Mothers everywhere capture dominant and well-deserved positions during the month of May. Our own USA Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May gains lots of attention – or it should be well beyond the commercial marketing tactics. I recently discovered that May 10 is Mother's Day in several Latin American countries. Perhaps those mothers coming from these nations will enjoy a double portion of devotion celebrating their cultural observance on May 10 as well as on the USA special day. Mothers deserve all of the attention and affection that they can harvest.
May is additionally the month when Catholics everywhere celebrate the Mother of Jesus and of us all on several different universal feast days that fall within the month – Our Lady of Fatima [May 13], the Feast of the Visitation [May 31], and this year the Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church which will be observed on the Monday following Pentecost, May 29. There are also many other local Marian festivals that belong to particular ethnic communities that are observed within the month of May. This unique mother is remembered often in May as well she should be. We Catholics are invited in May to honor that woman who is unique among all mothers.
There are still some mistaken opinions as to why Catholics throughout the world so venerate the Blessed Mother. Some wrongly believe that Catholics worship Mary – only God is to be worshiped – but His Mother continues to enjoy pride of place within our hearts because she willingly provided a human body for the Word of God. Anyone who has been blessed with a loving mother should certainly understand how this wondrous woman came to be so central in the hearts of Catholics the world over.
Motherhood itself is often our focus during the month of May as we return to the memories we hold dear of our own beloved mothers and all those women who displayed maternal care for us. We praise God for the gifts that mothers gave us – teaching us the life lessons that have sustained and guided us throughout our lives. Mothers were often the original source of our prayer life, they imparted [or insisted on] good manners and behavior.
Pope Francis has the tradition of making a brief visit to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major and the shrine therein of Our Lady Salus Populi Romani [health of the Roman people] before his travels. He stops by again upon returning to Rome to thank her for protection of his flock and his journey. He knows the importance that the Mother of God has for him and for all of her children.
Those of us whose mothers have passed away are also filled with special and cherished memories on this day as we pray that they are now rewarded for their generous love and guidance. The month of May just dances with all the memories that we hold for those mothers who have blessed and continue to fill our lives with joy and happiness and Mary certainly takes Her place at the head of that list.
(Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, writes his “What I Have Seen and Heard” column for the Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.)
