Happy Mothers Day!

I published both of these pieces earlier this week but promised to re-post them for Mothers Day...

Prayers for Mothers Day


Photo by Kincaid


Mothers will be celebrated by their families this coming weekend in special ways. There will be flowers and sweets, phone calls from children too far away for a visit, cards and gifts, breakfast in bed or brunch or dinner at a nice restaurant.  Keep a place in your prayer this day for all the mothers who will rejoice with their families this weekend...


Some women will spend this Mother's Day in anticipation of the birth of a child they're carrying - perhaps their first child - a child whose ultrasound image has already won the hearts of mom and dad. Other expectant mothers are making their way through the long process of adoption - or perhaps the arrival of their adopted love is just around the corner! Keep a place in your prayer this Mother's Day for those who are expecting the arrival of a child - and pray that both mother and child will be healthy...


I lost my mother in August of 1994. I love her and miss her but I can't say that Mother's Day is an especially difficult day for me. More difficult than the second Sunday in May are all the times through the year when wonderful things are happening in my parish and I think, "I wish mom could be here for this!" Open a place in your heart to pray for those who miss the wonderful mothers God gave them...


My heart goes out to women who want very much to be mothers but who, for any number of reasons, are unable to bear a child... I know this day can be difficult for them, even as they celebrate their own mothers with love and devotion. Let's keep a place in our prayer for women who long for a child with their heart and soul...


Part of my ministry is to serve the bereaved... Just recently I celebrated the funeral of a wonderful woman, a fine mother, a woman of faith as great as it was simple, as beautiful as it was profound. Her family grieved and prayed for her and I know this Mother's Day will be especially difficult for them. Let's keep a place in our prayer this weekend for those whose grief over losing their mother is fresh in their minds and hearts...


We live in world where children are born to families able and ready to care for them and we live in a world where millions of children will be hungry this Mother's Day.  We live in a world where some nations limit the number of children a couple may legally have.  And we live in a world where many champion the "right" to end the life of a child already conceived. For the mothers of all these children, and for their children, let us keep a place in our prayer this weekend...


Some children have mothers who failed to care for them. These sons and daughters understand deeply the lyrics of that old song, "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child..." For those in pain this day over mothers who left their children wanting, let us keep a place of prayer in our hearts...


Some mothers today will be forgotten by their children: no visit, no card, no call, no candy or flowers. Some mothers this day don't know where a son or daughter has gone or what has become of them. A mother's heart aches on this day for the child of her womb who has forgotten her or who has disappeared. Pray with me on this Mother's Day for women who wait for a call that will not come...


Many mothers today will remember a child who has died. A parent's grief for a child lost is unfathomable - and a mother's grief is perhaps deeper than any. We Christians believe that one day we shall see again those who have gone before us and enjoy their love. Keep a place in your heart for mothers who need the consolation of such faith and pray that they'll trust that the Lord will keep his word...


Some mothers today will not know or recognize their children when they come to visit. Time has robbed them of their memory of even those they love the most. Keep a place in your prayer today for mothers who may know their children in their heart of hearts but are unable to remember or speak their names. And pray for those sons and daughters who tell their mothers of their love, hoping that a mother's heart will hear what her mind no longer holds...


This Mother's Day, let's turn our hearts to Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of Jesus and Mother of all of us, his sisters and brothers. With a mother's care she raised the Christ child and lived the joy and the grief that only a mother can know. Whatever our spirits on this Mother's Day weekend, the Mother of Jesus embraces us all, so let us pray...

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Small roses: photo by Nirsha

For the Matriarch on Mothers Day

Yet another beautiful prayer from Alden Solovy's page, To Bend Light. This prayer is a fine refection of the esteem in which the matriarch is held in the Jewish family.

For the Matriarch

For our matriarch,

A song of strength and hope.

Guardian of generations,

Keeper of traditions,

Hand of guidance and love,

We are blessed by your wisdom and purpose,

Your work to bind us to our heritage,

Your dedication to peace in our homes

And joy in our lives.

You remind us to open our hearts to our brothers and sisters,

Fathers and mothers,

Daughters and sons.

You remind us to honor and cherish cousins of cousins of cousins,

And to live together, in harmony,

By G-d’s holy word.

G-d of motherly wisdom and grace,

Bless our family with health

And our matriarch with vision, endurance and hope.

May her devotion inspire us to live by our highest ideals,

Guided by Torah.

Bless our lives with laughter

And our days with purpose,

So that we bring radiance and splendor to our family

And to the world.

Blessed are You, G-d of our mothers,

Who provides just and righteous women

In every generation.

© 2010 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.



Subscribe to A Concord Pastor Comments