Secret Genius of Catholic Motherhood

      I have a restless yearning.  It follows me, leads me, is ever-present with me.  It is that Catholic moms come to a fuller understanding of who they are.
      I have a hunch that the vocation of Catholic motherhood is yet to be rightly understood, that it is like a jet sitting on the runway.  Catholic moms are living out the Gospel simply and quietly, and yet so much more powerfully than most people on earth.  Their deep levels of sacrifice and their unique conformity with Christ are like the leaven--unseen, calling no attention to themselves, yet powerfully impacting the whole Body of Christ.
     The Church is aware that she does not yet appreciate the vocation of motherhood for all its Christological significance.  She says that the various roles of the laity, including motherhood, are not yet understood: “The Council considers the condition of the laity. . . a reality destined to find in Jesus Christ the fullness of its meaning” (Christifideles Laici).  In other words, meaning of the roles of the laity are not yet fully appreciated, and only one day will be when they are comprehended in light of Christ.
    The Church goes on to say that the role of mothers is just waiting to be revealed: We need to engage in “the task of bringing full dignity to the conjugal life and the experience of motherhood.  Today new possibilities are open to women for a deeper understanding and a richer realization of human and Christian values implied in the conjugal life and the experience of motherhood" (Ibid).
    My prayer is for Catholic moms discover the secret genius, the unspoken brilliance of motherhood.  Only then will our vocation be launched, set forth into the Church and world.