Happy Mother’s Day!
When we count our blessings, mothers are at the top of the list. May God bless all our mothers: our birth mothers, our adoptive mothers, grandmothers, foster mothers, those who are mother figures, godmothers and many of the most special women in our lives.
Let us remember when our mothers were there to make us laugh, comfort us when we cried, support our growth and development and be models for how to live out in the world. They give us “straight talk” when we needed it and a shoulder to support us when times were tough.
When I think of my own mother, I cannot tell you how many wonderful memories come to me in just one day. She was my rock. Sometimes I don’t know how I manage to go on without her just a phone call or drive away. We spoke every night and sometimes during the day.
My mother loved cardinals. While she loved their appearance and their sound, what really captured her devotion to them was their connection with the death of my brother, Patrick, when he as just a baby. Many people believe seeing a cardinal is a “sign” that those who have passed are with us in spirit. They believe that the cardinal is carrying a message from a loved one. The bird is seen as a go-between from the great beyond to those still on Earth. My mother was certainly one of them, and, although you will find nothing attesting to this in Scripture or the Catechism, it was always a great consolation for my mother.
My mom had a large collection of cardinal figurines. When my mom died, I brought about a third of that collection from Vermont to my office here in the parish. It is funny, but both here at the Church and at the Rectory, there are two cardinals always flying about and chirping out in the yard. Cardinals were my mom’s consolation when Patrick went home to the Lord…and now they are my consolation since my mom has gone home to the Lord.
Let us treasure our mothers and thank God for all the ways we have been blessed by them.
God Bless Our Mothers and those who are praying to be mothers someday.
Msgr. Tom
