them in her heart."

At the end of this section, our Lord also said, "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again."

St. John was truly impacted by this awesome declaration and wrote in his first epistle, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

Nothing speaks more highly to me of this self-sacrifice than the witness of a mother, who daily gives of herself for her own. Often depriving herself, she offers to others; often preferring others, she offers herself.

An account like this one about mothers must be shared with caution. For some, motherhood was an accident, and not always a welcome one; for some, biological motherhood isn't possible, and this day is a reminder of what may not be; for some, mothers weren't all that nice, and this day carries different memories; for most, motherhood, even under the very best of circumstances, is still less than a bed of roses and the primrose path.

Yet, apart from all personal experience, the calling of motherhood remains before the Lord as a noble state of being to be honored and embraced. As one person wrote, "for all its stumbling blocks, pitfalls and broken dreams, for all the soiled diapers, soiled wallpaper and spoiled plans, we're talking about a beautiful ideal, a natural part of God's creative plan to bring love and caring to light (to life)."

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Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online and the CEO/Associate Publisher for the Northern Virginia Local Edition of Catholic Online (http://virginia.catholic.org). He is a former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church who laid aside that ministry to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Motherhood, Mother's Day, women, Mary, fiat, sacrifice, love

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