Happy Mother's Day!
So today in Ireland we celebrate Mother’s Day and I am celebrating too! At the end of our Mass this morning in the Parish, the priest, who is a visiting Redemptorist preaching a triduum of prayer, invited those present to turn towards a mother and acknowledge and greet them on this Mother’s Day. I was surprised and slightly moved when people in front of us turned around and said ‘Happy Mother’s Day, Sister!’ It's a gentle reminder that we women religious are mothers! Some of you may be familiar with some of my other blog posts where I wrote about the gift of spiritual maternity so forgive me if I sound like a broken record! Nine years ago, Pope Francis spoke to an assembly of religious women gathered in Rome and said, "What would the church be without you? It would be missing maternity, affection, tenderness and a mother's intuition." In his talk to the women, Pope Francis said their vow of chastity expands their ability to give themselves to God and to others &