We honour our mothers bringing us to birth. We honour our fathers too, but it is our mothers who carried us as part of themselves, nourishing us with nutrients while taking away toxic waste from our systems. Our mothers fed and freed us when we were still in their womb.
That is how St Francis saw his mother, who fed his dream of becoming the person God created him to be, and freed him from his father’s ambition for him. When Francis was seen straying from this ambition, his father would imprison him in the house cell, and his mother would free him when his father was away.
In the same way, Francis saw himself accompanying his friars, sicut mater (‘like a mother’ in Latin). It may sound strange for a man to see himself as a mother, but it is precisely this uniquely maternal imagery that drives the fraternal relations in our Franciscan communities. We are a community of men who free one another from the chains that bind us, who help one another become the persons God created us to be.
On Mt Alvernia, where Francis received the Stigmata 800 years ago, he had asked for two graces: to experience the pain and suffering on the cross, and simultaneously to experience the joy and love that brought Jesus up on the cross.
Is this not like childbirth? The suffering of birth pangs and the joyful love for the newborn are like two sides of the same coin. One comes with the other, much like the mystery of our life.
So, at this year’s Mother’s Day Concert, we will celebrate the trials and triumphs of motherhood, where a mother brings to birth her children, and the bringing to birth of her own identity as mother and the gifts God has given her for this role.
As usual, the Mother’s Day Concert will be held at the Church of St Mary of the Angels, Singapore. We have prepared a simple and hopefully heart-warming evening of songs and stories, so join us on Saturday, 4 May 2024 at 8pm. Limited edition merchandise and yummy treats made by the friars will also be available. Your kind donation will go towards the Formation and Care for Friars Fund.
Check out this LINK to get your tickets.
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