5th Sunday after Easter 14 May 2023 Mother Mary
Today is Mothers Day (in Australia). Motherhood comes from God and is a way
of letting us experience His close and tender care for us.
If anyone should complain that God is too remote, we have mothers to translate God's love into everyday situations, and life-long concerns.
Mothers give us life, and then help us to handle it.
Our mothers look after us, and then we may have to look after them, a reminder of the shortness and fragility of our stay on this earth. As much as we love our mothers we must remember we are pilgrims travelling through this earthly life.
At some point, for most of us, our mothers will die before us, and what a sad day that is. However, the love between us is never lost and will come to light again in the Resurrection.
There is a strongly spiritual aspect to motherhood, as to fatherhood and many other human institutions. God gives us these things so we can get to know Him better.
In the case of motherhood God teaches us that we also have another mother, whom many do not know; and that is Mary, Mother of God, and mother of each of us. Son, this is your mother (Jn 19,27).
She is mother even of those who reject her. She holds no grudges, only wishing for everyone’s spiritual wellbeing.
Those who reject Our Lord will also reject Our Lady. Many, however, will pledge allegiance to Our Lord, but have no place for His Mother.
They fear that we honour Mary to the point of idolatry, seeing her as a god or goddess.
Instead, Mary will take any prayers in her honour directly to the throne of God, adding her own spiritual power to them.
Our prayers gain (not lose) power when offered through Mary, so we need not be afraid of doing that.
Mary has immense power, having received so fully from God Himself. When she prays things start to happen. There may still be reasons why our prayers cannot be answered, but let us say that good outcomes are more likely if we have prayed through her.
She will be present even where she is not asked, but if we do ask it makes us more receptive and will bring about more effects.
For some intentions a lot of prayer is needed, a lot more than one person could do alone. Things like world peace, widescale repentance from the human race, an end to various immoral and unjust behaviour, even the conversion of one’s own family members – these do not happen overnight, but we can bring them closer.
We cannot do it on our own but our prayer will contribute.
Our Lord said we could cast a mountain into the sea if we had faith (Mk 11,23). Not on our own could we do that, but together, yes (always provided it is God's will).
Yesterday was the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Fatima was a specially powerful intervention by Our Lady, and a springboard for much prayer in the century since.
There have been many apparitions of Our Lady. The general theme of her messages to us is that we need repentance, and prayer, and especially consecration to her Immaculate Heart - under which title she presents holiness of life as the main formula for all that we need.
If only the world could know what a powerful source of help there is available to them.
The world yearns for what holiness could bring – peace, justice, contentment etc - but not for holiness itself!
Mary shows her children the way forward, and accompanies us as we go that way.
May she especially bless all mothers today, to help them show forth the kindness of God to all His children.
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