Although we have already celebrated Mothering Sunday here in the UK this year the modern world of the internet makes us very aware that friends around the world celebrate the role their mothers play in their lives on different days of the year and today in the USA and Canada they are celebrating today (Sunday May 13th 2012).
I have been thinking a lot about mothering ever since I found out on the British Mothering Sunday that my own daughter is pregnant. This has changed the way I see mothering my daughter and is giving me glances at the new experience of being a grandparent to a child from before their birth as long as I am around to do it... When your own child is becoming a parent I have found that your relationship with them shifts as they become more of an adult and yet may need more care and support at the same time...
Then on Facebook I noticed that many of the posts about Mother's Day were about those who mourned the passing of their mothers and wondered how they could get through the day without being able to celebrate, thank and hug their mothers in the flesh... I do not have this experience as both my parents are still with us, although I can do no more than send my mum a card and/or give her a ring since she lives a drive away... I can't begin to imagine what it would be like not to have my mum around in this way - for all our differences at times! - and I have been really struck by some of the things that some people said in trying to comfort those so bereaved...
Some recommended a turning to Mary, mother of Jesus, as Jesus is shown in the Gospel of John as asking His Beloved Disciple (that's us folks!) and His mother to care for each other after His death. This is the way that the Roman Catholic Church has allowed for a feminine model of love to be included in what tends to be a very male model of God. Mary Theotokos (:Mother of God) is certainly a way that helps many to access this necessary aspect of human and divine love.
Some others talked about how mothers have a unique unconditional love that stretches back generations and that is certainly something to celebrate. I always want to be aware of those for whom this unconditional love from a parent is not a reality or who received it from someone other than their biological mother. This is one of the reasons why I am not happy to confine my description of God as Father - for some their father was a critical, harsh parent - or worse. For this reason the use of Mother as an alternative on its own is equally difficult. This is one of the reasons I love Rosamunde Millar's Mass of the Mother where, despite its title, God is referred to as Father, Mother and Holy Child. This Trinity allows us to look for those who have been our true family, those who have loved us with that unconditional love that is the best mirror of the love that we will feel embraced in the Divine Love.
May you be blessed in an experience of unconditional human love that accepts totally and wants only the best for you and know that this is only a shadow of the unconditional love of the universe for each and every one of us...
No comments:
Post a Comment