“When Jesus (from the cross) saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.”
(John 19:26-27)
Dear Friends –
The very last thing Jesus did before dying was to give His Mother another son to love and care for, as well as telling John to accept Mary as his new Mother, which he did… and so must we. The Catholic Church sees that last act of Christ’s symbolically, as His giving The Blessed Virgin Mary the world to love and care for and we individuals of the world are to accept her as our Heavenly Mother. Jesus had just given the world the greatest gift of love by enduring His crucifixion, which redeemed us of our sins, but He wanted to extend that love even further by giving us a continuing source of Motherly love when we needed it. She was chosen by God The Father to be The Mother of His Son… a pure and holy vessel to bear Jesus and partake of every moment of His life. We know through the passages of time how seriously Mother Mary has taken her responsibility by her apparitions in different periods of history to relay messages of her concern for worldly sinfulness.
Of the many visitations and apparitions by the Blessed Mother, three standout in awareness to this current generation because they are ever-growing pilgrimage sites where miraculous material and spiritual cures occur all the time, particularly at Lourdes where Our Lady appeared 
eighteen times in 1858 to a 14 year old peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous. Through this humble child, Mary announced for recognition her unbeknownst title of The Immaculate Conception and the urgent message to pray for the conversion of sinners. Bernadette dug, at the Blessed Lady’s command, the first outpouring of miraculous water that began flowing and curing at Lourdes to this day. Our Lady of Fatima is another title for The Blessed Virgin Mary by her several
appearances there to the three young shepherd children of Fatima, Portugal in 1917. She showed the children a vision of the suffering souls in hell to emphasize the urgent need for prayers and sacrifices to be offered up for all the sinners of the world to escape such very real punishment for unrepentant sin. While only the children were able to see The Blessed Lady, she promised a miracle for her last visit on October 13, 1917, which everyone could see and dazzled they were as she made the sun dance in the sky. The newspapers reported the occurrence as the “Miracle of the Sun” and cited as many as 100,000 witnesses experienced it after being drenched by rain all day, and then suddenly had their clothing dried out by the dancing sun’s rays. On another occasion, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mary spoke in the native language of Aztec Indian convert Juan Diego when she appeared to him on December 9, 1531, and asked for a church to be built right there in her honor. The church fathers couldn’t take Diego’s word
and asked for a sign from her for proof, and so she told Diego to gather roses from there, which she had just made bloom on that cold arid hillside in December; she arranged the roses in Juan’s roughly woven tilma or cloak. When he took them to the archbishop the roses fell from his tilma to the floor and on the fabric of his tilma was imprinted her image, The Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe. Mexico’s conversion began, the Basilica was built in her honor, which is the third largest Catholic Church and it houses Diego’s tilma to this day as a highly venerated holy relic.
Our Blessed Mother appeared privately to Saint Dominic in 1241 and 
presented him with The Rosary or “garland of roses” which is a string of knots or beads used for the purpose of prayer, a specific set of prayers, which highlight the mysteries of faith as depicted from the events in the lives of Jesus and Mary. As the founder of The Order of Preachers, Saint Dominic promoted his followers
to practice and promote this prayer form and it has grown over the centuries to be regarded as one of the highest forms of prayer and is said daily by many, many Catholics.
If you take time to delve into the many efforts of The Blessed Mother pass these few sketchy accountings I have offered, you will be captivated by her tremendous motherly dedication to save the world from its wrongdoings… you will witness her sacred heart that cares for all peoples of the world… and you will find her commitment is very real to Christ’s dictate that she Mother all his brothers and sisters. When you need a dose of motherly love, turn to her and say The Hail Mary Prayer, there is no one better able to lead you to be Christ-like than His Mother. Mother’s all over the world will be remembered on the upcoming Mother’s day, but take time this year and always to remember your Heavenly Mother… thank her for her intercession, and help in raising yourself and your own children in His image… let her Motherhood be your inspiration to holiness and especially, the grace to love someone more than yourself.
“Motherhood: all love begins and ends there."
Robert Browning
The infant takes every offering of affection a cry or giggle can solicit and from that accumulation of motherly love given, a spiritual soul of self-worth is born. Throughout childhood, that mother lode of emotional response is sought after continually for the needs to growth are many. When that maternal source is lacking in response or is absent to other commitments, then an unloved child reared with only duty and neglect exists.
Why Motherhood
Almighty God’s design for the human race was created with and for love… male and female were not to be sufficient to self… it was only by the union of love could each become so much more… physical or spiritual coupling results in family life that is ideally a loving existence in caring beyond self. God didn’t just create one all-purpose completely endowed person, but two very distinct male and female models, each needing the other, with very specific tasks incorporated into their design. Basically the male was built with the physical prowess and where-with-all to provide and care for the family while the female was 
made to bear children and a little softer and more tenderhearted to meet all the emotional and spiritual needs of the family. That doesn’t mean a father can’t love his children or that a mother can’t compete in the workplace, but it does mean God ordained parenthood and family life as the core of existence to sustain the creation He designed and originated.
When the balance to God’s design is tipped askew, calamity happens because His perfection can never be improved, and thus by alteration, only worse will occur. Advocates for woman’s rights got it all wrong when they tried to promote women to be as “good” as men and capable of anything a man could do, for they surreptitiously downgraded the role of motherhood advancing the breadwinner role as more important and intellectually challenging unlike motherhood, 
and that is so very wrong… women should cherish their difference. Men cannot bear children, and for the most part avoid household responsibilities for their energies are concentrated on lovingly providing all the material needs of the family… they basically enjoy their manhood and have no desire to be anything else. Women on the other hand in the cause for equality, have sought to compete with men in the workplace proving only that they may have the equivalent brains or brawn to be lawyers or lumberjacks while relinquishing their unique motherly hearts for brainy self-esteem, and always at the cost of their children’s importance. Certainly some mother’s absolutely must work to supplement income, but those that deliberately chose professional careers over motherhood have lost their hearts and uniqueness to become an all-purpose model that wants it all, for themselves. Motherhood can be as intellectually challenging as any job if a woman applies herself to her family and community requirements to balance out some of the drudgery of housewifery… nothing can ever replace watching the fruits of a mom’s love mature to such beauty, and that will always out-value any fame or financial fortune. We must begin to praise and value the worth of motherhood much more than anything else. Death’s door regrets are always about not loving enough, never for not closing just one more deal or making more money.
The secular culture that dominates our existence does everything 
possible to denigrate God’s plan for humankind’s eternal happiness, for the here-and-now ego gratification that selfish individuals require. When the news media portrays the vast multitude of troubled youth, it’s easy to see the role of mother in those lives was probably non-existent, only emphasizing how the role of motherhood extends beyond the family to the well being of our community and world! That is the most important job, career or calling that Almighty God ever made, the emotional and spiritual well being of our world was given to women… that’s why motherhood!
