From the Pastor's Desk
Our loving God has given us many great gifts and among them is the gift of creating new life. Becoming a
parent, whether a mother or father, is participating with God in creation. From the moment of birth every
day brings a new surprise, every age brings a new challenge, and every moment brings new growth. Being
a good mother takes work and the job is not finished until the day the “mother” dies.
Pregnancy is only the beginning of love and concern for a mother. Once the baby is born, mothers worry
about every little thing that can happen to the child. Then there is child/elementary years, followed by the
teenage/high school years, then the separation years of college or marriage. God does not promise mothers
to have an easy life, but He does promise to walk the journey of parenthood until the end of time.
Within our Catholic faith there are 2 aspects of prayer that I spend time talking with our Confirmation Candidates about: community prayer and private prayer. When parents teach their children to pray, they are
helping their child to begin and deepen their child’s relationship with God. Prayer; whether with Scripture,
rosary, traditional meditative prayers, or what I call free-form talking with God, prayer is communicating
with God. The celebration of Sunday Mass is the center of our community prayer. It is the second aspect
of prayer, private prayer leads to the community prayer. Without a private prayer life we are not ready to
unite around the Eucharistic Table.
Mothers have a very hard task of not only saying yes to the children, but also saying no. Just because
something is popular, does not make it right or good for children, even if other parents say yes to their children. Movies with graphic violence, mild or suggestive sexuality, song lyrics that demean women or other
races contradict the message of Jesus Christ. It is the job of parents to say yes or no and not to simply be
their child’s friend. Young people have friends, they need good strong mothers and fathers.
Perhaps one of the hardest task for a motherhood is letting their child go. As I was growing up, it was called
cutting the apron strings. The goal of motherhood is not to control children, but to prepare them to be happy, healthy, faith-filled adults. And at times this may mean stepping back and allowing young people to face the consequences of their actions. This is so hard for a loving mother, but sometimes letting go is the best love
one can give.
As we celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend, let us not only pray for our own mothers, but for all mothers who have answered God’s call to participate with Him.
~Rev. Lewis Hejna