Catholic Liturgy Week: Spiritual Motherhood

Hi everyone! I was originally planning to write a post on the Liturgy of the Hours (and if people tell me they want to see that, I still might...) but it wasn't coming out the way I wanted, and rather than slogging on, I decided to do a post that I had been thinking about doing earlier in my planning process: the Church's idea of Spiritual Motherhood. 

I could have made this an extremely academic post. I'm good at that, and that's how I started this post. However, I'm guessing you really don't want to hear my interpretation of spiritual motherhood through the lens of academics (but if you do, we should talk!). So I'm going to give you some basics, and let the quotes of those more learned/important/saintly than I speak for themselves.

• All women are called to be mothers. "The moral and spiritual strength of a woman is joined to her awareness that God entrusts the human being to her in a special way. Of course, God entrusts every human being to each and every other human being. But this entrusting concerns women in a special way - precisely by reason of their femininity - and this in a particular way determines their vocation." --John Paul II

• Not all women are called to be biological mothers. "Many women experience sadness because they are unable to have children. However, they are still able to be spiritual mothers and have a service of love, following the example of the Blessed Mother." --Louise Merrie

• Being a mother to people you are not a biological mother to is called spiritual motherhood. "A number of people have come to me to tell me about their problems. I listen to them. And I love them. And I say very little. But they know that I care for them. In this sense, I have become their mother." --Alice von Hildebrand

• And it's gorgeous. "The moral and spiritual strength of a woman is joined to her awareness that God entrusts the human being to her in a special way. Of course, God entrusts every human being to each and every other human being. But this entrusting concerns women in a special way - precisely by reason of their femininity - and this in a particular way determines their vocation." --John Paul II

• Any woman, no matter what age or state of life (married, consecrated, single) can be a spiritual mother to spiritual children, even if the spiritual 'child' is older than the spiritual mother! "A woman can be a spiritual mother to people of any age, including people who are older than she is. Spiritual motherhood is not about treating people as though they are one’s children, and it is not about telling people what to do. It does not involve an attitude of superiority. A spiritual mother must be humble and aware that some of the people that she is praying for may be much holier than she is." --Louise Merrie

• Spiritual motherhood is even more important than being a purely biological mother. "Spiritual motherhood is more important than biological motherhood. There are plenty of women who are biological mothers and yet are not mothers at all. Some consider their child to be a nuisance and an accident, saying “I didn’t want it.” Take for instance women who have an abortion for convenience’s sake. God offers them a tremendous gift but they say, “No, I don’t want it; it’s going to disturb me.”" --Alice von Hildebrand

• Spiritual motherhood is loving another person as if they were your biological child, and caring for and nurturing them spiritually; you can care for them materially as well! "It can express itself as concern for people, especially the most needy: the sick, the handicapped, the abandoned, orphans, the elderly, children, young people, the imprisoned and, in general, people on the edges of society" --St. John Paul II

• All women have this capacity, the capacity to love people as your children, to bring them into your heart. "Everywhere the need exists for maternal sympathy and help, and thus we are able to recapitulate in the one word motherliness that which we have developed as the characteristic value of woman. Only, the motherliness must be that which does not remain within the narrow circle of blood relations or of personal friends; but in accordance with the model of the Mother of Mercy, it must have its root in universal divine love for all who are there, belabored and burdened." --St. Edith Stein

• Spiritual motherhood can take many, many forms, as long as it is focused on the child, and the good of the spiritual child. "Your task is to love those that are weak, unhappy, helpless, and unloved. Sometimes you can do this just by saying one word. At other times you’ll just have to listen. In every life there is suffering; most people keep it inside. When they feel loved, they will open up and tell you about their suffering. Then you will find that by carrying other people’s suffering your own suffering becomes lighter." --Alice von Hildebrand

• The important thing, though, is love. "For an understanding of our unique feminine nature, let us look to the pure love and spiritual maternity of Mary. This spiritual maternity is the core of a woman’s soul. Wherever a woman functions authentically in this spirit of maternal pure love, Mary collaborates with her. This holds true whether the woman is married or single, professional or domestic or both, a Religious in the world or in the convent. Through this love, a woman is God’s special weapon in His fight against evil. Her intrinsic value is that she is able to do so because she has a special susceptibility for the works of God in souls — her own and others. She relates to others in His spirit of love." – St. Edith Stein

Some good sources for further reading/learning:

Louise Merrie Article

Mulieris Dignitatem

Alice von Hildebrand Article

Spiritual Motherhood Reflections

Have you heard of Spiritual Motherhood? Are you a spiritual mother to anyone? Do you have any spiritual mothers? What do you think of the whole idea?