Dear Saints,

It’s one of the most meaningful yet overlooked passages in all of Scripture: “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” Lk. 2:19.

Is there anywhere in the whole world richer or more complex than a mother’s heart? It’s home to endless joy, earthshaking sorrow, significant satisfaction, constant worry, and so much more. And it’s not like any of it is arm’s length. It’s all caught up in the most intimate relationships of her life.

A mother’s heart is the unseen battleground where love wins out. When it’s 3am and the baby wakes in urgent need of care and comfort, it’s not a mother’s exhausted brain that gets her out of bed for the fourth time that night. And when it’s 3:00am and the teenager calls in urgent need of rescue, it’s not her angry brain that impels her to go find the car keys.

A mother’s heart is marked by something beyond reason and rationality. It is self-gift in the extreme, offered whether it will be recognized or not, appreciated or not. It really is a remarkable embodiment of heaven on earth, and it’s only fitting that we would honor and celebrate the Christ-like love that is motherhood.

I would be remiss if I did not take the opportunity to give thanks for my own mother. Her contributions, not only to my own life but also to the life of the beloved parish I’ve been called to serve, are second to none. I can’t imagine where we’d be without her steady devotion, and I wouldn’t want to!

Happy Mother’s Day to every woman who knows what it is to keep the things of motherhood in her heart. May God bless you and your children today and always.

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ