happy mother's day

on this sixth sunday of easter, the lessons remind us of the power of love; god's love for his people has brought beauty and light into the world, and all we are asked for in return is an unwavering love and faith in him. although she may be a mere mortal, the gifts of god shine so brightly in my mother. in this week's gospel, john 14:23-29, jesus tells judas, " my peace i give to you. i do not give to you as the world gives. do not let your hearts be.. afraid." as i read these words, i couldn't help but think of my mother, whose capacity for love and compassion constantly amazes me.

in our relationship, my mother has never given to me as the world gives. a year after i was born, she wrote, "you have filled a place within us that we didn’t know was empty...I want you to always know how much I love you and that I’ll always support you and do whatever I can to ensure your happiness." she has never, ever broken that promise. i cry every time i read it (i'm crying a little now) because her love for me has been so dynamic and enveloping, even when i have been perfectly awful. her heart has so much room, it seems, and i know how blessed i am to experience such enveloping love - it feels as if we are physically connected.

my mother is filled with such beauty, and she transmits a sense of inner peace and love in every interaction with the world. when i watch her, i see it clearly and tangibly. i marvel at its constancy and its untiring, unyielding, and unrelenting presence and think of god. last week, we were told to love one another, and that this love would be the true marker of our faith in god and his son. in my opinion, this loving relationship is trust in the innate perfection of god's creations, or more simply, faith in the essential goodness in people or things. even in the most trying moments, i have seen my mother draw from some beautiful inner strength that i can only hope to find.

so yes, i have faith in god, but i also have faith in my mother. the vibrance of her radiating love is a living reminder that we were all created in the likeness of god, and that the peace offered through love for god, jesus, and each other most certainly exists. my mother embodies what we, as christians, strive to become, and is simply the best person i have ever known. the strength of her intrinsic love has carried me through times when i could not find any love in and for myself. saying thank you is not an adequate show of gratitude for such powerful gifts. to truly honor my mother, i must open my own heart to the love i have been offered, but even more, to the love i can offer. my mother has taught me that love is endlessly renewing, perhaps like nothing else in this world, and thus, to have love is to have the world.

i love you, mom.