One of the most moving lines of Scripture is found in the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. In the midst of God’s profession of His love for His people He says, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” (Is 49: 15).

 

“Can a mother forget her infant…?” 

 

The thought conveys a soft irony. It is a rhetorical question whose answer is rooted in the constant experience of centuries and of families. The answer to that question posed by God is, “Of course not!” 

 

The bond between mother and child astonishes the world with each birth and gift of new life. A mother is far more likely to give herself completely to love for her child than she is to forget her infant. Even so, God’s point is that His love for us is even deeper, even stronger.

 

As we celebrate Mother’s Day this week, we are reminded of one of the deepest and most foundational elements of nature and God’s plan in creation. That is the transmission of the gift of life that cooperates with God not only in giving new life that will last forever but also in forming that gift. 

 

That plan, of course, is rooted in the complementarity of man and woman. Fathers and mothers join themselves in our conception just as they blend their natures and gifts when raising us and forming us. 

At the heart of our celebration and prayers for our mothers on this special day is not only the remembrance that she carried us for nine months and then gave birth. It is that that sacred moment was only the beginning of an unending trail of sacrifices, corrections, smiles, hugs and laughs. 

 

Out of the depth of those constant and life-long interactions, each of us has drawn much of our outlook, our values, our personality.

 

How often too the mother is the rock that anchors the relations between family members. How frequently mom becomes, over time, the focus to gather the children even in the years after they have grown and moved away. 

 

It is for this reason that every mother on earth, consciously or not, mirrors the role of our Blessed Mother as she prays and gathers us in faith to unite us to her Divine Son, Jesus. 

 

We see our earthly mothers in the images of Mary in Bethlehem holding the newborn Jesus. We recognize our mother’s worries in the recounting of Mary accompanied by Joseph seeking the 12-year-old Jesus in the temple. And we feel the anguished love of mothers all over the world as Mary holds the body of Jesus taken down from the cross.

 

It might be argued that this description of motherhood is idyllic, even theoretical. But in our era where motherhood is regularly diminished, especially in the image of the modern woman presented in our media, it is a deeply good endeavor to stop and reflect on the role of the mothers in our lives. 

 

Through all the social changes and pressures, they stand firm in their love and sacrifice for us. Even in a secularized age, we recall that mothers are often the spiritual engine of the family and it is frequently the faith of mom that sets the tone in the family. Hers is the witness that is passed on to the next generation, or even two.

 

Of course moms, like every one of us, have good days and bad, strengths and faults. That is what makes moms so great. They are real.

 

Moms, thank you. Happy Mother’s Day. We know that you would not forget your infant, any more than God would forget us.