May 10.  MOTHERS DAY.  6th Sunday of Easter A. SEE.      Fr Fidelis started by saying, “I almost don’t need to preach a sermon about mothers and motherhood. Just using the words of Jesus today is an examination of conscience and a test to see how deep our faith is.  ‘If you love me you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another counsellor, to be with you for ever.’  But I would like you all, mothers included, to do an exercise.  What commandment do you find most difficult to keep but still do so, out of love for Jesus?  Please feel free to share, especially with one another at home.”    Mercy thought,  “Remember too St Francis, who said, ‘Be praised my Lord for those who forgive others out of love for you.’ I have always valued that statement.”

JUDGE. Reflect, share, act. Scripture.   If you love me you will keep my commandments.  She who loves me will be loved by my Father and I will love her and manifest myself to her. John 14:15-20.  Pope Francis: With great affection I urge all mothers: keep happy and let nothing rob you of the interior joy of motherhood.  Your child deserves your happiness. AL 171. Social love is the key to authentic development. In order to make society more human, more worthy of the human person, love in social life- political, economic and cultural – must be given renewed value, becoming the constant and highest norm for all activity.LS231  Sister Mother Earth cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsibile use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. LS 2 Pope Leo:  in situations of exclusion we constantly witness impressive examples of daily heroism of mothers defending and protecting their vulnerable families. DT 12

A MOTHER’S DAY REFLECTION AND BLESSING:
If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place
But have not love, I am a housekeeper - not a homemaker. 
If I have time for waxing, polishing and decorative achievements,
But have not love, my children learn cleanliness – not godliness.
Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly-cleaned window
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk
Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.
Love is present through the trials, 
Love reprimands, reproves and is responsive
Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child,
Then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.
Love is the key that opens salvation’s message to a child’s heart. 
Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection. 
Now I glory in God’s perfection of my child.
As a mother, there is much I must teach my child
But the greatest of all is love.

PRAYER AND BLESSING

Lord God, thank you for the gift of motherhood and especially for our own mothers, present or deceased. Bless all mothers on their special day in their families with all good things, especially health, joy, love and laughter. Keep them in your care and protect them from all that is harmful.

We invite Mary, the mother of Jesus and our mother to care for our families as she cared for the Holy Family and so we say her special prayer:   Hail Mary………… .