A Concord Pastor Comments: A Prayer for Mothers' Day

This post comes early but here it is: just in case you'd like to pass it on to others before Mothers' Day this Sunday.

Mothers will be celebrated by their families this weekend in special ways. There will be flowers and sweets; phone calls from children who live 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 Mothers' 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 Mothers' 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 Mothers' 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 mother God gave them...

Some mothers have and raise children with no spouse to help and support them. Some mothers have chosen this path but others have not. Let's keep a place in our prayer for those who know the burdens of single-parent mothering and, when able, open ourselves and our homes to offer what company and help might be ours to give...

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 all 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 with faith as great as it was simple, as beautiful as it was profound. Her family grieved and prayed for her and I know this Mothers' 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. Their 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 will remember today a child they've lost to sickness, an accident, war or other violence, miscarriage or abortion. A parent's grief for a child can be unfathomable - and a mother's grief is deeper than any. We Christians prayer and believe that one day we shall see those who have gone before us and enjoy their love again. Keep a place in your heart for mothers who need the consolation of such faith and pray they'll trust that the Lord will indeed 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 Mothers' Day, we turn our hearts to Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of Jesus and Mother of us all: Christ's sisters and brothers. With a mother's care she raised her Son and lived the joys and the grief that only a mother's heart can know. Whatever our spirits on this Mothers' 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.