This morning I prayed a rosary on my drive back from home with my husband to home with my family (well, to my cousins' first for lunch!), and I prayed for all the wonderful women in my life. It seems to me that women can be mothers to each other, spiritually, as well as physically mothers.
When Pope John Paul II's mother died when he was young, he adopted Mary as his mother on earth as well as in heaven. It is something I have been trying to do more of - taking her my burdens, offering up my frustrations with a 'Hail Mary' and trying to really understand what it is to be gentle and meek, without losing the necessary assertion Mary had as well.
As I review books, so many of the women characters are told to be "strong" - but in reality, I often see a woman downtrodden with their own anger and blindness to the needs of others when her own are so apparent. I see those women as human, yes, and in desperate need of grace. We all need more grace, and I hope on Mother's Day we can all humbly go before our Lady and ask for more, and until we feel nourished, imitate her goodness.
In this modern day, I hope women can see their inner value and worth before making demands upon society to do so. It is only in the goodness we ourselves radiate and cultivate, only in the love we share and give, that we can truly "liberate" one another from the bonds and chains of false promises and subsequent sorrow. (And yes, White House: bringing up birth control in honor of Mother's Day is very, very poor taste and judgement.)
Special prayers for women who have given up their babies for adoption, are struggling with infertility, and are raising their child without support from the father.
Many thanks to the so many second moms, spiritual moms, and aunts in my life... and an extra special thanks to these ladies: my mom, my grandmother, and my aunt/ godmother/ Confirmation sponsor:
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| Mom, me, Mema and Aunt Kathy at my bridal shower last June! |
"And of course, the 'Hail Mary' is biblical: we are simply repeating Gabriel's salutation to this woman--we are one of the many generations who want to call her blessed, as she herself sang in the Magnificat... Insofar as we increasingly unite our own aspirations with hers, we move closer and closer into intimate union with the Lord. 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord': if only I can learn to say that, in a thousand situations all day long when irritation, or resentment, or lust, or impatience surge up in me. 'Be it done unto me according to Thy word.' It is a wonderful frame of mind for a Christian to aspire to. The Rosary, day by day, presents to us those events upon which our souls ought to be habitually dwelling and helps us to tarry in those Gospel precincts." --Thomas Howard, from his essay, "Catholic Spirituality" in the book "The Night Is Far Spent"
And a big hug to my new mom, my wonderful mother-in-law:
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| She is the sweetest lady and mother EVER-EVER. |
“If parents surrender responsibility to their children, the state will take up the slack. State power is the effect of the breakdown of family authority. Mothers, more than politicians, are the preservers of freedom and democracy.” --Venerable Fulton J. Sheen
In other news, I'm being kicked in the stomach on Mother's Day. Thanks, Bebe Baldwin!
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