruit of Your womb. [Lk 1:41-42]. In one and the same breath Elizabeth praised Mary and her Son.
Humankind is blessed with two mothers: Mother Mary and Mother Earth. We express our gratitude to the two mothers whose love showers us with gifts and blessings for making life rich and plentiful for all mankind.
Motherhood is termed as the greatest gift of God to mankind and God’s creation will ever be indebted to its “Mother”. The word motherhood symbolizes love and kindness, patience, sacrifice, tenderness and many other human behavioural expressions in human nature. It can be rightly said that these words could never have been in the dictionary without “motherhood”.
Historically, a mother has been expected to contribute her whole career to her family. Mothers are loving and they play a vital part in a child’s upbringing. A mother is always with her child during the worst and best times. A mother is a great gift for us from God and no one can take the place of a mother. So, without a mother our life is black and white as a mother is everything for a child to survive in this world.
A mother is the only person in the world whose love is very much pure and unlimited for her children. She is a personality who needs just love and a smile from her children to make her life a pleasure.
A good woman is a beacon of light. She often radiates the power for reforms and change. Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet President had been influenced in prayer by his catholic mother. The rest is history. Saint Augustine who wrote the confessions of his life was changed from a sinner to a saint through his mother, Saint Monica’s efforts.
For over a thousand years the spring of womanhood has grown with prayers, devotions and worship to Mary, Virgin Mother of God. Women are drawn instinctively to Our Lady. Young women entering adult life and confronting their womanhood are the special children of Mother Mary.
The single woman and the single-woman parent, are those who God in his mercy has provided His own Mother to help and guide them when they turn to her. In trials and hardships God chose Mary to be the true and perfect icon for all womanhood.
Long time ago, on that hill far away as our Saviour and Lord was about to breathe his last, he had lovingly handed over His Mother to all mankind to be our mediator and benefactor.
Saint Bernard says, “Mother Mary is the sinner’s ladder”. She is a ladder and as we cannot reach the third step of the ladder unless we put our foot on the first, so neither can we reach God otherwise than by Jesus Christ nor Jesus Christ otherwise than by Mother Mary.