Mom’s the Word
Posted on: May 11, 2015
- In: Everyday Life | Faith | Family | Parenting | Prayer
- Comments Off on Mom’s the Word
If you wish to have pious, good children, you must first of all yourselves be God-fearing and lead good lives. As the tree, so will the fruit be.
~ St. John Vianney, quoted in “Celebrate December 2014,” Catholic Digest, December 2014
My great-grandmother Irene and her mother, Alice—a midwife and the mother of fourteen children
Yesterday, my son gave me a beautiful card and a gift card and a hug (as the mother of a teenage boy, I don’t see those too often). After Mass, we went out for lunch. And that was just the start of a wonderful Mother’s Day.
Our parish priest talked about the importance of mothers in his homily, including the example of St. Monica and all the time she spent in prayer for her husband and her son, St. Augustine, until they turned their lives around and became Christians. It started me thinking about how I fulfill the role of mother.
I make sure my son has what he needs in terms of clothes, food, school supplies, and so on. I’m trying to teach him life skills like cooking (which has been fun and is going well, not to mention that it makes me give more thought to dinner in advance). I attend Mass, read the Bible and pray the rosary, which I hope sets a good example. But how much time do I spend praying about the big and small things in my son’s life?
As our children (and godchildren and grandchildren) grow, so the things we pray about will naturally change. But here are a few things we need to pray about:
- that they would choose their friends carefully and form strong friendships;
- that they would discover their talents and spiritual gifts and the way God wants them to use these gifts in their faith life, their family, their career and the community;
- that they would grow and remain in the faith; and
- that, if marriage is in their future, they would meet someone who would love, support and encourage them and share their values.
Psalm 127:3* tells us, “Behold, sons are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.” May we keep these words in mind and keep our children—whatever age they may be—in our prayers.
(*Scripture quote taken from the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition.)
A Catholic Convert in Ottawa 