The month of May typically engenders thoughts of motherhood, no doubt because it is our custom to celebrate mothers, living and deceased, on the second Sunday of the month. Bringing this secular observance into the context of the holy Mass demands some savvy so as not to diminish or dismiss the liturgical celebration of that Sunday. An appropriate way to acknowledge this moment in the Mass is to utilize the Blessing of Mothers found in the Book of Blessings.

Another fitting way to include this traditional remembrance in the holy Mass is to offer all Masses that day for the intention of all living and deceased mothers. What better way to acknowledge our mothers than to pray for them in the greatest of prayers, the Mass? As we celebrate Eucharist, we “give thanks” for all mothers who, by their nature, generate, nurture and sustain life. They are a gift to us. I am reminded of this every time we sing the words “Who from our mothers’ arms / has blessed us on our way” in the old hymn “Now Thank We All Our God.”

While we intentionally pray for and celebrate our mothers on Mother’s Day, it is also customary for us as a Church to remember our Blessed Mother throughout this month. This observance is often expressed by presenting flowers at the altar of Mary, singing Marian hymns, reciting the Rosary and crowning her statue.

As he hung on the cross, Jesus gave to us his mother. She is a gift who always exudes hope. In Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”), Pope Francis states: “As mother of all, she is a sign of hope for peoples suffering the birth pangs of justice. She is the missionary who draws near to us and accompanies us throughout life, opening our hearts to faith by her maternal love. As a true mother, she walks at our side; she shares our struggles and she constantly surrounds us with God’s love” (No. 286). As we aspire to be pilgrims of hope in this time of jubilee, she is, like any genuine mother, a model of hope for us. Through her motherhood, this hope ripples through every member of the Church.

‘The Mother Of All the Faithful’

As we celebrate both the Blessed Mother and our own mothers this May, there is yet another mother in our lives that we must not forget — namely, “Holy Mother Church.” That phrase, according to my research, originates from the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, when the Church was identified as “the mother of all the faithful.” In 1891, Pope Leo XIII, in Rerum Novarum (On Capital and Labor), described the Church as “the common Mother of us all” (No. 57). Pope St. John XXIII continued this theme with his 1961 encyclical Mater et Magistra acknowledging the Church as “Mother and Teacher.”

In a homily given Sept. 15, 2015, Pope Francis added his voice to this chorus, saying: “The Church is our mother. She … has that motherly attitude, of meekness and goodness: Our Mother Mary and our Mother Church know how to caress their children and show tenderness. To think of the Church without that motherly feeling is to think of a rigid association, an association without human warmth, an orphan.”

Through the grace of our priestly ordination, God calls and equips us to bring warmth and tenderness to those in need. Therefore, it is incumbent for us to stay close to the Blessed Mother so that we can emulate her maternal sense of availability and love to those who come into our midst. It is equally vital that we remain close to and in communion with Holy Mother Church, especially as we aspire to be holy and life-giving priests.

Pope Francis concludes the aforementioned homily, “The Church is our mother and welcomes all of us as a mother: Mary our Mother, our Mother Church, and this motherhood are expressed through an attitude of welcome, understanding, goodness, forgiveness and tenderness.” 

BISHOP DAVID J. BONNAR, editor of The Priest, is bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown.