Mother's Day 2012

My son, John works today, so we agreed we 'celebrate' Mother's Day tomorrow or sometime this week. Which is perfectly fine with me. In the meantime, I can't help but reflect on Mother's day in general. This is Mark's first Mother's Day without his mother (Marian passed away Aug. 27, 2011).

Father Juan Mendez, our pastor over at Nativity Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Alameda, NM always orders a special prayer card to hand out to all the Mom's at mass on Mother's Day weekend. He puts a lot of thought in to what he orders and this year, I think he outdid himself.

(my mom, Emily Anne Frese circa 1949)

Beatitudes For Women

Blessed is she who suffers with
the very young,
the very old, and the very lonely,
for she has compassion.

Blessed is she who greets the
world with joy,
laughter, and anticipations,
for she has courage.

Blessed is she who speaks gently,
lives humbly,
and chooses to give freely,
for she has dignity.

Blessed is she who listens and hears
and extends her hands as a friend,
for she has understanding.

Blessed is she who gives simply,
loves deeply,
and walks joyfully in life,
for she has awareness.

Blessed is she who has
compassion and courage,
freedom and dignity,
understanding, sincerity, and awareness,
for she is a woman, a gift, a blessing. 

And, extra special hugs to all you moms out there whose children have preceded you in death. I cannot even begin to imagine how painful that must be.