Finding Peace
This time of year I am certain many of us, mothers are beginning to feel busy, as our to do lists start to grow; gardening; spring cleaning; kid’s summer sports starting or about to start; preparing to celebrate 1st Communions or Confirmations; planning to attend a June wedding; graduations; planning summer vacation….. The list is endless and will obviously differ for each of us. No matter the differences, one thing is the same. We are busy.
While this year for me, I have had to “die” to many of the things I would like to get done, as I physically am not able to care for my garden, wash my windows, etc., the to-do list is sill in my head, while I accept that many things may not get done this year. I am reminded that we should never take for granted our physical ability to do work.
I also feel compelled to remind all of us, how important it is that we not give in to the temptation to allow ourselves to get distracted by the busyness of our lives.
As we enter into the 5th Sunday of Easter, which also happens to be a day to remember our Mothers, I think it’s important to take time to reflect on what may be going on in our hearts now. It’s a time when we are tempted to leave behind our Lenten promises to grow closer to Christ, and to make time for prayer, or ensure we are helping those less fortunate.
As our to-do list grows, we must remember to keep our peace, or else we’ll allow Satan to tempt us into resentment. When we become too busy and overwhelmed by all we want to accomplish we begin to have those fleeting thoughts…..if only my husband helped out more, if only my kids were better behaved and more responsible; if only my employer paid me more money; if only… if only…. (You fill in the blank) When we go this route, we’ll be compelled to allow ourselves to justify our resentments, impatience and self righteous thinking. We delude ourselves into believing that our internal peace comes from how others help us meet our goals. When this negative process begins we become uncharitable and selfish, which is exactly where Satan wants us to be.
So where do we find peace in the midst of our busyness? Remember Jesus’ words:
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
Let us renew our Lenten promise to pray more, to nurture our relationship with Christ, and to be attentive to the needs of others.
St. Francis de Sales once said: “Each Christian needs half an hour of prayer each day, except when we are busy…then we need an hour.”
This Mother’s Day instead of thinking about how we should be rewarded for mothering, let us pray that our Spiritual Mother reveals to us a Mother that is need of support that we can reach out to somehow; whether by prayer or by inviting her for coffee, or offering to watch her kids for an hour or two.
There is a Mother who needs our help right now. A mother who is mourning the loss of a child, mourning a child that is yet to be conceived; A mother who is mourning the loss of her husband or the loss of her own mother. There is a mother who is too ill to help her family; a mother who is lonely in a nursing home, whose family may not come to visit her this Sunday; there is a mother who is being abused; a mother who is dealing with the pain and guilt of abortion; a mother who is lonely, because her husband left her for another; …..
If we are the one’s in mourning, or facing struggles this Mother’s Day, then our prayer to our Blessed Mother could be that She intercede for us, and bring us the support, and the graces we need at this time. Trust that She knows our needs and is watching over us and pleading with her Son to come to our aid.
Be Christ to someone else, for only in Christ will we find peace. Only in Christ will we find purpose and fulfillment in our menial tasks of mothering. Only Christ can show us the dignity of our work. Christ gives meaning to our struggles and our mourning. This way we will not be overwhelmed by our to-do lists, we entrust our list to Christ and He will provide the grace we need, to see clearly what tasks are of most importance. When we place Him first on our list, He will surely bless us.
I leave you with a Gospel quote from where I first encountered Christ, with the woman at the well…
Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." John 4: 13-14
Image: Our Lady of Guadalupe by Vincent Barzoni
