A Mother's Smile

     A Mother=s Smile

We come into this strange world

to be greeted by our Mother=s Asmile,@

a concrete and vivid manifestation of God=s love for us.

We awaken from nine months of the darkness of her womb

to discover light for the first time,

showing forth the features of our Mother=s smile,

the sacrament of God=s love for us.

His first Word to us comes through our Mother=s smile:

AI welcome you into this world.

...you are precious and lovable...

I love you...

You are my beloved child

in whom I am well-pleased...@

Our mother embraces us with her loving arms,

enveloping us with the warmth of her body,

and instinctively we are assured

that we are safe in her protective embrace,

that all is well and there is nothing to fear!

In face of our mother=s initiative of love,

we learn to surrender to love,

allowing ourselves to be fondled and caressed

B no resistence B

a complete AYes@ of our nascent freedom:

ADo with me as you wish@B

the primordial act of trust,

of letting go, of being docile,

of yielding ourselves in the hands of love.

The subliminal message is clear:

there is nothing to do,

just be there as your are,

no striving or Aefforting@ to be good,

to become loveable,

to merit another=s affection.

Love is God=s primordial gift

B now experienced in the Mother=s embrace B

a gift which is never retracted,

always accompanying us

in our moments of light and darkness,

of joy and sadness,

of pleasure and pain.

although we are often

too dulled, distracted and dissipated

to be able to experience His Love.

The Mother=s smile

is not a cheap, sentimental self-ingratiating emotion,

it is the fruit of a costly decision

to be there as God=s instrument

to bring new life into the world,

a new child of God.

It is the fruit of nine months

of many tiny sacrifices,

as she goes out of herself and

begins to concern herself for the new life growing in her,

to feed herself for two,

resting for two, living for two.

She prepares herself

for the climatic moment of her pregnancy,

the moment of birthing new life.

She knows she must die to herself

in order to give birth to this new life:

new life must come through suffering and death.

In the pangs of childbearing,

she experiences in an intense and concentrated form

B only bearable with God=s grace B

that only through the death of self can new life emerge.

In this synoptic and prophetic moment

all of life is recapitulated:

new life comes through suffering and death.

But the joy of the new life

will erase the memory of the price of suffering.

As the mother embraces her child,

her heart is full joy,

but she knows in her heart of hearts,

that there is a long journey ahead,

to be faithful to this love,

to be there for her child,

through all those moments of self-sacrifice,

which will challenge and test

the quality of her love as mother.

Her mother=s work has only begun...

She prays for the grace of fidelity,

always be there for her child:

so she can say with Jesus:

AI will be with you until the consummation of time...@

She know that this is the greatest adventure of life:

to empty herself in order to make way for God=s Love,

to die to self so that the flower of Love may blossom.

Amen

Francis Elmo                           Mother=s Day, May 13, 2012