The Angelic Presence of Mothers

“I have created you in the palm of My hands,” the Lord says to each one of us in the Old Testament. Our loving Father has created every human person in His image and likeness, creating them as His precious children, sending them into this world to become His ambassadors.

Well, one day, a baby, newly created in the palm of our Lord’s hand, was ready to be placed in the womb of her mother. At that moment, she asked her Creator, “Lord, please tell me where you are sending me? I am so small and helpless, how can you send me all by myself to this strange place called Planet Earth?”

“My precious child,” the Lord gently answered, “Don’t be anxious. A special angel will be waiting for you, to take loving care of you.”

“But I am afraid,” the perplexed baby asked, “Will I smile and sing and be happy in this strange, new world?”

To which God replied, “Your angel will sing for you and smile to you. You will feel your angel’s love and experience happiness and joy in the warm embrace of your angel.”

But the baby didn’t seem convinced, “How am I going to understand people when they talk to me? I don’t even know their language?”

The Lord patiently explained, “Your angel will share with you the most beautiful and sweetest words you will ever hear, and with extreme patience and kindness and care, your angel will teach you how to speak and live, and your angel will take care that you learn and grow.”

“But what am I to do when I want to talk with you, my Creator and Lord?”

“Oh, don’t be anxious,” the Lord assured. “Your angel will place your hands together and teach you how to pray. She will bring you to my home, the Church, where she will pray with you, guiding you each and every day on your journey back to my heavenly Kingdom.”

“But I hear it is dangerous on earth,” the baby continued, “There are so many perils and temptations. Who will protect me and guide me to stay on the right path leading towards your Kingdom?”

To which the heavenly Father responded, “You angel will stay close by your side, and will protect you in your times of need. Your angel will walk with you until you are old enough to continue on your own, and even then, your angel will never stop thinking about you, caring for you and offering guidance to you.”

“But Lord, I will be sad to no longer see you, and abide in Your presence.”

“My dearest child,” the Lord counted, “Your angel will always talk to you about Me, and will teach you how to walk with Me, how to communicate with Me, how to unite with Me, even though I will always be close to you.”

So the time finally came for the baby to depart from the security of her Creator’s palm, and to enter into the womb of a woman. As the tiny child began to hear the voices from the earth, the child hurriedly asked, “Lord, if I am to leave this moment, please tell me my angel’s name?”

After a moment of silence, the baby heard her Creator lovingly answer, “You will simply call your angel ‘Mom.’”

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The angelic presence and influence of a sincere, Christian mother! Maybe no influence on earth can impact a child in the same way! The writer Emerson once said 'People are what their mothers make them.' Abraham Lincoln confessed, “I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother."

How true to acknowledge the angelic blessing that mothers can have upon their children. The mother-infant bond is an intense relationship of unparalleled human affection – the foundation of a child's emotional, spiritual and physical survival.

St. Paul saw the influence of a mother on his disciple St. Timothy, when he writes, “Timothy, I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” Here, the greatest apostle followed the footsteps of his grandmother and mother in their journey towards the Kingdom of God.

Many saints throughout the centuries attributed their initial thirst for God and foundation of faith to their mothers. One of the most famous examples in Church history was possibly the family of St. Basil the Great, whose grandmother was St. Macrina the Elder, who mother was St. Emmelia, and from these godly mothers came St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Macrina the Younger.

The angelic presence and influence of sincere, Christian mothers!

Well, today on Mother’s Day, we pause to honor and to thank our mothers! Yet, not only our own mother’s, but all mothers throughout history who have fulfilled their calling as loving angels to their children and others. Whether one is a birth mother, a step-mother, a grandmother, a godmother, an adopted mother, a surrogate mother, or simply one who offers motherly care and concern to others as mother mentor, we pause to honor and thank these women of faith for the role and impact they have had and can have in the lives of others!