Guest Blogger Laura Mascari, Volunteer Coordinator at The Michael House, shares with us today.
I love when people tell me I look like my mom. It’s a compliment not only because she is beautiful on the outside, but because she embodies joy, sacrificial love, and patience each and every day. There is something natural in the way she expresses her maternal heart. The fact that I resemble her, even in the slightest, brings me a lot of joy.
Here at The Michael House, we are blessed to have the Eucharist, the Tabernacle of Life, in our home. Did you know that a woman who bears a child in her womb is also a tabernacle of life? The sacredness of a mother is truly beyond our comprehension. We live in a world that attacks this sacredness in many ways, and if we consider it further, we realize that is heartbreaking.
Mothers are the only creatures on earth that can cooperate with God to physically bring forth life into the world. It’s an inherent dignity bestowed by God that cannot be taken away, no matter their past or how society wishes to define them. St. Thérèse of Lisieux describes the heart of a mother as God’s loveliest masterpiece. Can you imagine the fervor with which God desires us to protect His greatest masterpiece?
Mothers will be the first to tell you that love can be messy. Authentic love disregards the notion that giving of one’s self is easy. There are no simple formulas when it comes to love. There are days of laughter and joy, but there are also days filled with heartbreak and tears. I encounter women who are broken and utterly let down by the world. And yet they find within themselves the courage to love again, to love another human being without limits, and to keep trying in the face of adversity.
Recently a priest came to bless our home and reminded us that, through Christ, suffering is not fruitless. Mothers, especially, attest to this. The struggles of pregnancy, the raging hormones, each minute of labor…it all leads up to the moment when new life is welcomed into the world. I have seen the gaze of mothers as they look into the face of their newborn baby, and it is unmatched. It’s as if they are communicating to their child, “You are worth every sacrifice I had to make. I love you.”
Each baby we welcome into our home, whether born or unborn, is a blessing. Each mother I have been fortunate enough to get to know is a blessing. With each new addition to our home, we don’t divide our love. We multiply it.
“How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers.” – St. Teresa of Calcutta
