By REY FLORES
“The roots of the modern American Mother’s Day date back to the 19th century. In the years before the Civil War (1861-1865), Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start ‘Mothers’ Day Work Clubs’ to teach local women how to properly care for their children. These clubs later became a unifying force in a region of the country still divided over the Civil War. In 1868 Jarvis organized ‘Mothers’ Friendship Day,’ at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.”
The preceding paragraph comes from the History.com website. There we also learn that Jarvis was discontented about the later commercialization of the holiday after it was made a national holiday in 1914.
Like most holidays in the last 100 years or so, it was inevitable that Mother’s Day would become a commercial holiday when the floral and candy industries make a ton of money and telephone calls spike up 37 percent.
For us Catholics, Mother’s Day can also mean taking our moms to Sunday Mass and, more than likely, a nice lunch afterward.
Despite Jarvis’ protestations, I believe she would be pleased to see how the holiday she initiated has motivated many of us adults to remember our mothers on this day. It’s sad but true that many of us who live far from our moms tend to neglect to call or visit her as often as she deserves.
Many people whose mothers have already passed away probably wish they had done more to spend time with their moms than they did. Cemeteries are always a busy day as many families gather at their late mother’s gravesite to festoon it with floral wreaths, bouquets of roses, stuffed animals, and candles.
It’s easy when we are children to not appreciate our moms because as children we took them for granted. We felt that mom would always be there for us, and for a fortunate few of us she still may be, but for many others, mom is now in need of our support in a variety of ways.
It’s hard to watch our moms grow older, sometimes sicker, because they were the beacon, compass, and anchor that kept us hopeful, safe, and grounded. As we grow older, they grow older, and before we realize it, the time we have left with each other on this Earth becomes short.
I understand that many people have had difficulties in their relationships with their mothers, but we mustn’t hold grudges and we must forgive anything our mother may have done deliberately or inadvertently to hurt us. Whatever is causing that division is probably hurting your mother much more than it will ever hurt you.
Moms are not perfect, but as children they may as well be, especially when we are fully dependent on them as babies and toddlers. Once we become more independent, from tying our shoes to going away to college or to the military, we tend to think we do not need our mom as much, if at all, but the truth is that we will always need our mothers.
What is it that you remember most about your mom? Was it a particular dress or apron? Perhaps some of us recall how our mothers once laughed and played with us when they were younger. Sometimes a whiff of a certain perfume or even something cooking in the kitchen can send us down memory lane or like a time machine, reuniting us with our mothers again in days long gone.
I love and miss my mother very much, but admittedly I do not call her as often as I should. Visiting her is a bit more difficult given the 800 miles which separate us. Sometimes I say, “I’ll call her on Sunday,” but just how many Sundays does she have left, or how many Sundays do I have left? We never know the day or the hour.
I encourage anyone and everyone who is reading this to immediately put this article down and call your mother if you still can. If your mom has passed on, say an extra special rosary for her on Mother’s Day and let her know you are thinking of her. Perhaps mom may be in Purgatory and there is no better gift that we could give our deceased mothers than fervent prayer for their eternal souls to be united with God in all of His glory with all of the angels and saints in Heaven for all eternity.
The sanctity of motherhood cannot be overstated. There is nothing more glorious than God’s creation of woman who can bring His new creations into this world through their sacred wombs and some pain during childbirth, but oh the joy afterward when babe is in mother’s arms.
God blessed women with the ability to help create new life, nurture it in the womb, and nurture that life through their own milk. It is truly a miracle.
While the beauty of biological motherhood is what most of us think when we hear the word mother, let us not forget all of those wonderful mothers who adopted their children and have raised them as their own. Let us not forget the sisters and grandmothers and aunts and cousins and friends who have also raised children as mothers, children their own biological mothers could not or would not raise for one reason or another.
Let us celebrate motherhood not just today but every day, for without mothers, none of us would be here.
May Our Holy Blessed Mother Mary keep all mothers safe under her mantle and we ask for the intercession of St. Gerard Majella for all expecting and future moms.
A happy and blessed Mother’s Day to all moms!
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(Rey Flores is a Catholic writer and speaker. Contact Rey at reyfloresusa@gmail.com.)
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