Catholic Exchange

Motherhood, Etc.

Written by

Erika Higgins

in

The life of a mother is very busy.  A mother’s day consists of various tasks; laundry, food prep, cleaning, refereeing, driving around town doing errands with a van-full of impatient children, schooling, homework, school and extracurricular activities, telling the same thing to the same child over and over again day after day, diaper changes, endless nights of nursing and rocking restless babies, sticking on band-aids, hugging hurts away, reading one more story, singing one more night-time song, getting someone one more last drink of water, making lunch and baking cookies for school the next day, et cetera, et cetera. These are sometimes some of the most mundane and overlooked parts of a mother’s day, yet they are at the heart of the vocation to motherhood.

Everything a mother does in the home is ultimately for her family. And so is everything she does out of the home. When a mother goes to the store, alone, to buy food—it is for her family, so that they will not starve. When a mother goes to church to pray alone—it is for her family; so she can pour God’s love and graces from her soul to theirs. When a mother goes out for a quick jog or swim at the gym—it is for her family; so she can be healthy and have energy to keep up with their high demands. When a mother attends an art class, learns a new craft, or gets lost in a book—it is for her family; so she can keep her mind sharp and imaginative to inspire her children to think, create, discover, and feel. When a mother goes to work at an office, or in her car, or to the “office” in the corner of the dining room—it is for her family; so she can provide the essentials or maybe some extra help where it’s needed the most. When a mother goes out and volunteers her time at church, in the community, in her neighborhood—it is for her family; so they can learn there are others in this world that also have needs.

Everything a mother does, in and out of the home, is significant. It all matters—even all the et ceteras. That’s the beauty of the motherhood vocation—the responsibilities and to-do lists are never-ending and a mother’s love and influence transcend all boundaries, starting in the home… but not ending there.

Comments

One response to “Motherhood, Etc.”

  1. stutmann9 Avatar
    stutmann9

    Mothers are important no doubt! And when those mothers take the time to pray in the morning, making a heartfelt morning offering of all that does to God and for God, all those things take on a VERY SPIRITUAL dimension and has benefits for the whole world!

    Here are a few good prayers of Morning Offering:

    O My Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, for the SALVATION OF SOULS, IN REPARATION FOR SIN and THE UNION OF ALL CHRISTIANS. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, particularly those recommended by Our Holy Father this month.

    O My Jesus, I adore Your Sacred Heart, which I desire to enter with acts of love, praise, adoration and thanksgiving. I offer to You my own heart as I sigh to You from its very depths, asking that You will work through me in all that I do this day, thus may I draw You closer to me than you were before. I offer You all the crosses and sufferings of this world, in union with Your life on earth in expiation for sins. Please join my every action and heartbeat to the pulsations of Your heart. I offer You all my works of this day in union with those labors You performed while You were on earth, bathing them in Your Precious Blood, and I offer them to the Heavenly Father so that MANY SOULS MAY BE SAVED.

Leave a Reply

More posts