Meditations for Mothers

Glorious Mysteries

1.  The Resurrection
They said to them, "Why do you seek the living one among the dead?  He is not here, but he has been raised."  Luke 24:5-6

On Easter Sunday morning, the women went in search of the Lord and found Him to be more than what they had expected.  May mothers who bring their children to encounter the Lord at Mass every Sunday find in Him everything that they need to persevere in their Christian walk with their children.

2. The Ascension
As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.    Luke 24:51

 At the Ascension, Jesus took His leave of the Apostles, yet promised to be with them always. When Mothers have to leave their children, whether it be at the babysitter's, at camp or at college, they are often anxious about their well-being.  May they remember that, although they may leave, Christ will always be there for their children.

3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
Peter said to them, "repent and be baptized, . . . For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord will call."   Acts 2:38-39

We became heirs to the promise of everlasting life through baptism.  We pray for mothers and Godmothers as they prepare to bring their children to Christ an His promise of salvation in the sacraments.

4. The Assumption of Mary
You alone can raise me from the gates of death.  Then I will declare all your praises, sing joyously of your salvation in the gates of daughter Zion.  Psalm 9:14b-15

Jesus took His blessed mother to heaven to be with him, body and soul, to protect her from the corruption of the grave.  May we all show similar honor to our own mothers in our own limited acts of love and devotion.

5. The Coronation of Mary
And the king stood up to meet her and paid her homage.  Then he sat down upon his throne, and a throne was provided for the king's mother, who sat at his right.  1 Kings 2:19

Mary is honored as the Queen of Heaven because her son is the King of Kings.  Let us all live our lives as children of the King, so that our mothers may receive the honor due them for the sacrifices they have made on  our behalf.

Meditations for Mothers

Luminous Mysteries

1)  The Baptism of the Lord

It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.  Mk 1:9

Children join our families by birth or adoption, they join God's family through baptism.  Parents and Godparents make baptismal promises for children too young to do this themselves.  May mothers and Godmothers take seriously their commitment  to raise children in God's family.

2) The Wedding at Cana

His mother said to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you."  Jn 2:5

As the mother of our Lord, Mary always leads and direct us to her son.  We pray for mothers who are the first teachers of their children.  May they, too, always lead their children to Jesus.

3) The Preaching of the Kingdom

And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers,.  For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother and sister and mother."  Mt 12:49-50

We are called to be part of Jesus' family by being obedient to the will of the Father.  We pray that mothers may be models of Christian obedience that their children will learn from their example.

4) The Transfiguration

Then from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son, listen to him." Mk 9:7b

No one loves another human being quite like a mother loves her child . . . except God.  God loves each of us with the all fierceness and tenderness of a mother.  May mothers realize that the children they love are also the beloved children of the Father and may they place them in His protective care.

5)  The Institution of the Eucharist

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."  Jn 6:35

Pregnant women and nursing mothers are the sole source of nutrition for their children. A special bond is formed between mother and child in these early stages of life. This relationship is a visible sign for us of the relationship that God desires to have with us. We pray that we will all come to know the special bond of love with the One who feeds us the bread of life.

Rosary Meditations for Mothers

It has been a long time since I have been on blogger . . . and not much is happening outside of one active person (Hi, Jess!).  I have decided to write some more rosary meditations for my Rosary Prayer Group, so I thought I would post them here for safe keeping:

Rosary Meditations for Mothers

The Joyful Mysteries

1.  The Annunciation
The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.  Is 7:14b

In a way, every child conceived is "Immanuel" - the image of the Living God given as a gift of love from He who is LOVE.  May expectant mothers be more aware of the preciousness of the life that they carry.

2.  The Visitation
"And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"  Lk 1:43

All women have in their natures the gift of motherhood.  It is our call in our womanhood to bring Christ to others in a way that reflects the nurturing of our Blessed Mother. May Godmothers and other women who are spiritual mothers be guided in their nurturing of souls.

3. The Nativity
"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home."  Mt 2:20b

It takes both a mother and a father to conceive a child.  Not all mothers are so fortunate as Mary was to have the help of the father in raising their children.  We pray for the intercession of the Holy Family for single, divorced an widowed mothers as they labor to raise their children alone.

4. The Presentation
The Lord spoke to Moses and said, "Consecrate to me every first-born hat opens the womb."  Ex 13:1-2a

The Presentation of the Christ child reminds us that our children do not belong to us. They are God's children.  Mothers are entrusted with a sacred responsibility in the care and teaching of their children.  We ask God's blessing on their efforts to raise their children in His image.

5. The Finding in the Temple
His mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us?  Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."  Lk 3:48b

Many mothers suffer great anxiety over children who are spiritually, rather than physically, lost.  We unite our prayers to their prayers and tears for the salvation of those they love.  May the lost children once again be found in their Father's house and about His business.

Winter

I know I will not get many who agree with me, but I'm loving this winter.  This is the kind of winter weather we had when I was growing up, so I guess it is part nostalgia, but this is what I feel that winter should be.  Cold and snow are all part of the package of having real seasons! 

I love that when I walked out my front door yesterday (Wednesday) the snow was smooth, glittering and untouched.  There is something divine in untrammeled snow.  And then I get to go crunching through the crusty, fresh snow in my comfy, warm snow boots!

I don't know what it is about all the piles of snow that have been pushed up in and around the parking lots.  It makes me want to be a kid and play king of the mountain.  When I was leaving the restaurant from dinner with my friend this evening, I saw a couple of kids coming out and running at one of the snow hills . . . just made me smile.  It also makes me smile to see all the pics on FaceBook of nieces, nephews, cousins and the kids/grandkids of my friends enjoying the snow.

Patron Saint against lightening.

I have continued to read about the saints and am really touched by a story from time to time. 

Most of you have probably heard and know something about St. Thomas Aquinas.  St. Thomas is known for his intelligence, his prolific writing on all things theological and even his composition -- he wrote hymns that are still sung today by Catholics all over the world (Tantum Ergo Sacramentum to name one).  I have never found him a "relatable" Saint until I read this story:

Thomas grew up in a noble family an lived in a castle as a child.  The nursery was in a room in the castle tower.  When Thomas was about 5, a violent storm hit and lightening struck the tower hitting the nursery room where he slept with his baby sister.  His sister was killed.  Thomas never forgot the terror of that night.  For the rest of his life, at the first sign of a thunder storm, he would hurry to a church or chapel where he would remain, frightened and praying, until the storm passed. 

Doesn't that make him seem so much more human?  Because of this, St. Thomas is invoked as the patron Saint against lightening strikes.

Whether we can weather the weather

Everyone is talking about the weather today.  Can't blame them as many of my FaceBook contacts are dealing with heavy snow falls and we are expecting some of the lowest recorded temperatures in memory.  Here in Columbus, O, the temperature has still not reached the freezing mark, so we are still getting rain.  I would much rather have the heavy snow.  With the temperature expected to be below zero by morning, can we expect anything else but that the whole world (or our part of it, at least) will be encased in ice before I head out for work in the morning? 

I have already taken the following precautions:  I have put a laminated card (a Holy card of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, to be exact) in the car door between the rubber seal and the metal in the hope that this will help me to break through the icy seal and get into my car in the morning.  I have packed my lunch (nothing that needs refrigerating . . . however it just occurred to me that, if I did pack something that needed to stay cold, I could just leave it in the car overnight!  I have laid out my clothes for the morning (corduroys and a sweater).  I am even considering setting my alarm 1/2 hour earlier and/or showering tonight.  I fully expect that it will take me a considerable time to warm up the car (if I can get into the car) in the morning as well as needing extra time to get to work on icy roads with any deicer that the city puts down not able to work at the extreme low temps. 

I am beginning to think that I should have taken Monday & Tuesday off this week rather than Thursday and Friday.

On the eighth day of Christmas . . .

I am giving you 8 Christmas pictures!  Someone must have fixed something somewhere.  It is the first time in months that I have been able to upload pictures to Blogger!

Grandpa with Baby Tony.

Grandma with two babies . . .

and Donna with two babies.

Tree!

Santa Matt.

Simon is a true 'Meyer', he can read anywhere!

Love the hats, but why did I not get the gene to look good in hats?

The Meyer aunts and uncles.