A number of years ago, on the 6th Sunday of Easter, a friend called to ask for my prayers for himself and his family because they just discovered his mother had died in her sleep. He was distraught because he loved his mother very much and no one was with her when she died. He could not imagine what life would be like without her. His sense of loss was profound. We talked for a while and I offered to pray with him over the phone. As we prayed a phrase from today’s Gospel kept repeating in my head, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.”
Jesus spoke these comforting words to his disciples because he knew that he would be leaving them to return to his Father in heaven. However, he was not leaving them alone. Jesus assured the disciples and he assures us that God the Father will give us “another Advocate to be with you always.” This Advocate, the Holy Spirit, helped the disciples understand Jesus’ mission on earth and his special place in heaven. And the same Holy Spirit helps us too. St. Peter reminded the faithful in our second reading that although Jesus was “put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit,” giving them a reason for hope.
This hope extends to each one of us who call ourselves Christians. Jesus is with us always and in all the life situations in which we find ourselves. It is at times of great loss when many of us most need the consolation and hope the Holy Spirit provides. We simply have to remember the words Jesus spoke to the disciples and to us before he Ascended into heaven, “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
On this day we celebrate our mothers. We thank them for giving us life. We honor the women who raised us, nurtured us and love us unconditionally. May God’s blessing be with all our mothers, both living and deceased.
God our Creator, we pray:
for new mothers, coming to terms with new responsibility;
for expectant mothers, wondering and waiting;
for those who are tired, stressed or depressed;
for those who struggle to balance the tasks of work and family;
for those who are unable to feed their children due to poverty;
for those whose children have physical, mental or emotional disabilities;
for those who have children they do not want;
for those who raise children on their own;
for those who have lost a child;
for those who care for the children of others;
for those whose children have left home;
and for those whose desire to be a mother has not been fulfilled.
Bless all mothers,
that their love may be deep and tender,
and that they may lead their children to know and do what is good,
living not for themselves alone,
but for God and for others.
Amen.
