Fr. Todd Bulletin Article 5/10/26

Dear St. Mary on the Lake and Sacred Heart,

                 A Blessed Mother’s Day to all of our moms!  We cannot say thank you enough for your love and sacrifices given and expressed in many ways we will never know. 

Over the years I have talked with a number of moms who struggle with the fact that they themselves were not perfect parents, not a perfect mom.  Sometimes that can be a discordant note of sadness on this day that should be so bright.  If that is a burden, I encourage you to bring it God.  No one is perfect and no mom starts out with decades of experience.  This means receiving the mercy of God meeting you in your imperfections and failures, the times when you did your best but the best wasn’t good enough.  The Lord knows.  Let him love you, let him forgive you.  Don’t listen to the evil one’s voice who loves bringing up our weaknesses and failures.  Be as good in receiving the love and mercy of God as you were in showing it to us in our own weaknesses!  This day above all days, rest in God’s joy in your yes to your vocation.  Just like you have grown through the years through the many demands of your vocation, keep on growing.

What about us?  The best way to celebrate Mother’s Day (besides spending it with our moms) is to strive to live well the lives we were given.  This is what our moms want for us no matter how old we are.  It has been said that a mom is only as happy as her unhappiest child.  Often a child’s struggle is felt keenly, sometimes even worse than the child’s suffering.  There is perhaps nothing worse than seeing a child struggling and feeling helpless to do anything to make it better.  A great Mother’s Day gift is to take steps toward healing.  If there has been a struggle that has been going on for a while then seek healing for it and you will give your mom the best Mother’s Day gift you could ever give her.

I don’t care what the struggle may be- Moms always seem to know!  If you are reading this and one comes to mind, take hope and courage!  Where do we start?  Just by starting!  If there is some division within the family and you can play some role in healing that division – be it forgiving, asking for forgiveness, trying to reestablish an estranged family member - you can bet your britches she would love to see that happen.  If there is an addiction of some kind present in your life then taking a step to gain freedom would be an answer to years of prayer for her.  If your life of faith has been weak then taking steps to strengthen it will also be an answer to prayer.

Sometimes it is only after a faithful mom or grandma passes away that something is jolted inside of people to take those steps.  I always wonder if those instances are the result of their prayers from Heaven.  Certainly, better late than never is true but we don’t need to wait.  After all, any mom who sees their child entrapped, wants nothing more than for them to be free and that gift can be given now.  

Moms- we love you; we thank you!  We will strive to live well the lives you worked so hard for us to have.

God Bless,  Fr. Todd