Mother's Day

A Mother's Day Reflection

My mother was three years old when the ambulance came to her home and wheeled her mother out on a stretcher never to return.  Luigia died at age 36 leaving her husband, Atilio, daughter, Monica (my mom) and son, Orlando.  It was 1934.  Work was hard to find and so was care for two children. An impossible decision needed to be made if they were to have a future together as a family. My Grandfather had to separate his children for care so he could work. My mother lived with relatives in a very unwelcoming, abusive home for two years. How would he reunite his family if he did not have care for his children?  At that time, he was advised to write a letter of proposal to a woman who was familiar to him through family connections and available - she agreed to the arrangement. They were married in 1936. Mom and her brother returned home to their dad’s wedding and a stepmom at the tender age of 7.

“ “if you are going to err, err on the side of Love for you can never love too much.””

The year mom turned 36 she was fearful that she too would die.  My mother had no understanding of why her mother left her, or why she died. As she grew, she would ask neighbors and relatives what happened to her mother... What was she like? Stories were shared but mom went to her grave not knowing the reason for her mother’s death. Mom’s searching opened her heart to God.  I’m not sure when exactly this happened but I witnessed its power.  She thrived on relationships: creating them, building and growing them, resuscitating them when they were being smothered or healing them when they were broken. Mom was a heart-to-heart caregiver, nurturer and worker bee. She was strong minded and fierce in her advocacy for the most life-giving path no matter what the situation. Mom could also be stubborn and make mistakes. It was tough for mom to forgive. The pain was often quite deep but with God’s help she got there. Often, she shared her healing journey with me.  She became very fond of a phrase she lived, “let go and let God…Trust”. She also advised often, “if you are going to err, err on the side of Love for you can never love too much.” As Mom aged, she always did her best to be present at our gatherings as family.  I couldn’t help but notice her stance of quiet gentle awareness. Her peace and joy came from a deep sense of knowing there was something greater at work among us…it was as if she was holding in her heart a constant vigil of Love drawn from the source of Great Love.

There is a richness in my mom’s story that is full of desire to live in God and allow God to live in her. My mother’s story matters greatly to me.  It informs my heart and soul… I need to pray it, listen to it, learn from it, and allow it to grow in me, transform me, open me to the possibilities of the life I have yet to live. Her life was and is God’s precious gift to me.  My cup overflows.

On this Mother’s Day, I celebrate and give thanks for my mother and all the mothers who help us continue to create the landscape of our lives. I celebrate and give thanks to all the “other-mothers” who come in the form of teachers, spiritual guides, mentors, aunts, sisters, grandmothers, for all mothers and other-mothers who carry unbearable suffering due to war, disease, famine, racism, crime, homophobia… To all mothers and “other-mothers” may God bless and keep us forever.

Little did I know that when I became a mother that I would fall deeper into Love and stay in love my whole life. I end with the words attributed to Pedro Arrupe, sj.

-Linda Mooney, Associate

 Image: Markus Winkler/Unsplash

Happy Mother's Day

A Salute to Mothers

This year, Mother's Day in North America is Sunday, May 12th. It’s a day set aside to honor our mothers, living and deceased.  If you had a loving mother and an attentive, supportive father, you won the lottery!


Daiga Ellaby/Unsplash

When we hear the word “mother”, the words loving, caring, consoling, and self-sacrificing come to mind.  Although much has been written by experts on the art of mothering, there is no perfect textbook on the subject.  Usually, basic mothering techniques have been handed down from mothers to daughters throughout the generations but sometimes it is a trial-and-error process.

From the outset, mothering is challenging work.  Recently, there has been a barrage of articles from mothers who seldom speak about the challenges of pregnancy. They refer to the nine months of gestation that often entails constant fatigue, sore feet, nausea and even anxiety. However, these symptoms are sprinkled with strands of hope and love. Indeed, childbirth itself is a searing experience as women bring new life into the world.

As each infant grows, he/she has a unique experience of mother as she nurses and nurtures her little one through childhood, adolescence, post- secondary education, entrance into the workforce, and eventually marriage. Throughout all these stages, mother has worried about her children, endured sleepless nights, and early mornings while always being attentive to the joys and sorrows of young people growing up in an increasingly complex world.

Along with raising children, many mothers work outside the home to help make a living and provide children with life’s necessities, including food, shelter, clothing, and school activities. After a long day at work, there are meals to prepare, homework to supervise and ensure that all is well with each little person.

Mothers are the enduring thread that runs through each person’s life and memories.  Although often taken for granted during childhood - adults, especially when they have their own children, look back and realize the self-sacrifice, generosity, and love that a mother lavishes on her children.  She is a constant reference throughout life, generously available for assistance, advice, love, and friendship.

Mother, on your special day, put your feet up and let your loved ones pamper you!

-Sister Jean Moylan, csj

Images: Diana Polekhina/Unsplash;

A Tapestry of Love

Happy Mother’s Day

This Sunday families gather, many virtually, to celebrate our Mothers.  We want to celebrate these wonderful women who gave us life, and whose lives were spent in selfless giving and loving.  What we might say today with our words is important but less important than what these women have said with their lives.  Their actions show us what love really looks like.  Were they perfect?  No, they were not, but their responses to us, their children, created a tapestry of love full of meaning and memories that influence how we live today. 

“a tapestry of love full of meaning and memories that influence how we live today

There is a song sung by the Wailin’ Jennys called the “Parting Glass”.  After my mother had died, my large family went back to mom’s home to be with each other.  As we so often did, we started to play music filled with memories and had a very strong sense of my mother’s spirit with each of us.  We started sharing stories of my mother and realised that those stories and memories will never leave us.  She is still with us.  So we asked my brothers and sisters who play musical instruments to play something to mom.  Then we found a bottle of wine and poured a wee bit of spirit in each glass and sung this song called the “Parting Glass”.   This might have been my mother's wish to each of her children. So whether our mothers are alive or gone, I ask you to lift a glass to your mothers and say thank you for so much.

-Sister Joan Atkinson, csj [re-posted]