THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Offaly columnist reflects on the huge importance of Mother's Day

THE occasion of Mother's Day, which is upon us this coming Sunday, is an extraordinarily special day for all of us.

Each year we pause to think about our mothers and those amazing women who have shaped our lives. We give thanks to God and share memories as we think about our mothers who have gone before us. We give thanks to God and reach out in love to our mothers who are in our lives today. We give thanks to God and celebrate those, who like mothers, have shaped us. We give thanks to God and celebrate those who are mothers, or like mothers, to the ones we love.

It's a time to love, kiss and hug the most precious creation of God - our Mom! All through our lives we love to put our heads in the lap of our mothers, unmindful of our status, position and standing. For her, we will always remain the small child, but this is the day to visit our Mom, spend time with her, hold her hands and reassure her of our love and care. Mother's Day is a great reason to honor our mother's and express gratitude for all the hugs, cuddles, prayers, kisses and lullabies she has endowed upon us.

Mothers bear the hardships and the joys in bringing up a child. A mother is the epitome of love, serenity, compassion, mercy and forgiveness. Mother's Day holds great significance for all of us. It's that time of the year to let your mother know that no one loves her more than her own children. It's a time to be grateful to your mother who's mainly the most loving, kind-hearted, understanding and caring person in your life. So this weekend celebrate Mother's Day with non-stop surprises and have a beautiful time on this day. Get your entire family together if you can. Treat your mom like a queen by presenting her with a beautiful gift. It may not be the most precious gift, but must be the embodiment of your true emotions. Mother's Day poses as a great opportunity to pamper your mother for all that she has done for you over the years. You can never repay the debts, but on Mother's Day, you can create a magical place for your mother to be delighted and fly high on love and life.

Guiding light

Recently I attended the funeral of a friend of mine's mother and witnessed his great loss, but also the great love he had for her and it made me realize the love I had for my own mother but more importantly the love she has for me.

Mothers alive and those gone before us hold a sacred place in all our hearts. I imagine that the longer you enjoy your mother’s love and friendship, the harder it is when the time comes to say goodbye. Real heroes live in our midst and in a lot of cases it is mothers, silently giving, encouraging and enabling others to grow and to blossom.

Mother’s Day is always a time of deep reflection and gratitude. While we live with, talk to, and appreciate our mothers every day, special moments like this serve as powerful reminders of the incredible sacrifices they make, the late nights, the silent prayers, the unwavering support, and the countless acts of love that shape who we become.

Mothers are the unseen architects of our future, pouring themselves into our lives in ways we may never fully grasp until we look back and see how far we’ve come. Their love is both a foundation and a guiding light, ensuring that no matter how high we rise, we remain grounded in the values they instilled in us. The following is a real life story told to me recently of a mother’s love in action and another story from my Nana Scully’s prayer book.

READ NEXT: https://www.offalyexpress.ie/news/tullamore-tribune/1756308/offaly-aid-worker-says-africa-hungers-as-some-much-needed-funds-are-cut.html

A mother's love for her child

This is a true story of a mother’s sacrifice during the Japan earthquake that happened a few years ago. After the Earthquake had subsided, when the rescuers reached the ruins of a young woman’s house, they saw her dead body through the cracks. But her pose was so strange, that she knelt on her knees like a person who was worshiping; her body was leaning forward, and her two hands were supported by an object. The collapsed house had crashed on her back and her head. With so many difficulties, the leader of the rescuer team put his hand through a narrow gap on the wall to reach the woman’s body.

He was hoping that this woman could be still alive. However, the cold and stiff body told him that she had passed away for sure. He and the rest of the team left this house and were going to search the next collapsed building. For some reason, the team leader was driven by a compelling force to go back to the ruined house of the dead woman. Again, he knelt down and used his hand through the narrow cracks to search the little space under the dead body. Suddenly, he screamed with excitement,” A child! There is a child! “The whole team worked together; carefully they removed the piles of ruined objects around the dead woman. There was a three months old little boy wrapped in a flowery blanket under his mother’s dead body.

Obviously, the woman had made an ultimate sacrifice for saving her son. When her house was falling, she used her body to make a cover to protect her son. The little boy was still sleeping peacefully when the team leader picked him up. The medical doctor came quickly to examine the little boy. After he opened the blanket, he saw a cell phone inside the blanket. There was a text message on the screen. It said,” If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.” This cell phone was passing around from one hand to another. Everybody that read the message wept. ” If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.” Such is the mother’s love for her child!!

Why mothers cry

A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she told him. "I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will." Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mammy cry for no reason?" "All mothers cry for no reason," was all he said. The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why mothers cry. Finally he prayed to God who would surely know the answer. When God responded he asked, "God, why do mothers cry so easily?"

God said: "When I made the mother she had to be made special. I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort. I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children. I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining. I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly. I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart. I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly. And lastly, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers and only hers exclusively to use whenever she needs it. She needs no reason, no explanation, it's hers." "You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a mother is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a mother must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides."

A Mother's Day prayer

A lovely prayer that I like to pray about mothers and now in these worrying times more than ever goes as follows, "Let us praise those mothers who have striven to balance the demands of work, marriage, and children with an honest awareness of both joy and sacrifice. Let us praise those mothers who, lacking a good model for a mother, have worked to become a good mother. Let us praise those mothers who by their own account were not always there for their children, but who continue to offer those children, now grown, their love and support. Let us pray for those mothers who have been wounded by the neglect and hostility of their children.

Let us praise those mothers who, despite divorce, have remained in their children's lives. Let us praise those mothers whose children are adopted, and whose love and support has offered healing. Let us praise those mothers who, as stepmothers, freely choose the obligation of motherhood and earn their step children's love and respect. Let us praise those mothers who have lost a child to death, and continue to hold the child in their heart. Let us praise those women who have no children, but cherish the next generation as if they were their own. Let us praise those women who have "mothered" us in their role as mentors and guides. Let us praise those women who are about to become mothers; may they openly delight in their children. And let us praise those mothers who have died, but live on in our memory and whose love continues to nurture us."

Mother's Day poem

Finally, a familiar Mother's Day poem written in the early 1900’s is: M is for the Many things she gave me, O means only that she's growing Old. T is for the Tears she shed to save me, H is for her Heart of purest gold. E is for her Eyes with love light shining, R means Right and Right she'll always be. Put them all together, they spell mother. A word that means the world to me.

Thought for the week

As your thought for the week, even if we have great worries all around us at present, make your Mother feel the most special woman in the world by showing your care, love and affection, especially during this special mothering Sunday. Most of all let your Mother know how much you love her not just for Mothers Day but for all time. Spend as much time as you can loving and caring for the people who truly love you. Enjoy each moment with them before it’s too late. There is nothing more important than family, especially during these worrying timmes in our world!!! Make your mother and the mother of your children feel the most special woman in the world by showing your care, love and affection.

Most of all let your mother know how much you love her, for life is short and time is running out. Most of us have been blessed by a mother or someone like a mother in our lives. Mother’s Day is a time to pause, remember, give thanks to God, and share our gratitude with those who have shaped us. And, let them know you love them and thank God for them. A very Happy Mother's Day to all our Mother's both living here on earth and those who, like Jesus, have been lifted up from the earth, forever to be with us in our hearts.

Whatever Mother’s Day brings for you, I pray the following prayer for my mother Mary, that I like to pray that she will know with every fibre of her being that she is so precious to our God, who sees our human mess and loves us in the midst of it all. "To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you. To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you. To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you. To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you. To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is. To those who are adoptive moms, foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you. To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you. To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you.

To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you. To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience. To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst. To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children – we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be. To those who step-parent – we walk with you on these complex paths. To those who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren -yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you. To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you. To those who placed children up for adoption — we commend you for your selflessness and remember how you hold that child in your heart. And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you. This Mother’s Day, we walk with you.

Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you. Loving God, we thank you for the love of the mothers you have given us whose love is so precious it can never be measured, whose patience seems to have no end. May we see your loving hand behind them and guide them. We pray for those mothers who fear they will run out of love or time or patience. We ask you to bless them with your own special love. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen."

READ NEXT: https://www.offalyexpress.ie/news/1748412/the-pride-of-lions-founder-members-of-prominent-offaly-club-honoured-for-half-century-of-service.html