May

                        Church as Home and Mother                                            Women                                                    Motherhood

She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family….She sets about her work, vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

Proverbs 31:15-17

Monday: The Church is a mother in that she preaches in the same way that a mother speaks to her child, knowing that the child trusts that what she is teaching is for his or her benefit, for children know that they are loved. Moreover, a good mother can recognise everything that God is bringing about her children: she listens to their concerns and learns from them.

Tuesday: The Church without frontiers, Mother to all, spreads throughout the world a culture of acceptance and solidarity, in which no one is seen as useless, out of place, or disposable. When living out this motherhood effectively, the Christian community nourishes, guides, and indicates the way, accompanying all with the patience, and drawing close to them through prayer and works of mercy.

Wednesday: The church acknowledges the indispensable contribution which woman make to society through the sensitivity, intuition and other distinctive skill sets which they, more than men, tend to possess. I think, for example, of the special concern which women show to others, which, which finds a particular, even if not exclusive, expression in motherhood..

Thursday: The Church, beyond being a community of the faithful that sees the face of Jesus Christ in its neighbour, is a Mother without limits and without frontiers. She is the Mother of all and so she strives, to foster the culture of welcome and solidarity, where no one is considered useless, out of place, or dispensible.

Friday: The Church is the home where the doors are always open, not only because everyone finds a welcome and is able to breathe in love and hope, but also because we can go bearing this love and his hope.

Saturday: In this, her motherhood, the Church has its model the Virgin Mary, the highest and most beautiful model that can be . The first Christian Communities have already highlighted this, and the Second Vatican Council expressed it in an admirable way.