"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."
[Luke 1:38]
[Luke 1:38]
It has been some time since I had the chance to sit down and write and as I begin to try to clear my mind all I can think about is my cousin waiting to have her baby and my women at the pregnancy home. I take this as my little sign that perhaps a post on motherhood is the most fitting for my current state of mind. :)
This past year has been an endless running joke that I cannot escape pregnant women. Between friends, family, and the women at the shelter I have celebrated an estimated 40 “birthdays” in the past 6 months. Let me tell you…..what a marathon!!!! While it has afforded me a generous collection of hilarious and often seemingly unbelievable stories, it has more than anything allowed me to be a witness to the beauty of motherhood. It is this beauty inherent in motherhood which has made each of those first moments between mother and child so revealing of the beauty and greater role of women which God envisions every woman to live out in their lives.
One experience which confirmed this was a conversation with a woman while I was waiting for a delayed metro train. She was from West Africa and had been living as a single mother for the past two years in the DC area. She began sharing with me her experience of having left her home country for the purpose of giving her son an education. I was so humbled by the sincerity of her complete self-giving to her son. Her story moved me to tears! Her seven year old son was also accompanying us on the train and his presence was marked by a unique sense of confidence and joy. He never missed a beat as he would attempt to fill in the gaps of the story being shared by his mother. What took me aback was that he seemed to be very aware of the sacrifice behind their move. When I began asking him about his schooling a huge smile blossomed on his face. He began sharing with me information about his friends, the subjects he was excelling in, and the dreams which fueled the energy behind his apparent commitment to school. His excitement continued to grow as he began unrolling the tapestry of his life in the United States. He left an incredible impression of a sincere love for learning. Undoubtedly, it was a love achieved through his mother’s charity and complete self-giving; the ultimate source of joy and understanding.
This past year has been an endless running joke that I cannot escape pregnant women. Between friends, family, and the women at the shelter I have celebrated an estimated 40 “birthdays” in the past 6 months. Let me tell you…..what a marathon!!!! While it has afforded me a generous collection of hilarious and often seemingly unbelievable stories, it has more than anything allowed me to be a witness to the beauty of motherhood. It is this beauty inherent in motherhood which has made each of those first moments between mother and child so revealing of the beauty and greater role of women which God envisions every woman to live out in their lives.
One experience which confirmed this was a conversation with a woman while I was waiting for a delayed metro train. She was from West Africa and had been living as a single mother for the past two years in the DC area. She began sharing with me her experience of having left her home country for the purpose of giving her son an education. I was so humbled by the sincerity of her complete self-giving to her son. Her story moved me to tears! Her seven year old son was also accompanying us on the train and his presence was marked by a unique sense of confidence and joy. He never missed a beat as he would attempt to fill in the gaps of the story being shared by his mother. What took me aback was that he seemed to be very aware of the sacrifice behind their move. When I began asking him about his schooling a huge smile blossomed on his face. He began sharing with me information about his friends, the subjects he was excelling in, and the dreams which fueled the energy behind his apparent commitment to school. His excitement continued to grow as he began unrolling the tapestry of his life in the United States. He left an incredible impression of a sincere love for learning. Undoubtedly, it was a love achieved through his mother’s charity and complete self-giving; the ultimate source of joy and understanding.
My beautiful cousin and her two little ones!! :)
I have been blessed to encounter this image of a mother multiple times in my life. It is an image which points me to the indispensable contribution of women to a culture of reason and empathy and a model of love and unity. The self-giving demonstrated by the woman on the metro revealed that love when giving freely and unconditionally acts as a proclamation to the child and becomes something of great empowerment for the child.
Even the earliest stage of motherhood reveals the impact of this gift from mother to child. So many times at the home for pregnant women has everyone dropped what they are doing to wait and attempt to see the kick of a baby in the mother’s womb. JPII described this as the “special communion with the mystery of life.” It is perhaps one of the most beautiful signs of the mother being filled with both a wonder and an understanding of the unique life growing within her. With such sensitivity in listening for life, a woman at that intimate moment is not only moved to love the mystery within her but also in turn experience herself as loved.
It is this unique relationship with a new human being that should give rise to a deeper understanding of motherhood to all human beings. Like the unborn child, women should use that most beautiful gift of being able to sensitively listen to, care for, and love the most vulnerable of all human beings. The hungry, wounded, forgotten of our society are all yearning for that redeeming glimpse of motherhood which characterizes each of our earliest memories with another person. As simple as it may be our earliest memory is one of love where we felt safe and completely united with our mother.
We must use this earliest memory to uphold and protect the dignity of women and the beauty of motherhood. It is a call for women to embrace motherhood and similarly a call for men to cherish the equally beautiful role of fatherhood. The two are never found apart from each other as the fullness of their unity is the image of God. Bl. JPII in Love and Responsibility explains that man and woman are not called to live in isolation of one another but are rather called to live in a ‘comunio personarum’ or a communion of persons.
Having transcended the norms of his own culture, Jesus points us to the beauty of such a communion and in turn to the dignity of women. Honoring the dignity of his mother Mary, he showed us the proper disposition to motherhood which is one of openness, reverence, and charity. It is this path of love which affords the possibility of one day reclaiming the dignity of motherhood in every section of our society. Freeing ourselves from the exploitation which distorts our image of motherhood, we will become free to grow in unity and re-encounter the experience of being held close and completely loved.
Even the earliest stage of motherhood reveals the impact of this gift from mother to child. So many times at the home for pregnant women has everyone dropped what they are doing to wait and attempt to see the kick of a baby in the mother’s womb. JPII described this as the “special communion with the mystery of life.” It is perhaps one of the most beautiful signs of the mother being filled with both a wonder and an understanding of the unique life growing within her. With such sensitivity in listening for life, a woman at that intimate moment is not only moved to love the mystery within her but also in turn experience herself as loved.
It is this unique relationship with a new human being that should give rise to a deeper understanding of motherhood to all human beings. Like the unborn child, women should use that most beautiful gift of being able to sensitively listen to, care for, and love the most vulnerable of all human beings. The hungry, wounded, forgotten of our society are all yearning for that redeeming glimpse of motherhood which characterizes each of our earliest memories with another person. As simple as it may be our earliest memory is one of love where we felt safe and completely united with our mother.
We must use this earliest memory to uphold and protect the dignity of women and the beauty of motherhood. It is a call for women to embrace motherhood and similarly a call for men to cherish the equally beautiful role of fatherhood. The two are never found apart from each other as the fullness of their unity is the image of God. Bl. JPII in Love and Responsibility explains that man and woman are not called to live in isolation of one another but are rather called to live in a ‘comunio personarum’ or a communion of persons.
Having transcended the norms of his own culture, Jesus points us to the beauty of such a communion and in turn to the dignity of women. Honoring the dignity of his mother Mary, he showed us the proper disposition to motherhood which is one of openness, reverence, and charity. It is this path of love which affords the possibility of one day reclaiming the dignity of motherhood in every section of our society. Freeing ourselves from the exploitation which distorts our image of motherhood, we will become free to grow in unity and re-encounter the experience of being held close and completely loved.
Icon at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
I’d like to close this little post with a short prayer to our Lady. May her motherhood be a present reality in our lives as we learn to love, day-by-day, with the same courage that she put forth in her fiat, ‘Yes’, to embrace and share her eternal motherhood.
“O Mother of Jesus, and my Mother, let me dwell with you, cling to you and love you with ever-increasing love. I promise the honor, love and trust of a child. give me a mother's protection, for I need your watchful care. You know better than any other the thoughts and desires of the Sacred Heart. Keep constantly before my mind the same thoughts, the same desires, that my heart may be filled with zeal for the interests of the Sacred Heart of your Divine Son. Instill in me a love of all that is noble, that I may no longer be easily turned to selfishness.
Help me, dearest Mother, to acquire the virtues that God wants of me: to forget myself always, to work solely for him, without fear of sacrifice. I shall always rely on your help to be what Jesus wants me to be. I am his; I am yours, my good Mother! Give me each day your holy and maternal blessing until my last evening on earth, when your Immaculate Heart will present me to the heart of Jesus in heaven, there to love and bless you and your divine Son for all eternity.”
[Cardinal Newman]
“O Mother of Jesus, and my Mother, let me dwell with you, cling to you and love you with ever-increasing love. I promise the honor, love and trust of a child. give me a mother's protection, for I need your watchful care. You know better than any other the thoughts and desires of the Sacred Heart. Keep constantly before my mind the same thoughts, the same desires, that my heart may be filled with zeal for the interests of the Sacred Heart of your Divine Son. Instill in me a love of all that is noble, that I may no longer be easily turned to selfishness.
Help me, dearest Mother, to acquire the virtues that God wants of me: to forget myself always, to work solely for him, without fear of sacrifice. I shall always rely on your help to be what Jesus wants me to be. I am his; I am yours, my good Mother! Give me each day your holy and maternal blessing until my last evening on earth, when your Immaculate Heart will present me to the heart of Jesus in heaven, there to love and bless you and your divine Son for all eternity.”
[Cardinal Newman]
Another photo of my beautiful cousin! What can I say...I'm pretty proud of my family! hahaha :)
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