Motherhood as a Child

Today, January 1st, we in the Catholic church celebrate and honor the Motherhood of Mary!

In saying “yes” to motherhood, Mary said yes to being an instrument in our salvation. But she also said yes to immense suffering. Motherhood is like that. The gift of motherhood comes with the rewards of amazing vistas as well as the challenges of difficult and sorrowful valleys. Motherhood demands complete surrender of self. A woman’s evolution into a mother is a permanent change, even if her child should leave her or pass away. Modern science has found that motherhood alters not just a woman’s body, but her brain as well, with her child’s cells thriving in and fighting for hers even decades later. But the maternal bond, of course, is more than physical: through biological motherhood, a woman’s soul becomes eternally entwined in the creation of another eternal soul; through the nurturing bond of maternity—whether biological or through adoption— a mother’s soul becomes eternally tied to her child’s through love.

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As a faithful Jewish girl raised and presented in the Temple, Mary no doubt had a pretty solid grasp of the scope and intensity of the news the Archangel Gabriel shared with her. And she surely had witnessed other women grow with child. She was not without knowledge or experience. But I have often wondered, as a teenage girl, a young woman of 14 or 15, how much of Mary’s “fiat” was spoken in the faith of a child?

Of course, this faith of a child is precisely what Jesus himself calls us to in the Gospel. Naturally, his Blessed Mother would exemplify it! In Matthew, Jesus charges, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4)

How do we, as mothers, reach that end? Isn’t it our job to be “responsible adults”? I mean, more than once I’ve teased my children saying that it’s “in my contract” as a parent to be a buzzkill, “I know, I’m no fun.” Where is that delicate balance of being prudent and childlike?

The keys are in our faith, in our sense of wonder, and in our eagerness to grow closer to our Heavenly Father. 

Faith like a child is often taken as being synonymous with “blind” faith. However, I think that may be a misnomer. Children are always watching, always observing. Yet, that doesn’t keep them from trusting freely, at least more freely than adults typically do. Cynicism and skepticism are learned. While critical thinking is essential and a sign of a maturing mind, we should encourage and echo our children’s trust in our Father.

When our children ask us about our faith and the world around us, do we answer to feed their curiosity? Can they see our own awe of the natural and spiritual world we live in? Wonder and passion for knowledge feed each other. They are hungers that only grow with each bite we take. Yet in pursuing our wonder and growing in curiosity, we have the opportunity to seek Christ through his Creation! In studying the masterworks around us, we learn something of the Artist himself!

We are the cherished daughters of a loving Father! Naturally we should want to snuggle close to him, close enough to feel his heartbeat. As parents, as mothers, may we imitate that love so that our own children want to crawl into our laps while they are small and confide in us as they grow.

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My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

— The Canticle of Mary (Luke 1:46-55)