Mother

“Listen, put it into your heart, my youngest and dearest son, do not let anything afflict you and be not afraid of illness or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Are you not in the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need? Let nothing else worry you, disturb you.” (Blessed Virgin to Juan Diego on 12 December 1531).

Our Lady of Guadalupe (Antonio)

I am a mother.

I firmly believe that if I had not had biological children, I would still have been a mother in some way.  Perhaps I would have adopted children?  Perhaps I would have fostered children?  Or perhaps – as I do now – I would have spiritual children?  Spiritual children are people who I feel myself responsible for in a spiritual manner.  These might be younger people who I have encountered in whom I can see some of myself.  I can see my own insecurities as they used to be and it brings me great peace to be able to reassure those people that this too shall pass…  Sometimes, these are older people for whom I have some natural affection.  These souls may be people who require some assistance in some way.  I do not mean the sort of assistance that comes of driving them to one place or another or making them a meal, I am referring instead to the sort of assistance that comes of perhaps a broader understanding of an issue, or some encouragement in the face of a dilemma that they are faced with.

In turn, I am also mothered very well.  My own mother – of course looks after me.  But there are others.  Friends, mentors and even colleagues are – in their own way – spiritual mothers to me.  These people can direct me along various paths to help me to clarify my thinking and to establish my direction.  They can refocus me with encouragement and listen to my cries…

I have been thinking today about what it takes to be a spiritual mother.  I have been thinking about which spiritual mother can help me the most.  And the answer is – of course – the Blessed Virgin.  You see, the Mother of Christ is the PERFECT mother.  She is the MOST GIVING of all mothers and she gives most perfectly.  She is such a perfect mother that Christ saw fit to give her the children of the world as He was dying on the Cross.  And being perfectly GIVING, the Blessed Virgin accepted all our sinful souls in exchange for the perfect soul of God…

The Blessed Virgin was giving in her lifetime…  “In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.’” (Luke 1:39-47).

And she is giving after death and into eternity…  on 12 December 1531, Juan Diego who was an Indian convert was going to bring a priest to his dying uncle, when Our Lady stopped him on the road.  She listened as Juan made excuses about why he had tried to avoid seeing her and she replied…  “Listen, put it into your heart, my youngest and dearest son, do not let anything afflict you and be not afraid of illness or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Are you not in the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need? Let nothing else worry you, disturb you.”

And that same mother is my mother.  And I am simply overcome to know that!

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.