From Historical Events

On the Occasion of Mother’s Day

Types of Mothers

In the previous issue, we spoke about four kinds of virtuous and saintly mothers. Here, we would like to continue our discussion about these noble types of mothers.

5 – Mothers who were widowed in their youth
Yet they chose not to remarry, devoting themselves entirely to raising their children. Thus, the emotion of motherhood in them prevailed over the desire for marriage. At the same time, they bore full responsibility for raising their children without the help of a man. Each of them became to her children a mother, father, friend, educator, and everything.

6 – Mothers who are godmothers
In principle, every mother should be a godmother to her children, receiving them from the Church on the day of baptism, to raise them in the fear of God. But is every mother truly performing the role of a godmother?
Many mothers are concerned only with their children’s physical needs—food, drink, clothing, comfort, health, entertainment, financial care, and education. Yet as for spiritual matters, there is no attention! They rely entirely on the Church and Sunday School, as if it were not their responsibility, assuming that it belongs to others!

How beautiful is the mother who becomes her child’s first teacher of faith—not just a Sunday School teacher, but a teacher every day. She teaches her children the Holy Bible, helps them memorize verses and hymns, sings with them, tells them the stories of the saints, and answers their questions.
Blessed is she also if she trains them to attend church, teaches them reverence in God’s house, how to make the sign of the cross, to kneel, to partake of the holy sacraments, to confess, to learn the hymns, and to remain steadfast in every virtue.

7 – Consecrated mothers
This type is among the most beautiful—those who consecrate themselves to serve the Lord, and who also consecrate their daughters with them.

• We recall as an example St. Paula, the disciple of St. Jerome. After her widowhood, she went with the saint to Bethlehem, where she built a convent and lived there with her daughter St. Eustochium. She became the abbess, and her daughter succeeded her in this position. She also built a monastery for monks headed by St. Jerome.

• Likewise, St. Melania the Elder built a convent and consecrated herself there. She also encouraged her granddaughter St. Melania the Younger, who lived a consecrated life for the Lord and became a nun even though she was married—her husband followed her in a life of asceticism.

8 – Exemplary mothers
Their children see in them an example of every virtue; indeed, they see God in their lives. Such mothers can lead their children toward virtue and repentance.
We must not forget St. Monica, who was the reason for her son Augustine’s repentance, having wept for him for many years.

9 – The mother who does not love herself more than her son
The mother who does not prevent her son from consecration out of love for him or a desire to keep him near her, causing him to abandon his calling.

• The mother who does not interfere in her son’s happiness with his wife, even if it means being apart from him, and who takes care not to create discord in his new home.

• The mother who does not insist on living with her son in his marital home if this is unacceptable to his wife, avoiding putting him in an awkward situation.

• The mother who does not force her son to obey her when such obedience would destroy him psychologically.

• The mother who does not hinder her son’s future plans—such as traveling—under the pretext that she needs him emotionally.

• The mother who does not manipulate her son through emotional pressure—crying, breakdowns, or complaints of illness—to achieve her own desires, forcing him to comply even if her request is unreasonable or harmful to him.

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