My Mother My Angel … My Heartbeat
As we journey towards the end of the Season of the Resurrection, we continue our celebrations today by honouring our Mothers on this very special day. Mother’s Day is a wonderful time of the year when we express our love and appreciation of the one who gives of herself to her children. She is the one who cares, nurtures, protects, teaches, disciplines and above all loves. She is the one who God has endowed with the gift of sharing in creation. She is the one through whom He chose to enter into this world.
In my homily this week I spoke to the children about how we take our Mother’s for granted. I told them a story about a mother who asked her son to carry out some chores around the house. When he had finished, he gave his mother a bill which listed a cost against each chore totalling $29 and handed it to her. The story continues by saying that the mother looked at the “bill” with a tear in her eye and handed him a bill of a different kind. The bill included: For giving you life ... no cost; for looking after you every day.... no cost; for feeding you every day.... no cost; for washing and ironing your clothes ... no cost; for paying your school fees ... no cost; for driving you around ... no cost; and for everything else ... no cost. At the bottom she put a total. This total was the word “LOVE”.
The moral of the story is that our Mothers work for us day in and day out without counting the cost. Pope Francis talks about how mothers are often under-appreciated in their family role, and said they are key players in fighting against an individualistic, self-centered society. “To be a mother is a great treasure. Mothers, in their unconditional and sacrificial love for their children, are the antidote to individualism; they are the greatest enemies against war,” the pontiff told pilgrims earlier in the year. Mothers, he said, “are often exploited because of their availability. Not even the Christian community values them properly, despite the eminent example of the Mother of Jesus.”
One thing that stirs my memory and my heart as a child is how my mother taught me how to pray. I remember that regardless of all the pressures and problems in her life, she would kneel with my brother and I at the bedside every night and pray with us before we went to sleep. My mother was the one that taught me how to communicate and speak with God. This is not to be underestimated as this formed and guided my life. When I think about my mother, I remember the poem by the famous poet Said Akle and sung by Fayrouz – “Oumi ya Malaki” – My Mother, my angel. One of the verses describes the mother as “my heart beat”. I see this in so many mothers in our parish. We are so blessed to have mothers who are great examples for their children and for others. They are truly angels who are the heartbeat of this parish.
This Mothers’ Day and always be sure that you show your Mother a sign of your love, appreciation and gratitude. Do not count the cost because she definitely doesn’t.
On another note, we have been very busy preparing for all the different events and activities. The May visits continue and this week we had elections for our youth and teen committees. Congratulations to the new committees and their leaders which you can read about on the next page. Also, I encourage everyone to take part in the Mother’s Day Mass and Luncheon next Sunday, the Novena of St Rita which starts on Wednesday at St Patrick’s Church, the annual Gala which will be held on the 19th June and all spiritual talks and events in this blessed month.
