A reflection for Mothering Sunday from Fr. Gareth Ingham.
I was reminded at last Sunday’s Lent lunch, held at St Andrew’s Welsh Frankton, that Sundays during the season of Lent are not part of the fast. Sundays can be treated like Little Easters, and an opportunity to rest from the penitential demands that we may have placed upon ourselves. It all sounds like a bit of a slippery slope, so I chose juice with the meal rather than a glass of wine, which can wait until the celebrations of Easter Day. I did though succumb to the Trifle!
The Fourth Sunday of Lent is a day of joyful anticipation as we look forward to celebrating the Resurrection. In the Catholic tradition it’s called Laetare Sunday, taken from the first word of the service, ‘Rejoice’! A little like the third Sunday of Advent when we light the pink candle on the Advent Wreath; a candle for Joy.
To reflect the joyful nature of the day and before we turn to the events of Passiontide, the usual convention of not having flowers in Church can be relaxed. This is a good thing as it will also be Mothering Sunday, a day where we can celebrate and give thanks to God for our mothers. It’s also an opportunity to give thanks for all those in our lives who have shared with us their motherly love.
As we remember our mothers, moms, or mums, it is also a day where we can remember Jesus’s Mom. Our faith recognises that Jesus didn’t just appear but that he was born just like you and me. Mary was there at the start of the story, accepting the vocation that God had given her, she was also there at the end. Part of Mary’s vocation would have had wonderful moments of anticipation and rejoicing, but like all parenting it would have had times of confusion, difficulty, and pain.
On Mothering Sunday, we give thanks to God for mothers everywhere. Trusting and rejoicing that they may always be held in the life and love of the Son of Mary.
Fr. Gareth Ingham
Priest in Charge – The Benefice of CRIFTINS with DUDLESTON and WELSH FRANKTON
and The Benefice of PETTON with COCKSHUTT, WELSHAMPTON, and LYNEAL with COLEMERE.
Feature Image: daffodil-daffodils-garden-yellow-green-flowers-1435623-pxhere.com, PD.