Dear Church Family,
I pray for all our Mothers, living and deceased. We thank the Lord for all the ways they have mothered us. As a result of receiving love we give love, especially Mothers giving love to their children. Alleluia! Some of my favorite passages of Scriptures are in these Sacred Readings today. I love chapter four of St. John’s Gospel especially these words today, “Beloved, let us love one another: because love is of God; and everyone who loves is begotten of God, and knows God.” Yes Church, we know God is Love because He has loved us by sending His Son as expiation for our sins, totally renewing us and the Lord wants to come to us with the Father. He says, “We will come and love you totally.” Then this passage of Scripture is one of the most powerful and also one of the most challenging. “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.” He goes on to say, “Love one another as I love you.” That is the type of love we give of our total selves. Mothers personify that very strongly.
The other week I had the funeral of a mother of eight. Her two sons got up and proclaimed very powerfully the love their mother had for them and how she raised them by herself. Besides that they wanted to express love to one another. The two sons asked each of the sisters to come up and they gave to each of them a beautiful gold plated container, like an urn. The brothers told each sister to put a symbol in it that represents the love their mother had for them. After finishing with the urn the brothers embraced each of the sisters. It was a beautiful symbol of what any mother would totally love, that her children totally loved one another and stayed in love with each other always.
I thought to myself, “What would I put on the urn if in was given to me.” Right away I said, “I would write the word, Home, and put it in parenthesis.” My mother was just that! Everything about home, always there, always supplying, being a wonderful cook, always having a dessert at our dinner meal. My brother and I always had to sit down with my mom and dad and have dinner, even when we were teenagers and we wanted to go in different directions. First we had to sit down and have the meal together. I have lots of wonderful feelings that have been given to me. How can I go wrong? How can I do anything but try to love others as my mother and father loved me.
Church, celebrate your mothering today and being mothered in a great spirit of thanksgiving. Hear the challenge and the ideal, “Love one another,” Jesus said, “as I have loved you.”
Love, Fr. Bob
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