Youth Ministry: June 2011

They Call Me “Mom”

By Mary Lou Rosien

As a wife, author, catechist and teacher, I have many titles, but my favorite is mom. One friend’s son calls me, “Aunt Cookie-Mom,” as my nickname is Cookie and I’m known for providing all of the neighborhood kids with cookies on Fridays. All my children, and most of their friends, refer to me as mom.

Every Good Friday my family and I watch “The Passion of the Christ.” When watching it this year, I was struck by the way each of the Lord’s disciples referred to Mary as “mother.” The Catholic Church is sometimes criticized for our devotion to Mary as the Mother of God, but in that instant it all made perfect sense to me. Just as my children’s friends see a mother in me and do not hesitate to call me that, so the disciples felt Mary’s mothering of them. As a step-mother (my oldest son) and a foster-mother (my second oldest son) I am acutely aware that you do not need to give birth to a child to love them as your own. This is how the Blessed Mother feels about us. She guides us, takes us in, comforts us and wraps us in unconditional love. Although the theological reasons for calling her Mother are sound, the emotional ones seem even more important to me.

I try to tell all children the truth. I warn them that when they share secrets with me, if I think they are in danger I will share that information in order to protect them. Mary tells truth to us. She tells us of Jesus and He is the Way, Light and the Truth. Sometimes truth is uncomfortable or painful. It is valuable in a way that no other gift can be. My children and their friends have learned to trust my opinion because of that truth telling. The girls that have now grown and go off to college will often come home and tease me that they were going to buy a certain outfit, but then they realized it wouldn’t pass the Mrs. Rosien appropriateness test and they didn’t get it.

When we open our hearts and let Mary talk to us, she will always lead us to truth in her son, Jesus Christ. Elizabeth knew this. When Mary visited her, she exclaimed, “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord, should come to me?” (Lk 1:43). At the foot of the cross, John knew it when Christ said to him, “Behold your mother” (Jn 19:26-27). When we wonder if we should give Mary such a place of honor, we need only refer to scripture, “All ages will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48). Similarly, in the Proverbs verse on being a good wife it reminds all moms that, “Her children shall rise up and call her blessed” (Prv 31:28). I sincerely hope mine do. God bless.

Mary Lou Rosien writes from outside Rochester, NY. She is the author of “Managing Stress with the Help of Your Catholic Faith” (OSV) and the soon-to-be-released book,”Catholic Family Boot Camp” (Bezalel Books). Check out her website at http://www.catholicfamilybootcamp.com/