The late, saintly Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty described a mother as'The most important person on earth.
She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral.
She need not.
She has built something more magnificent than any Cathedral
-a dwelling of an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body."
Dear Mothers of Prayer,
How blessed we are to have the technology
to share a visit without having to leave our homes,
as we journey together in this pilgrimage of motherhood.
Experiencing each day as a pilgrimage provides me a perspective
when successes unravel
or when happenings are not always as expected in my days.
In my own experiences,
the unexpected sacrifices and difficulties encountered
on any religious pilgrimage
have served to add to the fruitfulness of drawing closer to the Lord.
Most especially, in motherhood,
there are days when my sharing the details of a day with troubles
is best described to my spouse as,
"Honey, it was like going on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land"!
He so gets what that means!
Encountering motherhood as a pilgrimage
leads me to the definition of 'pilgrimage'
provided by Fr. John A. Hardon in his Modern Catholic Dictionary:
A pilgrimage is
'a journey to a sacred place undertaken as an act of religious devotion.
Its purpose may be simply to venerate a certain saint
or ask some spiritual favor;
beg penance; express thanks or fulfill a promise...' (p.422)
As I consider this motherly pilgrimage,
I awaken to begin my journey every day
toward the 'sacred place' of the souls of my children.
This sacred place is where the Lord awaits for me
to love Him the way He desires to be loved by me.
When I receive Him in Holy Communion,
He journeys to where He is able to love me
the way I want most to be loved by Him.
It is in this miracle of 'oneness'
that I am fed for the journey
that leads me
to where He may be found in my seeking.
He is there, in the souls of my children,
waiting for my smile,
my joy, my hugs, my attentiveness,
the light in my eyes.
In my daily thanksgiving, I examine,
"How has my pilgrimage of motherhood brought me closer to the Lord?"
How blessed we are to have the technology
to share a visit without having to leave our homes,
as we journey together in this pilgrimage of motherhood.
Experiencing each day as a pilgrimage provides me a perspective
when successes unravel
or when happenings are not always as expected in my days.
In my own experiences,
the unexpected sacrifices and difficulties encountered
on any religious pilgrimage
have served to add to the fruitfulness of drawing closer to the Lord.
Most especially, in motherhood,
there are days when my sharing the details of a day with troubles
is best described to my spouse as,
"Honey, it was like going on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land"!
He so gets what that means!
Encountering motherhood as a pilgrimage
leads me to the definition of 'pilgrimage'
provided by Fr. John A. Hardon in his Modern Catholic Dictionary:
A pilgrimage is
'a journey to a sacred place undertaken as an act of religious devotion.
Its purpose may be simply to venerate a certain saint
or ask some spiritual favor;
beg penance; express thanks or fulfill a promise...' (p.422)
As I consider this motherly pilgrimage,
I awaken to begin my journey every day
toward the 'sacred place' of the souls of my children.
This sacred place is where the Lord awaits for me
to love Him the way He desires to be loved by me.
When I receive Him in Holy Communion,
He journeys to where He is able to love me
the way I want most to be loved by Him.
It is in this miracle of 'oneness'
that I am fed for the journey
that leads me
to where He may be found in my seeking.
He is there, in the souls of my children,
waiting for my smile,
my joy, my hugs, my attentiveness,
the light in my eyes.
In my daily thanksgiving, I examine,
"How has my pilgrimage of motherhood brought me closer to the Lord?"
posted by Sempermom @ 10:39 AM
2 Comments:
At 3:22 PM,
Unknown said…
Sharon, this is so beautiful, thank you so much for sharing this with us here.
At 7:06 AM,
Sempermom said…
On January 22nd, the March for Life wielded unexpected results for our family. I prepared days in advance for the provisions needed for a wintery-mix March with five children from age five to sixteen.
Layers of clothes, boots, hats, snow pants, umbrellas, lunches, snacks, stroller, camera, and making it to Mass at Our Lady of Angels all came together perfectly.
The pouring rain and chilly air slowed us down and even stunned us as we ran into the Church. My five-year old daughter lay down in the pew, looked up at me and said, “Mommy, I feel sick” and fell asleep until the end of Mass.
I began to wonder if a day in the Washington weather was timely for her, and found myself making an important decision in the midst of all we had planned. A very special daily-Mass lady sat with me and shared how she goes to the Adoration chapel and prays for the marchers every year. She was so motherly and kind to us.
She shared that maybe I should ask Our Lady if I should bring my small children on such a day of unpredictable possibilities. A call to my husband, with his guidance that we should return home, left me realizing that we weren’t called to be there, after all.
My children were so disappointed! I had planned on meeting friends there from other states, as well. We came home and were blessed to have been able to watch the events all day on EWTN.
My sixteen-year old called me from Constitution Avenue, as he and his brother went with their high school, Pope John Paul the Great. I asked, “Are you having a good time?” He answered, “Mom, you’re not supposed to have a good time.” His words helped me to realize that in providential ways, we were all ‘on duty’ in accordance to God’s permitting Will. In place of the March for Life, I offered another day of this pilgrimage of motherhood that began for me 24 years ago. This posting was soon to follow.
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