Happy Mother’s Day!

A happy and most blessed Mother’s Day to all mothers! Let us take time today to thank God for the natural, adopted and spiritual mothers in our lives, for their love towards us and for the sacrifices they have made for us. For so many of us, our mothers were the first to teach us the Faith and to instill the love of God in us, and so today we give thanks for both the physical and spiritual care they gave us. This day on which we honor our earthly mothers providentially falls in the month of May dedicated to Our Lady, who is the Mother of Christ and of us, the members of His Mystical Body.

One of the most enduring Marian traditions during this time is that of the May crowning, where children of the parish carry flowers to Our Lady and adorn her statue with a crown or a wreath of flowers to honor her as “Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May”, as a beloved old hymn goes. Some of our parishes celebrated the Crowning last Sunday, some today, and certainly this beautiful tradition is a most fitting way to honor our Blessed Mother around the time of Mother’s Day.

And so, let us pray for our mothers today, let us honor them and entrust them to the care of Our Lady, the Queen and model of all mothers. Let us also entrust ourselves to the care of this dear Mother, and approach her daily with the same trust and love as the children who crown her with blossoms in May. +

Ego quasi vitis fructificávi suavitátem odóris: et flores mei, fructus honóris et honestátis. Ego mater pulchræ dilectiónis, et timóris, et agnitiónis, et sanctæ spei.

As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor, and my flowers are the fruit of honor and riches. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.
Ecclesiasticus 24:17-18