By John Bosio
To the poets, May is the month of flowers; for the Church, it is the month of Mary; and for all of us, it is the month to celebrate our mothers. In honor of Mother’s Day, I share with you Pope Francis’s message to mothers in the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, The Joy of Love.
Motherhood begins with pregnancy and the Pope recognizes that pregnancy is difficult at times, but also rewarding. “A mother joins with God to bring forth the miracle of new life.” He encourages mothers to ask God for the wisdom to know their children and to accept them as they are. “It is important for a child to feel wanted. He or she is not an accessory or a solution to a particular problem.” (127)
The Pope is very specific with his advice to mothers. “With great affection, I urge all future mothers: keep happy and let nothing rob you of the interior joy of motherhood. Your child deserves your happiness. Don’t let fear, worries, other people’s comments, or problems lessen your joy at being God’s means of bringing a new life to the world. Prepare yourself for the birth of your child, but without obsessing, and join in Mary’s song of joy: ‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant’ (Lk 1:46-48). Try to experience this serene excitement amid all your many concerns, and ask the Lord to preserve your joy, so that you can pass it on to your child.” (171)
One of the virtues of motherhood, according to the Pope, is tenderness. A mother’s tenderness is a reminder of God’s tenderness with his people as described in Psalm 132 in “the image of a babe sleeping in his mother’s arms after being nursed.”(28) Many have experienced this tenderness in our mothers and it may be what draws us back to her when we need to be comforted or consoled.
The Holy Father believes that a mother who watches over her child with tenderness and compassion helps the child grow in confidence and with a positive attitude. “This helps the child to grow in self-esteem and, in turn, to develop a capacity for intimacy and empathy.” (175)
Mothers give generously of their life for the sake of their children. The Pope writes, “Mothers are the strongest antidote to the spread of self-centered individualism . . . a society without mothers would be dehumanized, for mothers are always, even in the worst of times, witnesses to tenderness, dedication, and moral strength.” Then he touches on another aspect of motherhood that I think all of us have experienced. “Mothers often communicate the deepest meaning of religious practice in the first prayers and acts of devotion that their children learn . . . Without mothers, not only would there be no new faithful, but the faith itself would lose a good part of its simple and profound warmth.” (174)
Pope Francis paints a picture for us of how mothers gently pass their faith on to their children. “It is beautiful when mothers teach their little children to blow a kiss to Jesus or to Our Lady. How much love there is in that! At that moment the child’s heart becomes a place of prayer.” (287)
The Pope also recognizes that motherhood is a concept greater than just biology. “Motherhood is not a solely biological reality but is expressed in diverse ways. Adoption is a very generous way to become parents. I encourage those who cannot have children to expand their marital love to embrace those who lack a proper family situation.” (178-179)
He concludes by encouraging us to honor our mothers and mothers-in-law. “One particularly delicate aspect of love is learning not to view these relatives as somehow competitors, threats or intruders.” (198)
“Dear mothers: thank you! Thank you for what you are in your family and for what you give to the Church and the world.” (174) “I would like to express my particular gratitude to all those mothers who continue to pray, like Saint Monica, for their children who have strayed from Christ.”(288)
Questions for reflection: How did you experience your mothers’ tenderness? Pray for your mother and mother-in-law.
John Bosio is a former marriage and family therapist, director of religious education, and diocesan family life coordinator. He and his wife, Teri, wrote Joined by Grace, a marriage preparation program from Ave Maria Press.
