Spiritual Motherhood

The topic of spiritual motherhood has been on my heart recently. Each of us as women are called to motherhood in some form or another. We are all called to be spiritual mothers whether we have children or not. I began to wonder, why is this our calling? I realized we are called to motherhood because nobody loves like a mother.  A mother is willing to do everything necessary for the well-being of her children. A mother loves and understands us better than others, and often times even better than ourselves.  Nobody is capable of the self-sacrifice that a mother is capable of. Therefore, if we are called to spiritual motherhood, we are called to his same level of commitment, sacrifice, and love for our “spiritual children.”

How do we go about being a spiritual mother?

First we can look to Scripture. Scripture often speaks of the tenderness of God, and the love of God who loves us more than a mother. Scripture even alludes to God being like a mother hen guarding her chicks (Luke 13:34 RSV). Judith was a mother for Israel who willing to first pray for her children and then carry out the necessary deeds to protect them from harm. Esther was a spiritual mother for all the Jews and so she risked her life in order to expose the one who intended to do harm to her children and secure safety for her children.

Indeed, the role of motherhood is so profound that Christ chose for himself a mother. This mother he did not keep to himself but handed her over to us! Mary’s greatest grief was the suffering and dying of her son: a death that was probably more agonizing than if she herself were on the cross. And yet, because she is OUR mother, she willingly offered her beloved son on the cross. The pleas of a mother then, are close to the ears of God.

This call to motherhood is a universal call for all women and it is a noble call! Motherhood is especially important in a time like ours when society has distorted the meaning of motherhood. Instead of protecting motherhood, society degrades it, which results in such desperation that mothers would murder their own children in the womb. Spiritual mothers are needed to show the true meaning of motherhood, but also to demonstrate God’s love for the world.

Therefore, since motherhood is so important, how do we rise to this call? First, in the gift of self. This can be done in many ways, such as listening to a friend and giving our self fully to those around us without distraction. Motherhood also involves sacrificing for others, even in small ways, such as taking an hour to be with a person in need. By constantly praying for those around us, especially those that are lost from the fold we demonstrate motherhood. We can be like Rachel who wept without comfort because her children were no more. She was inconsolable (Jer 31:15 RSV). Remember Saint Monica, who for years prayed for her son Augustine to be converted? We, too, can pray continuously for the “Saint Augustines” in our life.

A mother does what is right for her children without hesitation; she does not ask if she is worthy to do so, even if it involves a rebuke. Even the Virgin Mary was not afraid to question the child Jesus when Mary and Joseph found him in the temple after searching for three days: “And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously’” (Luke 2:48, RSV). As women, we should be unafraid to answer our call to Spiritual Motherhood and to ask for the grace necessary to assist us. The world needs more spiritual mothers and even as single women we can answer this call.

-Holly