mother's day

I know this is late, but sometimes it takes a few days to get your thoughts in order. And sometimes you realize it could take a much longer time to get your thoughts in order, but a Mother's Day post in July wouldn't make sense.

Mother's Day could have been a very, very hard day. I was sort of expecting it to be. What I didn't expect was the amazing community of mothers who wished me a happy day and freely talked about Joseph - though I should have. They know what motherhood is. I didn't expect the wonderful women I've gotten to know through our common loss to send their own quiet wishes to each other - though I should have. Their strength and faith have been an inspiration to me. I didn't expect the public acknowledgement of the mothers in church to be followed by special prayers for those who have lost a child - though I should have. Our Blessed Mother knows that pain better than anyone.

In my Bible study last week we were talking about how Mary's sinless nature meant that she had the capacity to love more completely than any human, but that she would also then feel pain more deeply. That, coupled with a discussion about how Jesus did not start his ministry until she told Him to (gave Him permission) at Cana, stopped us in our tracks. I had never thought about that story as if He were telling her they could put off the painful ending a little longer ("My hour has not yet come"), and she instead voluntarily stepped out of the happy, safe childhood and adolescence they had had together and into His ministry. She could have tried to put it off, and to protect both her Son and herself. Instead, she continued to courageously trust God's plan. 

To love perfectly is - while we're on earth - to suffer great pain. But the suffering doesn't lessen the love in any way, and should then not be feared. 

Let's love boldly.