6th Day of Simbang Gabi 2017

There was a son who decided to leave his mother at old age home. He used to visit her there once in a week. One day he came to know his mother was seriously ill and she was left only with few hours of her life. He asked her mother if he could do something in her last time that would make her happy. Upon which his mother replied that, “son, please install some fans in the rooms here, as there isn’t any fan in any of the rooms of this home. And also buy a fridge for the old people living here because I myself had to sleep without food for many days.” The son questioned her why she asked him for all of these when she knew she had only a little time left to live. The mother replied, “Son, I am worried that you will not be able to live here comfortably when your children will one day send you here. So, I want that everything before you come here gets mended.”

This story reminds us how great a mother’s love is for her children. It is called mother’s instinct to love her children. It is in her nature to nurture her children. We can say that any child does not need to earn a mother’s love because being a mother, her power is to love. Her love is unconditional. She can sacrifice her life by giving birth to her children. She can give up her time for herself just to teach her children how to walk and talk. Her happiness is in her children. Still, there is a lot for us to know about a mother. Our Gospel (Luke 1:39-45) tells us about two women who were chosen by God to become mothers; Elizabeth as the mother of John the Baptist and Mary as the mother of Jesus. When Mary visited Elizabeth and greeted her, Elizabeth’s babe leaped in her womb. Here, we may realize that what affects the mother affects her babe. Recent studies also confirm that the state of the mother affects her child. Some researchers even explained that people who are more prone to suffering from stress compared with others shared their mother’s stress while they were still in the womb. As babes, they did not possibly know what was happening to their mother, yet they felt that it was something painful. They could feel the feeling of their mother who was going through a major upheaval.

Therefore, a mother should keep herself calm and her soul joyful as her state affects her child. Just like Mary and Elizabeth, a mother should be grateful to God and ask from Him the gift of the Holy Spirit. Instead of listening only to her favorite music in which the unborn baby responds, she better tries to read the bible or spends more time in prayer. A mother should be aware that her children are gifts from God and there is no greater happiness for a mother than to see her children grow loving God. If every mother does this, we can say, “Blessed are all women and blessed are their fruits.” Amen.