Msgr. Mike's Blog | Life...Birth...and Mother's Day

Next weekend on Mother’s Day children of all ages and even adults will find traditional and unique ways to honor, celebrate and remember their mothers. With gifts and flowers, brunch or even breakfast in bed, we will express our love and gratitude. Young children who still plant seeds in paper cups at school have marked the daily growth of their tiny plants and are ready to present their gifts of love. Florists will be busy preparing arrangements and restaurant reservations are being made. Blessings and prayers for mothers and grandmothers will be offered at all of our Masses next weekend. We will also take time personally to remember our deceased mothers and grandmothers.

In Roman Catholic communities the month of May is also the time when we honor Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in a special way. The Blessed Mother models for us the sacrificial and loving gift of motherhood. She is honored for giving birth and raising Jesus with Joseph in their home in Nazareth. The Annunciation, Visitation and Nativity are gospel scenes that especially highlight Mary’s role as Mother.

There is a very special house in the city of Worcester where mothers and their infant children and unborn children are anticipating this coming Mother’s Day. Visitation House has been in existence for 15 years providing a safe and nurturing home for women facing a crisis pregnancy. Women who may face homelessness with nowhere to turn often find themselves with no alternative but to seek an abortion. Visitation House welcomes such women and supports them as they choose life for their unborn child. Over these past 15 years more than three hundred women have lived at Visitation House during their pregnancy and up to six months after the birth of their child While living at Visitation House in a family setting the residents are offered time and opportunities to develop their personal, parenting, financial and professional skills. Weekly programs in the house’s “Higher Me Learning Center” include life-skill classes, pre and post-natal care, job searching and computer classes.

It is well known that the Catholic Church opposes abortion as we proclaim the sacred dignity and right to life for every human being from conception until natural death. The Church seeks to safeguard all human life whether it be in the womb, on death row, in a nursing home or in the last phases of a terminal illness. The specialized ministry of Visitation House is but one example of the Church not only teaching, but also putting faith into action.

Visitation House receives no funds from the federal, state or local government. Grants and donations are its only sources of income. This past week a good number of St. Mary’s parishioners attended the annual Visitation House benefit dinner with more than five hundred generous supporters.

Visit the website at www.visitationhouse.org. and see mothers and their babies getting ready to celebrate life, birth and Mother’s Day.