Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today the Church is, once again, reminded of her great mission she received from the Lord Jesus Christ to go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel, and to be witnesses of the gospel – the gospel of life and of love in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So remarkable, and truly necessary is the mission of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ that the Church always stands in need, and in fact relies on the constant spiritual and intellectual inspirations of the Most Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Lord and Giver of Life, to bring about the success of this great mission.
Reminded of this most noble task, the Church, ever conscious of her own imperfections and limitations, she never ceases to ask for this gift of the Holy Spirit, pleading with God to “send forth the Holy Spirit…to renew the face of the earth,” through the Church.
This reminder comes at the time when the Church wishes to acknowledge and hold in high esteem the great vocation of motherhood. Being a mother herself, the Church is well aware of the greatness of this responsibility, and she stands as the model for all mothers. As the faithful bride of Christ, and mother to all the Baptized, Mother Church shines yet again in glorious splendor to the benefit of her admirers and to the discovery of true womanhood. Centuries after centuries, Mother Church stands majestically as queen before the Lord, presenting her victorious children, those who have finished the race, and have washed their garments in the blood of the Lamb, and whose praises we sing.
It is in view of owing great gratitude to the divine gift of a woman, for her priceless value and dignified place in the Church, and her contribution to the world, that we wish to re-affirm the lofty dignity of a woman and her vocation of motherhood both in the Church and in the world.
As the venerable archbishop Fulton J. Sheen put it, “The level of any civilization, is the level of its womanhood; because a woman is loved!” with these words we are reminded of the great many women of excellent virtue whose lives and contributions to the Church and to the world fulfills the demands of the great mission – preachers and witnesses of the gospel of Christ, the gospel of love and of life. We give thanks as we draw inspiration and motivation from these heroes.
A woman was designed by God to be the sanctuary of life and of love. This splendid instinct rages within them like a storm, rendering them restless to whatever threatens life and love. Love is their language. Women are meant to be loved and appreciated. “Against love, indeed, for a woman cannot be, or believe herself to be anything other than love itself,” so beautifully did the great French writer Leon Bloy put it. [see Leon Bloy – Pilgrim of the Absolute book].
Women feel extraordinary pain when love is betrayed or damaged, and when life is threatened or destroyed. House of gold, Gate of heaven, Ark of the Covenant, Tabernacle of the living God, such are the noble titles given to that woman of Bethlehem who was the sanctuary of life and of love to the infant God, a privilege that brings a woman closest to God, God who is life and love Himself. And all women are fashioned as such.
Beloved friends, such is the lofty dignity of a woman, and the noble vocation of motherhood, so great a gift and so precious a creature she is, that no amount of weight in diamonds could pay for. Consider, for a moment, what she gives, when a woman gives herself. Ours is the gratitude, the appreciation, the praises, and the support of that woman we all call our Mother.
To all of you mothers, indeed, all of you women, you are heroes. And we say, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!
A man holds in highest esteem a woman of excellent virtue, and of great wisdom. Conscious of her own dignity and vocation, “she brings him good and not evil…she reaches out her hands to the poor and extends her arms to the needy…she is clothed with strength and dignity…she opens her mouth in wisdom, kindly instruction is on her tongue…she is vigilant, her children call her blessed, her husband, too, praises her.” – [Proverbs 31:10ff.]
Careful not to expose to the wolves what is most sacred, that which is dedicated to God for the preservation of life and of love, a woman always covers her body, she is gentle and slow in her speech, tender with her arms, and loving in her instructions. Humility, patience, and self-control are her greatest weapons against evil.
Finally, we must once again, entreat you mothers and women of excellent virtue, the Church needs you, O women of great wisdom, the Church needs your courageous witness of the gospel of life and love, to make your voices resound, and your presence felt, to proclaim the message of Christ to a world so blinded and so darkened by the evil of indifference and selfishness, the evil of violence and manipulation of the human body. The Church needs your loving and gentle instruction for the young generation so lost in artificial love and unrealistic ideas. The Church needs your natural and gentle loving gaze and the touch of a mother.
And May the glorious, ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and Mother of the Church pray for us, Amen.
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