I am sitting here at my desk looking at a picture of my daughter sitting next to the last painting I completed back in 2020 of Mary. Frances was a baby then. It was done over weeks and weeks instead of what I had been used to before I had a baby - able to work uninterrupted for hours and days on end. I called her Our Lady of Perpetual Flourishing because I hoped and prayed that in my motherhood I would always flourish, and that Mary would be by my side showing me the way.
I know Mother’s Day is not an easy day for many people so today, all I can offer is a prayer.
Mary, mother of us all, hold us tightly in your motherly embrace. Carry to your Son all of these requests. We pray for all mothers - mothers who are thriving, mothers who are drowning, mothers who are longing, mothers who are grieving. We pray for all of those who miss their mothers who are no longer here. We pray for all of those who have been hurt by their mothers. We pray for those who long to be mothers. We pray for our spiritual mothers. We pray for our mama friends and the moms we walk past at the grocery store. We pray that we all may continue to be mothered, that we have people in our lives who love us like our mother, and that we also mother those in our own lives. Mary, in your deep love for your Son, teach us to be kind like a mother, compassionate like a mother, faithful like a mother, and loving like a mother. Amen.
Have a blessed Mother's Day!
