Careers for Our Daughters--a Catholic Perspective

   I gave a presentation to a group of high school young women about "Choosing Your Career."  It struck me how different the Catholic perspective on this is than either a fundamentalist Protestant view or a secular feminist view.
   On the one hand, are girls to imagine themselves as housewives and elementary school teachers, as I was taught at my fundamentalist baptist church as a child?
   On the other hand, are they to imagine themselves as holding powerful positions in the public sector as I was taught by the secular humanists that I was influenced by in high school?
   The Catholic answer is YES to it ALL!  We may indeed enjoy being mothers, housewives, and elementary school teachers.  What a way to be the presence of Christ in the world.  Mothers bear the image of Christ in his Eucharist, nourishing children with their body and blood--how sacred!  Teachers reflect Christ the Teacher, the Logos--what a mighty calling!
    Alternatively, the Catholic Church encourages women to participate in the fullest measure in public life, from corporate life to government to the non-profit sector.  Catholic laywomen are called to be "leaven" in society, evangelizing and shining the light of Christ by means of lives resplendent in faith, hope and charity.
    What is women's work?  Being "another Christ" to their children, husbands, family friends, and in the workplace, in the government, in schools, in institutions of all kinds.
    What a strong and sacred view of a young woman's future the Catholic Church has!

A Great Day for Mothers

     Today is a huge day for Catholic mothers.
     First, it is the feast day of Mary Mother of God.  Today we celebrate the vocation of motherhood being re-made, given a spiritual dimension, given eternal and infinite significance.  It is the real Mothers' Day.  It is the day that I remember how grateful I am that I belong to the only Church or religion in the world that heralds motherhood as a deeply spiritual calling.
     Second, it is the first day of 2018, the year that marks the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae.   This encyclical is the one that reconsidered the Church's teachings on marriage and openness to life, and even in light of a changing culture, maintained the Church's ban on artificial contraception.  As such, it is the encyclical that makes Catholic mothers a new kind of saint.  Catholic mothers who adhere to this teaching are a new kind of saint, a new kind of spiritual martyr, a new kind of witness to the faith.
    For me, being open to life has been (and continues to be) a form of giving my life to God, of making an oblation of myself to God.  I have spent most of my married life pregnant or nursing, and focused on someone else at the expense of my personal interests or the development of my skills or talents.  It has been one thousand percent for other people, and negative one thousand percent for myself.  I have not gotten good sleep in twenty years.  I have lived at a frenetic pace for twenty years.  I have not thought about myself for more than about five minutes at a time for twenty years.  Like so many other Catholic mothers, I am the seed that fell to the ground.  My accomplishments are unrealized.  My hopes and dreams are unrealized.  My personal gains are unrealized.  That is all because of the Catholic Church and Humanae Vitae.
    But as the Scripture says, the seed that falls to the ground dies, in order to bear fruit.  The Catholic Church teaches her mothers how to be like Christ, how to carry crosses with Christian dignity, how to give our lives in self-donation for the good of others.  Yes, my self-absorbed self did not get what it wanted.  My ego did not get its appetite satiated.  The dreams confined to my myopic vision did not get realized.  But I have received a broader vision.  I have happened upon new goals.  I have chanced upon new dreams.  And they are better.
    The Church is a good mother to her mothers.  The Church helps her mothers establish lasting impact and have meaningful lives. If only we succumb to her guidance, we may find lasting happiness.
   And one day, we will get some sleep.

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.

I'm on a mission

     I am on a mission.  It's a motherly mission.  I am on a mission to be a vital part of the kingdom of God through my vocation as a mother, to see my six children get to heaven, and to help them find their ways of flourishing in God's kingdom.     

    Today, my oldest son and I are driving to Christ in the Desert Monastery in Abiquiu, New Mexico. We are going to be with the Benedictines who live a radical faith--prayer that begins at 4:30 am, silence, and fasting.  

    I pray that, in the holy presence of this community, sharing for a few days in their life that gets to the root ("radical" means "from the "root") of Christ's life, that I will be purified, strengthened, and emboldened to live out God's dream for me and my family.  

The Mother of Maximillian Kolbe

     One of my favorite women in history is the mother of St. Maximilian Kolbe.  
     When Maximillian was young, he was a terrible boy.  His mother was constantly annoyed with him.  One day, exasperated, she exclaimed, “What will become of you?”  This bothered Maximillian, and he ran to the nearby church and prayed before an image of the Blessed Virgin.  Maximillian is reported to have said: "That night I asked the Mother of God what was to become of me. Then she came to me holding two crowns, one white, the other red. She asked me if I was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity, and the red that I should become a martyr. I said that I would accept them both."
From that point on, he straightened up his life.  He became a Franciscan only a year later, and lived a life of purity.  Several years after that, he was martyred in the death camp of Auschwitz during World War II, volunteering to take the place of a layman and father who was going to be killed by the Nazis.
When I am exasperated by my children, I think, "God can work with anything, even my sighs and exclamations of frustration."  I love this woman.  Intercede for me, Mother of Maximillian!  

Radio Interview--Catholic Mothers' Retreat

Becca, Susanna and I--the Catholic Mothers' Retreat coordinator team--were on the radio last month, in anticipation of one of our retreats.  In anticipation for the next one at St. Rita Catholic Community on March 24, 2018, here it is!

GNS-Dr.Katherine-Rombs

Pope Francis on Evangelization

   My favorite quote of Pope Francis these days is in answer to the question, How do we evangelize?  His answer:

     We need to become “experts in communion,” “witnesses and architects of the ‘plan for unity’ which is the crowning point of human history in God’s design.” In a polarized society, where different cultures experience difficulty in living alongside one another, where the powerless encounter oppression, where inequality abounds, we are called to offer a concrete model of community which, by acknowledging the dignity of each person and sharing our respective gifts, makes it possible to live as brothers and sisters.
     So, be men and women of communion! Have the courage to be present in the midst of conflict and tension, as a credible sign of the presence of the Spirit who inspires in human hearts a passion for all to be one (cf. Jn 17:21). Live the mysticism of encounter, which entails “the ability to hear, to listen to other people; the ability to seek together ways and means”.  Live in the light of the loving relationship of the three divine Persons (cf. 1 Jn 4:8), the model for all interpersonal relationships. . .

(Apostolic Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to All Consecrated People, From the Vatican, 21 November 2014)

He asks, how should Christians evangelize?   He answers: through becoming "experts in communion."  Offer a concrete model of community.   

In other words, its how you treat people--that is how to show people the Spirit of God.   

Isn't that what mothers do--offer a concrete sign of community?  Aren't Catholic mothers today leading the pack in creating loving families, which are nothing if not models of community?  

God bless all those who are doing their best to bring the light of Christ into the world through their families!

Humanae Vitae

I had the privilege of being on the radio this morning.  Dave Palmer of Guadalupe Radio 910AM interviewed me regarding the current rumors of a pontifical commission re-examining Humanae Vitae in light of Amoris Laetitia.  I have been working on a book on Catholic motherhood for 5 years.  As I am in the final editing stages, beginning to look for a publisher, it is clear to me how important it is for a book like this to be available to the public.  Catholics and non-Catholics alike need to hear the Catholic faithful, who live under the guidance of Humanae Vitae, being open to life, speak up!  They need to hear our message of the beautiful truth of the Catholic faith regarding its moral teaching against artificial contraception.

Dave was so kind to let me speak, sharing the truth and goodness of this teaching.  Please pray with me that I can find the right publisher, who wants to proclaim this message!

GRN Alive 11-17-17-Dr.Katherine-Rombs

Our family time

I love our family prayer times.  Ron got everyone a copy of the liturgy of the hours, and we pray together many nights.  It is such a beautiful time together.  Here we are getting ready.

I also love our meal times.  Somehow, everyone is so talkative and giggly.  It is really a blast!  I wish these times would last forever! 

Today's Second Reading: For Mothers!

"Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near.  Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the Lord for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving.  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.  As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts."  (Isaiah 55:6-9)

Mothers have such an important role: They are shaping the future.  As John Paul II says, "All of humanity passes by way of the family," (Familiaris Consortio, 86).  He claims that mothers and fathers are forming the faith and character of the next generation.  Mothers have a weighty role.  If we want government institutions to be run by virtuous people, where are they going to acquire virtue?  In office?  No.  government positions do not make people virtuous.  Elected officials needed to have acquired virtue when they were young, under the direction of their mothers, fathers, other caretakers, teachers, and role models.  If we want schools and universities to be filled with people of intellectual and moral character, where will those people get those virtues?  In those schools?  No.  They needed to have acquired those virtues at home as young people.  If we want the market place and business sector to be populated with just and honest people, where are those people going to acquire virtue?  On the trading floor of Wall Street?  No, they needed to have acquired it from their families as toddlers and children.  Mothers have the crucial obligation to help their children learn faith and morals, so that they will bring these virtues--indeed, the very presence of God--to the public square.  

Isaiah 55 speaks to mothers, encouraging them to "turn to the Lord for mercy."  Mothers need God's mercy.  Their children need God's mercy.  All people are so fallen, we cannot grow in the goodness that the world needs without abundant mercy from the Lord.  Let all mothers "turn to the Lord."  Let them bow down, worship and adore their God, who is worthy of all praise.  Let them give themselves, their children and all their loved ones to God "who is generous in forgiving."  God does not have to forgive.  He is set apart in this way.  It is a sign of incredible generosity and compassion.  It is so sublime, that we cannot comprehend a God so rich in forgiveness: "As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways love your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts," the Lord says.  Let all mothers rest in God's merciful love, which is one of his richest gifts.  

A Mother's Prayer: Lord, I love you and adore you.  I give myself, my children and my loved ones to you.  Please help us to become loving, merciful, and virtuous in every way.  Help us to shine the light of Christ in the world and show all people the good news of your merciful love.  Amen.  

Every Knee Shall Bow

Philippians 2:6

Although [Christ Jesus] existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This passage speaks so eloquently of the humility of Christ.  As followers of him, we are to be emptied out for others, as he was.  What better way to do that for some people than through motherhood!  Mothers are constantly emptied out for others, their children.  I pray that God will one day see fit to celebrate the choices of mothers who give so much to their children!

Looking around at Mass. . .

     As I looked around at a Mass, held outdoors on the Rome campus of the University of Dallas a few months ago, I was struck by the reverence of so many of those in attendance.  First, there were students, kneeling on the hard Italian stone, in the absence of kneelers.  The priest had selected the longest form of the liturgy for this particular Mass.  As I pondered the decision of some of these young men and women to kneel on the travertine, I admired their dedication. With their postures erect, shoulders thrown back, eyes tightly shut, hands folded, they were engaged all the more attentively in their worship by being on their knees.
     Then I could not help but notice a few children, the daughters of some faculty.  These girls wore white, lacy mantillas on their heads, in the style common to the traditional Mass.  Their precious headpieces spoke volumes of the piety brimming in their hearts, since the mantillas were not required by the campus, and not even their mother wore one.  I could only imagine that it was an act of singular inspiration for the girls to pull the scarves out of their bags or purses, and elect to place them on their heads without any prompting from their family or friends.  Juxtaposed to their graphic t-shirts, bluejeans shorts, and Crocs, the mantillas spoke loudly the girls' message of personal devotion to God.
    But then my eye turned toward the mothers of small children gathered in and around the back row.  Some mothers bounced the infants in their arms to calm them.  Other mothers chased after their toddlers, keeping them from wandering too far or making too much noise.  Were these mothers less reverent than the prayerful students on their knees?  Were they signaling less love and devotion, donning, not white lace scarves to cover their hair, but white burping cloths to cover their shoulders?
        To me, these mothers showed in their bodies a reverence for Christ that surpassed that of all the other Mass attendees on that sunny afternoon.  I do not know all of these mothers personally.  But I know mothers.  Some mothers are swollen and stretched, having shed blood for their children in labor and delivery.  Who, besides martyrs, reflect so purely Christ's gift of himself on the Cross, his blood being poured out for others, as do some mothers?  Other mothers carry in their wombs the cause of their infertility, scars of another kind.  Just as Christ's resurrected body bore the wounds of the Cross on his hands, feet and side, so too these adoptive mothers, and mothers who may have conceived, but did not bring their child to full term, bear the mark of a love that is made holy through its brokenness.  They reflect so vividly the love made manifest through the broken body of Christ.  
     Still further, some of these mothers nurse their infants.  How remarkable is this reflection of Christ who nourishes us with his body?  As I stood there in Mass, I was awe-struck by God's design of motherhood, so aligned with Christ in the Eucharist, made present on the altar before me.  Other mothers bottle feed their infants, either by necessity or by choice, and all mothers spend the duration of the time in which their children live under their roofs, providing meal after meal for their children.  Such mothers are not merely meeting a biological need.  One mother holds a bottle with love, attentively gazing at the priceless treasure in her arms.  Another serves a full plate on the table, at once satisfying the bodily hunger as well as the need for maternal love that every child's heart craves.  Every mother finds her own way of resembling Christ who gives himself as our spiritual nourishment, feeding her children with food that is at once physical as well as laden with a spiritual dimension.  In a special way, adoptive mothers bear the image of the Eucharistic Christ.  These women elect to raise their children.  Just as the Son chose to become the Bread of Life for us, so, too, do adoptive mothers choose to become the bread of life for their chosen ones.  These moms make the choice to provide bread and all sustenance, physical as well as intellectual, emotional and spiritual, for their adopted children as long as they are in their mother's care.  All mothers--biological mothers, adoptive mothers, foster mothers, step-mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, spiritual mothers, aunts, big sisters, cousins, close friends--find their own way of nourishing and providing for their children, resembling the body of Christ in some way or another for them.

     Maybe some of these mothers behind me on that luminous afternoon in the Italian Albani hills would return to their rooms after Mass and read the readings that they missed hearing during the liturgy.  Maybe some of these mothers would say prayers late that night, once their children are fast asleep, words of praise, thanksgiving, and petition to God, making up for the prayers they were not able to utter during the Mass that afternoon.  Maybe some of them would never get to these tasks, so depleted by all the chasing and feeding and rocking and wiping and holding that they had done that day.  But far from being less reverent, less engaged, or less a part of the Mass than those participants who were more attentive, mothers distinctively image the body of Christ in their own humble bodies.  As we celebrated Mass that day, it struck me that it was the mothers, most of all, whose bodily form radiated a reverence for the body of Christ.  

Pope Francis' Comments About Women

Today, Pope Francis made these remarks about women in Latin America:

In Latin America, hope has a woman’s face

I need not dwell on the role of women on our continent and in our Church. From their lips we learned the faith, and with their milk we took on the features of our mestizo soul and our immunity to despair. I think of indigenous or black mothers, I think of mothers in our cities working three jobs, I think of elderly women who serve as catechists, and I think of consecrated woman and those who quietly go about doing so much good. Without women, the Church of this continent would lose its power to be continually reborn. It is women who keep patiently kindling the flame of faith. We have a grave obligation to understand, respect, appreciate and promote the ecclesial and social impact of all that they do. They accompanied Jesus on his mission; they did not abandon him at the foot of the cross; they alone awaited for the night of death to give back the Lord of life; they flooded the world with his risen presence. If we hope for a new and living chapter of faith in this continent, we will not get it without women. Please, do not let them be reduced to servants of our ingrained clericalism. For they are on the front lines of the Latin American Church, in their setting out with Jesus, in their persevering amid the sufferings of their people, in their clinging to the hope that conquers death, and in their joyful way of proclaiming to the world that Christ is alive and risen.

The Suffering Servant

My favorite painting in the Uffizzi in Florence is this Suffering Servant by Sano di Pietro: 

    I have not yet found the words as to why the Suffering Servant means so much to me.  True, it is a balm to have the Son of God draw close when we suffer.  His companionship and empathy are a blessing, especially to those who experience life's hurts.  Beyond that, I am trying to put into words my wonder and awe that a divine image could ever look like this.  The Son of God being humiliated?  Tortured?  And that being a gift?  Redemptive?  I just do not have a way to express how counter-intuitive this is to me.  

    Even more shocking to me is that some humans--animalistic beings who have struggled so intensely for survival over these hundreds of thousands of years--would find meaning or inspiration in anyone's weakness or loss.   

A Prayer for Mothers' Day

    Lord, thank you for this celebration of mothers.

    Thank you for my own mom, who is a treasure and who has blessed me in unspeakable ways.  Imagine, a woman bringing me into this world!  Raising me up, from my tiniest infancy!  Holding me, feeding me, attending to me as I took my first steps!  Waking up with me in the night!  Thank you, Lord, that she loves me so much.  I owe her my life. 

    Thank you, also, for my getting to be a mother.  Thank you for the opportunity that not all women share and thus is a true privilege, to participate in the creation of another human being.  Thank you for the chance to love someone as deeply and as purely as I do my own children.  Thank you for the chance to give myself as a complete gift to someone else--the only way to be truly happy.  Thank you for this role that helps my children become all they can be, and helps me be refined and made a better person.  Thank you for this life of building a civilization of love.  

     Together, with other mothers, may we raise up the next generation of humanity--with its saints, popes, priests, artists, workers for social justice, educators, and all the faithful who sanctify the world to God through their daily lives--with the best that we have.  Bless our meager efforts, have mercy on us in our failings, and making holy our hidden domestic ways for the salvation of the world.  

     Amen.  

Our Lady of Fatima

    May 13th is the centennial of the appearance of Mary to three children in Fatima.  Mary's message was a call to conversion and prayer.  My love for Fatima is that the appearance, in 1917, was at the end of World War I.  To me, Mary was powerfully interceding for the end of war and the repair and conversion of those who suffered its aftermath.  My view is that Mary is not a quaint, delicate lady, unfit for politics and global issues.  Rather, she is the Great Mother, who cares for the soldiers, politicians, and civilians as her own children, and guides them to be their better selves.  She is the mother of humankind, and when we dedicate ourselves to her, she lifts us up onto higher ground.
    She also shows us the power of motherhood.  If the whole world is falling into despair and horrific suffering, as it did in WWI, isn't it interesting that it is a mother who calls us to a better life?  A mom speaking to three small children is the way heaven beacons humanity to renewal and peace.

Laughter

"We were like those who dream.  Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.  Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them" (Psalm 126:2).
    One day, it will all be like a dream.
    Today, my baby has a fever.  Our water was cut off.  My daughter is failing math.  My other daughter is still picking her nose. :)  Even our dog is throwing up!
    This life is hard.  The maternal vocation, especially one that is constantly open to new life, so that there is no definitive end in sight, is a true cross.  It is a labor of love.  But isn't that a bit like Christ, who gave his whole life as a sign of love for us?  I, too, am giving my whole life for my family.
    I have hope.  I am happy.  I can laugh.  I know that, one day, those of us who share in the cross will, too, share in the resurrection.
 
 

A Mother

     A mother is at the center of God's love note to us.
     We are like anguished lovers.  All human beings search for meaning and purpose--it is inherent to our dignity that we would know why we live and what makes us happy.  For all of human history, human persons and communities have sought answers to these questions, searching, like pining suitors, for the hidden power present in the midst of things, or even postulating a supreme dignity.  
     When the time came, he sent his love note to us.  God responded to us.  He answered our inquiries of love.  He said, "This is who I really am, and yes, I will be yours."  It is remarkable that in all this human searching and questioning, God would answer.  He gave us a definitive revelation of who he is and how he wants us to belong to him.
     His answer began with a tiny baby, born of a mother.  A mother was at the center of his answer to all of human longing.  The most important event of all of human history, the most powerful answer to our most central questions, the verification of our dignity and worth, that determines our eternal horizon and invites us to share in the divine nature, occurred through a woman.
     God could have revealed himself in any way.  Even coming as a man (which is in itself incredible and counterintuitive), he could have come as a full-grown man.  Coming as a baby, first conceived and then growing in utero of a woman with child, and then born, held and nurtured in a mother's arms--none of this needed to be.  Clearly it is part of the message, part of the response.  God is saying, "Motherhood is important.  I speak to my people through motherhood.  And you can come to know me through motherhood."  Through Mary and Jesus, God elevated motherhood and re-invented it as a sacred, spiritual reality.
   

Holy Thursday: A Sacred Celebration for Mothers

         Pope Francis invites us to consider more carefully the role of women in the Church.  We might ponder: What is God’s design of femininity?  How does motherhood, in particular, show forth the nature of God?  How might it bear the image of Christ?  This Holy Thursday, we will be celebrating the Institution of the Eucharist.  One way to respond to Pope Francis’ invitation is to consider the ways in which women, especially mothers, share in the Eucharistic mystery of Christ.    

         When a woman conceives a child, the conceptum is a new creation of God.  This new life is sustained by the environment of the mother’s womb and through the nourishment that her body provides.  From the first moment of conception, the mother is providing for the physical body of the new person.  She provides the egg, which, when fertilized, becomes the body of the new child.  She provides all the nourishment necessary for the new life to grow.  When the newborn baby is placed in the mother’s arms for the first time, every cell of the baby’s body finds its souce in the mother’s body.  If she nurses her baby, she continues to be the sole source of nourishment for this human being. 

         The Church emphasizes that, while some women physically bear children, all women share in motherhood: All women are called to give themselves as a gift to others through spiritual or physical motherhood.[1]  The Church celebrates motherhood in its singular way of helping women be what humans are most essentially: a gift of self. 

Spiritual mothers—whether consecrated religious, or single women, whether aunts, sisters, grandmothers, stepmothers, godmothers, foster mothers, or adoptive mothers—also nourish their children.  Some women place plates of food before a child at the dinner table.  Some women hand out food at a soup kitchen, making sure the bellies of the hungry are full.  Other women feed children’s minds, teaching them how to count, how to read, how to write paragraphs and short stories.  Still other women feed their children’s faiths, telling them stories of the Bible, and praying for them to “catch the faith.”  An essential part of motherhood is feeding others, in some form or fashion.  It is how we begin our mothering. 

This charism of feeding others is a reflection of Christ in the Eucharist.  Christ declared, “I am the bread of life.”  He said that those who eat his flesh and drink his blood abide in him, and he in them.[2]  Then, at the Last Supper, he said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”  Next he gave them the cup, and told them to drink, that it was his blood.[3]      

         How striking is the resemblace of a mother, nourishing her baby in utero with her body and her blood, to this Eucharistic gift of Christ?  Who else on earth can boast feeding others with their bodies and blood? 

         Those who are special in the kingdom of God have unique ways that they reflect Christ.  Certain saints receive the stigmata, bearing wounds in their bodies that reflect those of the crucified Christ.  Priests stand in persona Christi as they celebrate the Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Bishops reflect Christ the Good Shepherd, as they shepherd their flock, guiding them in the truth and preserving them from error.  Well, mothers, too, have their distinctive ways of bearing the image of Christ.  One of those ways is in sharing in the eucharistic charism of Christ.  Whether a mother nourishes her child with her body and blood, or with food, or spiritually nourishes her child’s mind, character and spirit, mothers feed their children.  That’s one thing all mothers do.  Generally, they do lots of it. 

As we enter into the celebration of the Institution of the Eucharist, let us adore him in this great mystery.  Then, when women return to their homes and workplaces, let them take heart as they recognize a eucharistic theme throughout their vocation. 

As women carry out their motherly duties, whether it be the expectant mother, the nursing mother, the mother of toddlers, the mother feeding her grown children back for Easter break, or whether it be the childcare worker who serve homeless children, the nurse in a hosptial, or the teacher, nourishing her children’s minds, let them rejoice in the honor it is to partake in such a special way in Christ feeding his people.  May they say, with Mary:

My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit rejoices with God my savior,

For he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.

Surely, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.

For the Mighty One has done great things for me,

And holy is his name.[4]

---

[1] Mulieris Dignitatem, VI.20. 

[2] John 6:48, 56. 

[3] Matthew 26:26. 

[4] Luke 1:46-49.

Holy Week for Mothers

“There were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him” (Mt. 27:55).

Women have always had an important place in the Gospel.  Here, the Gospel of Matthew tells us that women were gathered at the site of the crucifixion, naming Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.  From Veronica with her veil, to Mary at the foot of the cross, to this cluster of devoted followers, women punctuate the Passion narratives.
As we experience Holy Week, we might ponder what is God’s vision of women.  What is his design?  What is the grandeur of his idea of women?
One of the most magnificent aspects of femininity is motherhood.  As John Paul II claims in Mulieris Dignitatem, whether a woman participates in motherhood physically or spiritually, the vocation of all women is maternal.   Motherhood in all its forms taps into the very essence of what it is to be human: to be “a gift of self” to others.  Motherhood is “a special openness to the new person….  In this openness, in conceiving and giving birth to a child, the woman discovers herself through a sincere gift of self.”   The essence of the human person is to be a gift of self, and motherhood is by its nature such a gift, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.  What is a more complete gift of self than to share one’s flesh, blood, genetic structure, nourishment, time, energy, thought, care, love, character, virtue, faith and knowledge with someone else?  Whether in utero or through a child’s upbringing, mothers have a singular role in sustaining the life and health, in a variety of senses, of another person.  Human beings are such that we require the gift of self on the part of someone else in order to become fully who we are.  This is a great mystery.  Human personhood means relationality: existing in a relationship.   Motherhood—whether physical or spiritual—is the epitome of this most sublime mystery.  Motherhood is rightly understood as the full expression of human personhood.
During Holy Week, we celebrate God’s generous gift of himself.  The liturgy highlights Christ giving himself on the cross for us: “He humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”   While Catholic spiritualities of motherhood tend to focus on the Mariological dimensions of this vocation, we might also consider the Christoligical dimensions.  Motherhood can be seen as a reflection of the generosity of God.  Mothers—physical mothers, adoptive mothers, foster mothers, stepmothers, godmothers, aunts, sisters, and grandmothers—pour themselves out in various ways for the child.  They give their time, talent, energy and best gifts, providing for and nurturing the children for whom they care.
Six weeks ago, a good friend of mine volunteered to be a foster mother for two weeks to an orphaned infant from China.  The child was coming to the U.S. to have surgery to correct a severe malformation of his mouth, and the non-profit organization arranging this surgery asked for a host family to keep the child during the process.  My friend offered this gift of herself.  Two weeks later, my friend had grown so attached to the infant, and he so attached to her, that she and her husband, with the unanimous support of their five other children, asked to adopt the child permanently.  The precious baby is now in his new mother’s arms, and as you read this, he is likely nestled in her front carrier, relaxing in her gentle sway.
What more profound sign could there be of God’s generosity?  By its design, motherhood is an emptying of oneself for someone else.  This is epitomized by the cross, the heart of our faith.  Motherhood, then, is a reflection of the heart of God.
As we celebrate the Pascal mystery this week, and come face to face with the mystery of Christ’s outpouring of love for us, may tired and weary mothers around the world draw refreshment from his beautiful outpouring of himself.  May mothers adore Christ the Suffering Servant, and consequently find their stores of love replenished, so that, with renewed generosity, they may tend to those in their care.