Editor:
Saving the second Sunday in May for Mom has been a no-brainer since Juliet Ward Howe exhorted Congress to proclaim this particular Sunday as Mother’s Peace Day in 1870. These days, young children make her cards and breakfast in bed, while us older ones include flowers, candy, dinner at a nice restaurant, or all of the above. The one thing we never give her on that day is agida about anything. This is the one day to celebrate how much we love her, so we spare her all of our family, school or job-related drama.
How about saving the second Saturday in October for a Spiritual Mother’s Day? The Diocese of Camden is sponsoring its bi-yearly pilgrimage to visit our Mother Mary in her beautiful Washington, D.C., home on Oct. 11, 2014. Not only do you not have to buy her cards, gifts or dinner, you get to bring all of your drama (knots of discord between parents and children, husbands and wives, disrespect, violence, dissolution of families, alcoholism, drug addiction, the list goes on), and lay it at the feet of Our Lady, Undoer of Knots.
A favorite devotion of Pope Francis, the Diocese has made this representation of Our Lady as the timely and apropos theme for this year’s pilgrimage. Not just a medieval artistic creation, this devotion is based on the writings of St. Iranaeus of Lyons in the second century, barely 100 years after the Evangelists. The saint wrote, “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith.”
Our Blessed Mother wants to help with whatever troubles are plaguing us, whether they are within our families or without in the society at large. Even unbidden, she has come to us countless times throughout the centuries, to guide us in our struggles and bring our petitions to her Divine Son.
Save the date for this particular Mother’s Day, because we will be the ones to receive the gifts of joy and peace from our ultimate Mother.
Stephanie Greco,
Director of Shrine Services,
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Shrine
Lindenwold
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