At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:39
May is the month when the Universal Catholic Church celebrates Mary as its most significant female figure. I’m not sure whether the date for Mother’s Day was chosen to align with this or whether it’s just coincidence, but how lovely for all women to be acknowledged and celebrated alongside Mary.
As a Marist school in particular, this month is most significant as we celebrate the role that Mary played as the first disciple of the Church and as a model to all of us, male or female, to act with gentleness, modesty and simplicity. During the month of May we invite all students to pray the Rosary. They can do this in community in the Chapel on Mondays, or privately at home. Instruction sheets to assist in how to pray the Rosary are available in the Chapel, and each Year 7 boy has been gifted a set of Rosary beads.
At our Mums and Sons liturgy, the young men of Year 7 prayed in thanksgiving for their Mums as models of God’s unconditional love for us. They recognised that the role of a Mother reflects the role that God plays in their lives.
As Year 12 approach settle into Term 2 and prepare for their final Term before Graduation, the liturgy was an opportunity for them to show their appreciation to their mothers, or carers, for responding to God’s call in a positive way like Mary did.
On Sunday, you might like to share these prayers with your families:
Mums: Thank You Lord for the gift of my Son. Thank You for bringing him into my life and allowing me to be his mother. Please watch over him and keep him safe from harm. Fill his life with your blessings of grace so that he may always rest in You. And always and ever, God, may you rest in him.
All: Amen.
Sons: O loving God,
Bless my mother. Thank you for placing her in my life, and for the blessing she is to me and my family. Thank you for the godly wisdom that she has instilled in me. May she know the gratefulness I have in my heart for her care and influence in my life. Please continue to bless her so that, like our Good Mother Mary, she may remain ever faithful as mother and woman.
All: Amen.
Motherhood is a choice you make every day, to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you’re not sure what the right thing is...and to forgive yourself, over and over again, for doing everything wrong.
Donna Ball