The Inherent Mercy of Motherhood: Final Thoughts

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it (Matthew 13:16-17).

This is our sixteenth week to discuss the inherent acts of mercy, both corporal and spiritual, that permeate our lives as mothers. My hope is that you have been encouraged, that you have seen your vocation with new eyes, that you recognize you are caring for Christ when you care for the least of these whom he has entrusted to your care. But even more than that, I hope you have seen the great love and mercy that Christ has for you in a new way. When we show mercy and love to our children, there is a mysterious reciprocity at work. When we feed them, quench their thirst, clothe them, Jesus says it is as if we are caring for him, and yet we can show this great mercy and love because he has shown that transformative mercy and love to us.

I find it especially providential that we are wrapping up this series as the school year ends and summer begins. Summer provides us with endless opportunities to serve our families, for never are they so hungry and thirsty as they are in the summer! We will have countless chances to instruct them in their ignorance as we try to ensure they don’t forget all their phonics and math facts during the long summer days. We will have endless opportunities to admonish them in their sinfulness as they learn how to love one another in close quarters on car trips and on hot days playing board games. We will all need to be reminded how to bear wrongs patiently as we find we have more hours of togetherness than we sometimes know what to do with. And, hopefully, we can teach them new ways to pray, new ways to love, and new ways to live out the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy to the least of these among them.  

Christ has formed our beautiful domestic church for such a time as this. He has hand-picked each child and intentionally made us their mother, and he has done so for our good and for theirs as well. We have given up our bodies, we have offered Christ our fiat, and he will not be outdone in generosity. As we continue to live out the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy day by day, hot summer moment by hot summer moment, may we find the mercy that is promised to us new every morning, and may we allow that mercy and love to transform us as we continue to fight the good fight and to finish the race.