Continuing his weekly reflections on the family, Pope Francis spoke about motherhood at his first Wednesday Audience of 2015 on January 7^th. He opened and closed by talking about the Church, and Mary, as our Mother: “We are not orphans; we have a Mother! Our Lady, the Mother of the Church, is our Mother.”

The Holy Father also reflected on the gift and task of human motherhood. He reminded those gathered, “Every human person owes his life to a mother, and almost always owes her much of his subsequent existence.” He commended mothers for sacrificing so much for their children, a kind of “maternal martyrdom,” to use the phrase of Archbishop Oscar Romero. Continuing with the Archbishop’s words, Pope Francis said that the “spirit of martyrdom is to give in duty, in silence…to give one’s life little by little.”

The Pope commended mothers for serving as an “antidote” to “egotistical individualism” and for passing on the “seed of faith” to their children by praying their first prayers with them. The English language summary added, “Mothers are an antidote to the spread of a certain self-centeredness, a decline in openness, generosity and concern for others. In this sense, motherhood is more than child-bearing; it is a life choice, entailing sacrifice, respect for life, and commitment to passing on those human and religious values which are essential for a healthy society.”

The Holy Father concluded by thanking mothers: “Dearest mothers, thank you; thank you for what you are in the family and for what you give to the Church and to the world.”

 

English Summary here: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2015/documents/papa-francesco_20150107_udienza-generale.html.