“When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom…” Thanks for that, Paul McCartney!

We all have feelings about our mothers. Mostly, those feelings are positive, affectionate, and grateful. But not always. Some of us grew up with mothers who were abusive or neglectful, controlling or distant or overly protective. Some of our moms had misguided expectations. Some of us were raised with no mother at all. Let’s remember that all mothers are human, so are of course a mixture of positive and negative qualities.

Jesus’s mother shows up several times in the gospel narratives. In Luke, she is an unmarried, pregnant teenager who is forced to travel several days to register with the Roman occupying forces, sleeping rough. Also in Luke, she sings a song that is no less than revolutionary. In Matthew, she is a refugee, forced to escape to Egypt to avoid political violence. In John, she nudges Jesus to turn water into wine at a wedding (much to his annoyance). John also says she was there at the crucifixion.

One of the things I like about Mary is that she offers us a glimpse of the Divine Feminine. I don’t mean that Mary is divine, although many believe that to be true. I mean that her faithfulness and her courage, her wisdom and her love show us something about God.

I am not at all surprised that many people have had visions of Mary in various places throughout history. Our Lady of Lourdes. Our Lady of Fatima. Our Lady of La Vang. Our Lady of Guadalupe. And many more (You can look these up and learn more on the internet). Mary offers us something more than the traditional Father -Son - Holy Spirit image.

To have raised a son like Jesus, she had to have been one a heck of a woman.

Happy Mothers Day to all moms and to those who have mothered all of us into life!

Peace,

Pete