EASTER JOURNEY THOUGHT

Dear Easter People, a Blessed and Happy Mother’s Day to our moms and all women who love in a motherly way. God bless you always!

The following two stories are powerful on this Mother’s Day ... read and pass on.

The Raincoat

When the doctor suggested surgery and a brace throughout my youngest years, my parents scrambled to take me to massage therapy, deep tissue work, osteopathy, and soon my crooked spine unspooled a bit. I could breathe again and move more in a body unclouded by pain. My mom would tell me to sing songs to her the whole forty-five minute drive to Middle Two Rock Road and forty-five minutes back from physical therapy. She’d say even my voice sounded unfettered by my spine afterward. So I sang and sang because I thought she liked it. I never asked her what she gave up to drive me or how her day was before this chore. Today, now at her age, I was driving myself home from yet another spine appointment, singing along to some maudlin but solid song on the radio. I saw a mom take her raincoat off and give it to her young daughter when a storm took over the afternoon. My God, I realized I’d been under her raincoat my whole life, thinking it was somehow a marvel that I never got wet. — Ada Limón

Excellent and thought-provoking story on this Mother’s Day. Did you know the Latin root of the word “sacrifice” means “to make holy?” Many years ago, I asked my mother: “What is your definition of motherhood?” Mom looked at me and said, “A willingness to be inconvenienced.” All I can add is “Amen” and keep reading.

The Way that God Loves Us

There was a TV interview of a heroic mother who had single-handedly raised a large family. Despite all the frustrations, disappointments, and obstacles, she persevered. All her children had made remarkable achievements, not only in their schooling but also in their vocations.

It was an inspiring story worth celebrating, for it revealed the heights and depths of human greatness. During the interview, the reporter asked the mother about her secret, who said, “I suppose you loved all your children equally, making sure that all got the same treatment?”
 

“Many years ago, I asked my mother: “
What is your definition of motherhood?”
Mom looked at me and said, “
A willingness to be inconvenienced.”

The mother replied, “I loved them. I loved them all, each one of them, but not equally. The one I loved the most was the one down until he was up. I loved the one the most who was weak until she was strong. I loved the one the most was the one who hurt until he was healed. I loved the one the most was the one was lost until she was found.”

May I add — never look down on anyone ... unless you are helping them up…. ...With joy and profound gratitude, Fr. Peter