Special Mother's Day Edition

1. Bible: Matthew 2:16-21

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”

¹⁹ Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰ saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” ²¹ Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

2. Poetry: “The May Magnificat” by Gerard Manley Hopkins

The Roman Catholic Church dedicates the month of May to Mary, the Theotokos (bearer of God). This 1878 poem by the Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins reflects on why the month of May would be given to Mary. Here are the opening three stanzas:

May is Mary’s month, and I

Muse at that and wonder why:

  Her feasts follow reason,

  Dated due to season—

Candlemas, Lady Day;

But the Lady Month, May,

  Why fasten that upon her,

  With a feasting in her honour?

Is it only its being brighter

Than the most are must delight her?

  Is it opportunest

  And flowers finds soonest?

Read the entire poem here.

3. Essays et al: “A Holy Mother’s Day” by Mark Mosley

For this Mother’s Day, Dr. Mosley offers a reflection on the Motherhood of God through the lens of Rachel weeping for her children. Here are the opening paragraphs:

A mother is defined by a woman who becomes pregnant. One who was barren has been given a divine gift. The womb has been planted with seed, and from this ground has risen new life. A separate person lives inside the woman.

The fruit of this vine has been delivered to the world. We call this labor. This sacrificial work is the crux of motherhood. In the ancient Jewish world (and even in most places until recently), giving birth held great risk and peril in the possible death of the mother. In giving new life, she risks the sacrifice of her own. That pain of labor, and even death, is the price extracted for the Fall of Eve.

The quintessential Biblical picture of this martyrdom of motherhood is Rachel. Rachel was the favorite of Jacob (Israel). Though she was barren, she ultimately became the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, the last two of the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel). While many of us remember the story of Joseph, who was sold for twenty pieces of silver by Judah but then became royalty and saved his people as well as the gentiles (Egyptians), we are less familiar with the story of Benjamin.

It is during Benjamin’s delivery that Rachel, his mother, dies. In her demise during labor she names her son, Benoni, which means “son of my sorrow.” Rachel’s body is not buried in the family burial plot, which would have been traditional for a Jewish family, but is rather buried in Ephratha, the ancient name for Bethlehem. Jacob (Israel) alters the name Benoni to Benjamin, meaning “son of the right hand” (Gen. 35:16-20).

This would be little more than a tragic story of an ancient heroic mother, if not for the prophecy of Jeremiah.

For that prophecy of Jeremiah and the rest of this beautiful reflection, CLICK HERE.