Happy Mother’s Day! Mothers have always had a special place in the hearts of Maryknollers – after all, it is Mary, Jesus’ mother, whom Maryknollers are named after. We remember Mary in many ways, through songs, poems, and prayers. Mother Mary Joseph Rogers remembered her especially on Mother’s Day.
In 1929, Mother Mary Joseph reflected on how we remember our own mothers, who love us unconditionally, show us right from wrong, and teach us valuable lessons. We always admire our mothers, she said, just as Jesus admired his. She talked about how Mary exhibited the same qualities shown by mothers around the world: patience, love, generosity, understanding, and forgiveness.
She reminded the Sisters that just as they appreciate Mary as the mother of Christ, they should also appreciate her as a representation of their own mothers. “There is nothing which we cannot confide to [Mary] which she will fail to understand. There is no advice we need that she cannot give us, and there are no graces which she will withhold… Let us thank God, first of all, for having given us Mary, His Mother, to be our mother also… Let us thank Him, too, for our own dear mothers and let us ask special grace of being more and more appreciative, as the years go on, of all that they meant in our lives.”
In the spirit of Mother Mary Joseph, we wish a very happy Mother’s Day to our own mothers, Maryknoll’s mothers, and mothers around the world!