Grasping God’s love reflected in the heart of a mother
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were
wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the
weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of
the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are
something, so that no human being might boast before God. It is due to him that
you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written,
Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.
There are
very few things under heaven as marvelous as a mother’s love. Indeed, sometimes
a mother’s love can even shed light on what’s in heaven. For instance, no
insult cuts as deeply as hearing someone casting aspersions on our mother. In
human terms that is “the unforgiveable sin.” A mother’s honor is definitely
worth defending, and we will defend it to the death. Why? Well, because we know
our moms would willingly die for us. Or, have you heard it said: “He has a face
that only a mother could love”? Harsh, but true. That means a mother’s love overcomes all
obstacles – certainly a child’s uncomeliness – hurdles usually too high for
everyone else.
And in the
Bible, a mother’s love is an excellent example of God’s own love. Isaiah the
prophet asks rhetorically (speaking on behalf of God), “Can a mother forget the
baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?” He
answers his own question: “Though she may forget, I will not forget you” (Is.
49:15). In other words, when God wants to highlight his heavenly love, he can
find no better example on earth than a mother’s love. A momma’s love gives us a
glimpse of God’s tender love.
Now, of all
the mothers who have ever lived – with the extraordinary exception of the
Blessed Virgin Mary – few hit the heights of holiness like St. Monica,
especially as a model for mothers. What do I mean? You may recall that St.
Monica was the mother of St. Augustine, one of the great intellectual giants of
the Church. But early in his life, Augustine was anything but saintly.
Nevertheless, mother Monica never gave up on him, praying and crying for his
conversion. Her unflagging faith and fortitude inspired one bishop to say: “The
child of those tears shall never perish.” Now, it took 17 years of tears till
Augustine turned from sin to sainthood. You see, even though Augustine’s own
holiness and happiness is due entirely to God’s grace, that grace was often
given through the love and long-suffering of his mother, Monica. To show how
close mother and son are, the Church celebrates St. Monica’s feast today,
August 27, and St. Augustine’s feast tomorrow, August 28. This saintly mother and son are only
separated by a second, when the clock strikes midnight.
Today, think
for a moment of how marvelous mother’s love is, especially your own mother’s
love. If you’re lucky enough to have your mother living, give her a call. She
wants nothing more, well, except maybe a visit - but only so she can feed you.
You know she will never stop loving you, even if the whole world rejects you.
If you don’t believe me, just ask Augustine. If you happen to be a mother
yourself, don’t give up on your children – I know you won’t anyway; you can’t
stop loving them. Take comfort in that unknown bishop’s words to St. Monica:
“The child of those tears shall never perish.” Only remember that it may take
17 years. And if by some chance of fate, you never knew your mother, then you
can spiritually adopt St. Monica and the Virgin Mary as your surrogate mothers.
Don’t worry, they have enough tears and years to pray and plead for you,
too.
A mother’s
love: nothing on earth is like it, and everything in heaven is like it. And you
can experience it, too, no matter what your face looks like.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
No comments:
Post a Comment