The first and most immediate human relationship we experience is with our mothers. Our mothers devote their time, energy, resources and love so we can grow, develop and mature.
As the saying goes, we are our mothers’ children. We will always be a part of our mothers and our mothers will always be a part of us. Even after we have left the family nest, we can find our mothers present in our hearts. Even after our mother has passed from this world, still we can feel her within us. There is a bond of love that cannot be broken by distance or time or even death. If she is in God and he is in us, then she is in our heart as well, and she continues to be a mother, looking out for us from the Father’s house.
The Barna Research Group released the results of a recent survey and in that survey what they discovered is that more likely than not, it is the mothers who are fortifying the family with faith, and not the fathers. Listen to the introduction from that report. ”Mothers inhabit many roles inside and outside the family. Within the household, they are often counted on to be the emotional compass, organizer, and multitasking manager of the family. Add to that list another common function: spiritual energizer . . . women who are raising children are among the most faith-minded and spiritually active segments of the population.
The study shows that more than three-quarters of moms identify ”family” to be their highest priority. At the same time, a majority of mothers strongly agree that their faith is very important in their life.
Mother’s Day is one of the most special days in all of the year. We are told there are more telephone calls made on Mother’s Day than any other time of the year. If you haven’t called your mom yet, I want to encourage you to do so.
Moms of every generation deserve an enormous amount of credit for empowering the spiritual interests of their family and, in turn, energizing faith in family. Our church would not be the same without the significant spiritual influence of mothers. GIVE HER AFFIRMATION, AFFECTION, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ATTENTION, APPRECIATION
This day, let us say thank you to our mothers and our Blessed Mother for their enduring love. Mothers, we thank God for you, for all that you do, for the kindness you show, for the love you give, and for the example you are. May God bless them and keep them, forever holding them in his loving embrace.
I believe that I could say without fear of contradiction that one of the secrets to happiness is to have a good Mom. It is one of the great blessings of life. And so today we acknowledge those mothers who have loved us and poured their lives into ours. Once a Mom told me, that her biggest pain is to see that her child is leaving in fear, unhappy and purposeless life.
In today’s Gospel we heard Jesus invitation to overcome fear: “ Do not let your heart be troubled.” To some people, happiness means having the perfect family life, or a privileged job, or a big bank account, or a list of accomplishments, or the respect of others. And the list could go on.
But here’s my question: has anyone found the secret to happiness in this life? Sometimes we are deeply unhappy and we don’t know why. We don’t know what we’re missing. We can’t find the answer. And it feels like we are the only one who feels this way.
And that brings us to our Bible passage today take place on the last night of Jesus’ life before his arrest and crucifixion. Jesus tells his disciples that he will be betrayed, and that he is going away. His disciples are upset. They don’t understand. And so he tells them that he is going to his Father’s house to prepare a place for them and he will come back to take them to their new home in his Father’s house. In fact, Jesus won’t just show them the way to his Father’s house; he declares that he is the way, the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through him. And Philip catches this glimmer of hope, and he insists, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” What a wonderful statement that is: “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” “The One who has seen me, has seen the Father.” Here is, indeed, the autobiography of God.
In Jesus, we see a God who understands us. In Jesus, we see a God who speaks our language. In Jesus, we see a God who has a plan for us. Jesus begins this Bible passage by saying, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
We have to understand a little more about ancient Middle Eastern culture to get what Jesus is saying. In Jesus’ day, extended families often lived together in the same house. When a young couple was betrothed to be married, the bridegroom would go back to his father’s house and build on some extra rooms for his new bride. Once the building project was complete, he would come to claim his bride and take her back to his newly-expanded house. The wedding would take place only after the bridegroom had completed the building project and prepared a new home for his bride.
When Jesus says that he is going to his Father’s house to prepare a place for us, he is talking like a bridegroom to his beloved. He is making a promise to return for us and bring us to our new home—eternal life with God. Only he can make this promise because he is, as he told his disciples, the only way to God.
From the beginning of Creation, God had a plan to make us a part of His family. God planned for us to be a part of His life forever. That’s why God came in the form of Jesus to show us who He really is. He came to show us how much He loves us. And God came to show us that He has always had a plan for us—to prepare a place for us in His eternal home, and to bring us back to be with Him someday. And the way to this place of eternal life with God is through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
If you are still searching for meaning and purpose in your life, then know that God has a perfect plan for your life. You can claim this heaven as your own when you give your heart and life to Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Fr. László
