By Susan Ciancio
How do you want to be described as a mother? What characteristics do you hope your children will see and remember? I hope that my children first see my immense love for them. And I hope that they see this as a self-giving love that puts their physical and spiritual well-being first. But I also hope that my children see my faith and love for Christ and understand that not only do I want to spend eternity with Him, but that I want them to spend eternity with Him.
Pope Francis once said that “a society without mothers would be a dehumanized society, [and] without mothers, not only would there be no new faithful, but the faith would lose a good part of its simple and profound warmth.”
I have been thinking a lot lately about faith passed from generation to generation, which has led me to contemplate the works of a distant relative of mine, who was a 15th century painter. Stephan Lochner lived in the 1400s and painted nearly three dozen incredible works of religious art during his lifetime. One of those is prominently displayed in the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. Titled the “Adoration of the Magi,” this stunning triptych depicts Mary holding Baby Jesus, surrounded by the Magi, angels, and saints. When the triptych is closed, the panels depict the Annunciation. Lochner’s technique and skill at showing the love of Mary for her Son and her impending motherhood in the Annunciation scene show the importance of motherhood and help us see that Mary can and should be our model.
As I think about the fact that for at least 600 years, if not significantly longer, the Catholic faith has been passed down from generation to generation in my family, I can’t help but feel in awe. As mothers, we are given one of the greatest gifts imaginable—a child to nurture, to teach, and to love. Our faith is the most important thing we can pass on to our children, and we pray daily that they receive that gift with gratitude and pass it on to their own children.
We cannot take our role as mothers lightly. We must, as our Blessed Mother did, understand the gravity of the gift we have been given and work every day to care for our children, to teach them, and to show them the beauty of our faith, for without faith, we have nothing. Material things crumble, disappear, and ultimately become worthless. But faith never loses its value. Faith is the gift that lasts for all eternity.
Throughout the month of May, we celebrate Mary with special Masses, May crownings, and feast days. So it’s fitting that we also celebrate Mother’s Day during the month when Mary features so prominently in our faith lives. May is a time to contemplate the gift of motherhood and focus on the protection that we should give not only to our own children, no matter their ages, but to all children—born and preborn—for every child is a gift, every child is wanted and loved by our Heavenly Father, and every child has innate value and immeasurable worth.
In the Gospel of Matthew, we read that Jesus took a child, put him on His lap, and said, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Christ was cautioning His followers to protect children and to nurture their faith. This is our job as mothers. We don’t have to be perfect, as only our Blessed Mother was perfect. Yet we can strive for that perfection, looking to her as our example. We know that our Blessed Mother endured both joys and sorrows, and we know that she wants to guide us as we navigate motherhood. So let us go to Mary in our daily prayers, let us ponder her actions and her faith, and let us model our lives after hers, knowing always that her maternal love flows freely and we need only receive it and reflect that to our own children.
And let us pray that when we do see our Heavenly Father, He will not only greet us but also our children with that phrase we should all want to hear: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
This May, teach your children about our Blessed Mother; download one of our booklets at shop.all.org/clsp.