Thanks to all mothers for the small things you do with great love

Most Reverend Michael Mulvey is
bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi.
 

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The month of May directs our attention to our mothers, our natural mothers and to Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church.  This article gives me the opportunity to reflect on my own mother and the gift that mothers are to their children. 

On a wall at home, I have a gallery of photos of my family—my great-grandparents, both sets of grandparents, my mother and father, my siblings and others.  The most striking photographs in that gallery are the ones of my mother as a one-year-old child and another as a teenager. There is also a wonderful photo of my parents sitting on the lawn before they married, obviously filled with love for one another and no doubt with great hopes for the future. One of my favorites is my mom and dad in front of my dad’s house with his mother in the background with one hand on her hip watching them.  I have always speculated what my grandmother was thinking. I can guess what she thought of my father…but my mother as her son’s future wife?

But the photo of my one-year-old mother is the one that catches my attention.  She is dressed in a white gown and an Easter bonnet that appears to be bigger than her head.  Her left hand is raised up grabbing the bonnet which makes me wonder if she is following the prompting of my grandmother in the background or if she is trying to pull it off as an annoying hindrance to her play time. Who knows?  

What makes the photo so enthralling, however, is the beautiful smile of the one-year-old future wife and mother of six children.  

The family treasure of that photo seems to awaken in me a reflection on the journey of her life.  As an innocent (and I must say “cute” baby girl) she had no idea of what was ahead of her over the next 90 years. Many cherished memories surrounding her life and the life of our family come to mind as I contemplate her baby picture. The efforts she put forth for family gatherings at Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving; the vacations and fun times we shared together on the weekends at the ranch; my parents efforts in raising six children; her personal trials in the course of life; her 30 years as a widow; and of course the struggles of growing old. 

Each day I cannot help but pass that picture of my mother as a baby and stop for a moment of grateful prayer for her as my mother.  On a recent “viewing” the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta came to mind: “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” 

Yes, that is what my mother revealed in her life—small things, but done with love.  And that smile! That smile is the hallmark of her personality and it was present until the end.  The one-year-old “cute” baby girl was the same person who gave us the gift of life, who fed us, played with us, educated us, watched over us, corrected us, encouraged us, stood by us as we matured and found our way in life and let us take care of her in her advanced years.

Every Mother’s Day, all of us have the opportunity to express the most meaningful words to our beloved mothers—THANK YOU!

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers.  You are the treasure for your family.  You are a true gift to the Church.  During this month in which we give special attention to Mary, the mother of Jesus, we cannot help but be grateful to each of you as well.  As I see Mary at the heart of the Family of Nazareth and recall the events of her life written in the Gospels, I cannot help but understand the indispensable heroine she was in her family.  Her heroic virtues are yours, our mothers; your vocation as our mothers is irreplaceable.

Thank you, over and again.  Thank you above all for the small things you do with great love.