A beautiful month for a beautiful Mother! The birds are singing, the trees are turning green (remember we’re way up north-it takes a while here!), and the flowers are blooming. Warm air hits your face as you walk out the door, instead of a cold blast. If the cold does return, as the warm air fights to remain, you know it is fleeting. Summer warmth and fun looms ahead. Yahoo!

I marvel in awe at the gift Jesus gave us in His Blessed Mother. He had given us Himself; He had shown us the Father (“Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” Jn.14:9); He had shown us the Holy Spirit (“But when He comes, the Spirit of truth, He will guide you into all truth” Jn. 16-13). Then, He chose the moment He was dying upon the cross to give us His Mother as our very own. “Woman, behold, your son.” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.’ Jn. 19-26&27.

For those who don’t understand this awesome moment in Sacred Scripture, it comes across as Jesus saying to Himself, “Oops a daisy, I forgot Mom. Hey John, whew, I’m so glad you stuck around. Could you please take care of Mom for me. It looks like I’m not getting out of this!”

I truly grieve for non-Catholics and those who do not understand Jesus’ gift of His Mother to us. First of all, this moment in scripture proves to the doubtful or the misled that Jesus Christ did not have any other siblings. Mary is an eternal virgin. If indeed Jesus did have other siblings, the care of His Mother would have been their responsibility. I know it would be in my family even today. Jewish families are very strong; they would not have looked kindly on another taking over their responsibility.

Also, as Jesus is God, and He knew He was going to die, He was not absent minded. He never had an “oops! moment in his whole life”! In His Godly wisdom, He timed this moment (which would go down in history) perfectly. He wanted us to understand the importance of this action from the cross.

He gave His most precious Mother to all of us as our very own Mother! When a child does something wrong, he does not want to face the wrath of his father. He goes to mom and hopes she can talk to the father and soften the blow! I experienced this when I was a child. I have experienced this as a mother.

Mary is simply a loving mother. She wants the best for us as all mothers want the best for their children. As we pray for our children, she prays to Jesus for us. As we intercede for our children with their father, she intercedes for us with the Heavenly Father.

I know it breaks Mary’s Immaculate Heart and Jesus’ Most Sacred Heart when people are misled about Catholic’s relationship with Mary. She only seeks to take us to her beloved Son, and as Jesus loves and honors His mother, He is grieved by those who dishonor her by their words or actions.

Our relationship with our Heavenly Mother enhances our relationship with our earthly mother. So, for those of us who were blessed with great mothers, we don’t have to feel guilty loving Mary. Mary is the mother of ALL mothers! For those of us who, unfortunately, don’t have good relationships with our mother, Mary is ALWAYS there for us. She is there to love, guide, nurture and protect.

I remember one time when I was going through a really tough time. I was up late in the night with my infant son. I was really lamenting, and I thought to myself, “I can’t even tell my mother about this”! It was startling to me really, because I had always had an open relationship with my mother. Almost immediately, inwardly, but loudly and clearly, I heard, “Go to Mary, your mother, you can tell her anything”. “Anything” was really stressed. I began to cry. Mary was there for me! I can not tell you how much that meant to me and how much that strengthened me. It still does to this day.

O’ Mary, conceived without sin, please pray for us who have recourse to thee! Thank you, Jesus, for your most precious gift. We are grateful beyond words!

Happy Mother’s Day Blessed Mother Mary! Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers!

Peaceful under Mary’s mantle,

Julie