Dear Family,
Recently my brother died and at every moment I kept looking around to see and hear my mother. But alas, she is not here. We tend to think of mothers as being always there – constant companions on our journeys in good times and in bad times.
So, although we have an annual celebration of Mothers’ Day, we wouldn’t be off the mark if we had this as a daily celebration, because each day we are reminded of the need for a faithful companion. But sometimes mothers get tired and sometimes they get frustrated, and they want to give up. But this Jubilee Year calls on all of us to be pilgrims of Hope. To mothers I say: Do not give up on your children! Because we hope, we will not be disappointed. (See Romans 5:5)
Our Blessed Mother Mary, even with the certainty of having her soul pierced, never gave up her journeying with Jesus. All the way to Calvary she went with him. It was there at Calvary she was given to us as our mother, and we were entrusted to her as her children. She will never give up on us! With Mary as our sweetness and our hope, we will not be disappointed!
And we belong to Holy Mother Church. She sees her children facing many dangers – physical and spiritual but because she lives in the assurance that the gates of hell will never prevail, she constantly provides her children with the Scriptures and the Sacraments – sustenance for body and soul. She assures us that God is our Hope and in him, we will not be disappointed!
So as we give thanks for our biological mothers, we give thanks too for those who have fulfilled that role in our lives. We commend them all to the prayers of Mary, Mother of the Church.
In Jesus and Mary,
Very Reverend Anthony Aarons, Missionary of Mercy
RECTOR
