Why Celebrate Mary’s Birthday?
Mary is unlike any other mother. Her qualities excel beyond those of even the best mother imaginable. She loves us more than we can imagine.
Mary is unlike any other mother. Her qualities excel beyond those of even the best mother imaginable. She loves us more than we can imagine.
The media, florists, greeting card companies, and department stores tell us that Mother’s Day should be a blessed, joyful, and sentimental day. But for some, Mother’s Day is painful.
Couples should value each other so much that they actually reverence each other, almost to the point that they could genuflect before their spouses. Because God dwells in their souls, we should treat our spouses as reverently as we do Christ in the tabernacle. Our Lord in the Eucharist is a gift to us and a means for our salvation. So, too, are our spouses, although not in the same form, ontologically speaking.
January 1 is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. This important Holy Day of Obligation in the Catholic Church can easily slip past us among the New Year festivities and their aftermath.
For those of us who have had, or still do have, great moms, honoring them on Mother’s Day is easy. For those of us who have had, or do have, struggling moms, it can be extremely difficult – seemingly impossible. If our moms have been neglectful or abusive, it can be even worse.
There’s a remedy for that.
When we look at all the bright red hearts scattered everywhere we look, maybe we can think of the bright red heart of St. Valentine, who was martyred for the sake of the Bright Red Heart that was pierced for us on the Cross.
I stopped making New Year resolutions ages ago. Instead, I choose three Scripture passages to copy, print, and keep handy throughout the year. I review them as often as possible and give them some serious prayer time at least once a month. I keep the printed copy in a conspicuous place because I’m one of those people who remembers things I see better than things I hear or note mentally.