SPEAKER_00: Good morning.
SPEAKER_00: First off, I just want to take a moment to uh welcome anybody who may be new to St.
SPEAKER_00: Joseph today or you are visiting our church today.
SPEAKER_00: Uh welcome to our parish community.
SPEAKER_00: We're so happy that you're here, especially as we celebrate this day honoring all of our mothers.
SPEAKER_00: Uh in fact, before beginning the homily, uh, could maybe we just take a moment to just turn to one another and to wish each other a happy Mother's Day, especially if your mother's here.
SPEAKER_00: Let's take a moment to do that, just to wish each other happy Mother's Day.
SPEAKER_00: Great.
SPEAKER_00: And uh I would love to uh start off by saying a special blessing for all of our mothers here, our grandmoms as well.
SPEAKER_00: So if you are a mom, you are a grandmom or any spiritual mom, foster mom, you know, if you are a mom, uh I'm gonna invite you, could you please stand in this moment?
SPEAKER_00: And I'm just gonna say a prayer of blessing over you.
SPEAKER_00: All of our moms, if you could just stand right where you are.
SPEAKER_00: We just want to honor you, we want to love you, we want to shower God's blessings upon you.
SPEAKER_00: And for those of us who are seated, uh, if you could just kindly extend your hands in prayer towards all of our moms.
SPEAKER_00: And moms, I'm just gonna invite you to, if you would close your eyes, take a moment to close your eyes, place your hand on your hearts and just receive this prayer of blessing.
SPEAKER_00: And as you hear this prayer of blessing, it's gonna mention all kinds of moms asking the Lord's blessing to come upon you.
SPEAKER_00: Lord our God, we thank you so much for the gift of all of our moms that are here today.
SPEAKER_00: And Lord, I just want to recognize the all the kinds of different moms and the roles that they play for new moms that are uh nurturing a baby in the womb or a newborn in their arms.
SPEAKER_00: We pray for steadfast moms of uh little children, of teenagers, of young adults.
SPEAKER_00: We pray for busy moms who juggle uh work and family and home life.
SPEAKER_00: We pray for our grandmoms who love so much their grandkids.
SPEAKER_00: We pray for our foster moms who take care of those who are most in need, as well as those who have special needs.
SPEAKER_00: We pray for all of our moms who are sick or are struggling or who are hurting in any way that they might feel your consoling presence.
SPEAKER_00: We pray for all of our moms who have gone before us with a sign of faith and who now rest in the sleep of peace in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you for them.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you for Mary, our spiritual mom in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we just want to lift up and bless all of our moms today, shower them with abundance of your grace and your blessing this day.
SPEAKER_00: And we pray all of this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Let's give a round of applause to our moms.
SPEAKER_00: And in the pews, if you would just give her a hug or a kiss or just a word of affirmation or affection.
SPEAKER_00: And um, if you're a mom and and your family's not here today, just receive our love from the community, my love as your shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: Um, just know how much you're loved uh by us and by the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you to all of our moms.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, great.
SPEAKER_00: So uh the theme of my homli today is gonna be centered on this theme of motherhood.
SPEAKER_00: And the theme is the love of a mother, the love of a mother.
SPEAKER_00: And uh I want to ask the question what is the love of a mother like?
SPEAKER_00: If I were to ask you to give me some words to describe to me, or an adjective to describe what the love of a mother is like, what words would you use to describe the love of a mother?
SPEAKER_00: You can just you can just shout it out.
SPEAKER_00: What words would you use to describe love of mother?
SPEAKER_00: Unconditional, sacrificial, good role model, eternal, warm, guidance, strong.
SPEAKER_00: What's that?
SPEAKER_00: Wonder Woman?
SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00: Vocation, oh patience, okay, patient.
SPEAKER_00: You said vocation, I thought you said vacation.
SPEAKER_00: All right.
unknown: Vacation.
SPEAKER_00: That's nice too, right?
SPEAKER_00: Prayer, hope and faith.
SPEAKER_00: Sacrifice, forgiveness, everlasting.
SPEAKER_00: That's like the love of God, right?
SPEAKER_00: Everlasting, eternal.
SPEAKER_00: All these beautiful attributes to describe the love of a mother.
SPEAKER_00: And what I'd like to do today is I just want to focus on three attributes of the love of a mother.
SPEAKER_00: And these are the three, okay?
SPEAKER_00: First one, the love of a mother is sacrificial.
SPEAKER_00: Would you guys agree?
SPEAKER_00: Love of a mother is sacrificial.
SPEAKER_00: Second word uh that I like to propose is the love of a mother is faithful.
SPEAKER_00: Faithful.
SPEAKER_00: Is the love of a mother faithful?
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: Third word I want to propose: love of a mother is persevering.
SPEAKER_00: It lasts.
SPEAKER_00: If somebody said eternal, right?
SPEAKER_00: Or enduring, it's persevering.
SPEAKER_00: These three words to describe the love of a mother.
SPEAKER_00: And what I'd like to do today is just kind of explore these three words and see how they connect with the love of God for us.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so let's begin with the first one.
SPEAKER_00: The love of a mother is sacrificial.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm blessed too.
SPEAKER_00: Uh my mom, she's here with us today.
SPEAKER_00: My mom's here.
SPEAKER_00: She's right over here.
SPEAKER_00: My dad too, but today's Mother's Day, so um sacrificial.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I think about the way my mom raised me, and uh, you know, even as a baby, my parents would share with me when I was a little baby, I was such a crybaby.
SPEAKER_00: I cried a lot, is it true?
SPEAKER_00: I cried a lot, right?
SPEAKER_00: In fact, I cried so much when my mom would go to work, my parents would go to work, my grandparents would take care of me, and I cried so much that my grandpa would take out his recorder and record me crying to share with my parents, you know, when they came home.
SPEAKER_00: And I think about all the sleepless nights, you know.
SPEAKER_00: I think about my teenage years when I started to get rebellious.
SPEAKER_00: You have teenagers that get rebellious sometimes?
SPEAKER_00: I think about my rebellious teenage years and oh my gosh, the sacrifice that they had to go through for that.
SPEAKER_00: I think about my young adult years when I started trying to find my own way in life, sometimes taking twists and turns that my parents weren't so happy about.
SPEAKER_00: Do you guys understand that, moms?
SPEAKER_00: Have you experienced that before?
SPEAKER_00: I think about the sacrifice of my mom.
SPEAKER_00: Mom sacrifice, yes?
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
SPEAKER_00: And that sacrifice is a reflection of the sacrifice, look right here, of who?
SPEAKER_00: Of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
SPEAKER_00: That's how much the love of a mother and the love of Jesus are the same.
SPEAKER_00: It's sacrificial.
SPEAKER_00: So the first thing, the love of a mother is sacrificial.
SPEAKER_00: All right, let's go to our second word.
SPEAKER_00: The love of a mother is faithful.
SPEAKER_00: When I think of the word faithful, uh, I think of the vows uh that couples make on their marriage day in church.
SPEAKER_00: How many people here have you received the sacrament of marriage in the church?
SPEAKER_00: Would you raise your hand, those who have received the sacrament of marriage?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's that's a pretty good number.
SPEAKER_00: And if you haven't yet, we'd love to encourage you to take that next step.
SPEAKER_00: Now, for those of you who raise your hands, I wonder do you remember the words of your vows on the day of your wedding?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, if not, I'm gonna help you, alright?
SPEAKER_00: So the husband says to the wife, the wife says to the husband, I promise to be faithful to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.
SPEAKER_00: I promise to love you and to honor you for 10 years.
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: For all the days of my life.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, yesterday I had the blessing to celebrate two wedding ceremonies right here, right here in our church.
SPEAKER_00: The first one was a very young couple in their 20s, and oh, so excited, so idealistic for their marriage.
SPEAKER_00: And another couple I celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and get this.
SPEAKER_00: They were married 50 years ago, right here.
SPEAKER_00: 50 years ago, right here in this church.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that amazing?
SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, from the very beginning of the marriage, and you have a marriage that's gone 50 years.
SPEAKER_00: Now, tell me, is that faithful?
SPEAKER_00: You bet the love of a mother is faithful, amen?
SPEAKER_00: Alright, and that's the that's the reflection of the faithfulness of God.
SPEAKER_00: Alright, let's go to our third word.
SPEAKER_00: So we heard love of mother is sacrificial, love of mother is faithful, and the last one, love of a mother is persevering.
SPEAKER_00: It lasts, it lasts for a long time.
SPEAKER_00: How long does the love of a mother last?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I heard, I heard forever.
SPEAKER_00: I heard eternal.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, not when the kids reach 18?
SPEAKER_00: Love of a mother lasts, right?
SPEAKER_00: It's persevering.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I think of uh our great example of the love of a mother that's eternal, our great spiritual mother.
SPEAKER_00: Who is who am I referring to?
SPEAKER_00: Love of a mother, persevering, eternal, everlasting, forever for her son Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I think about how they traveled in Egypt and how she had to flee, you know, from Herod, and how she accompanied him through his whole life all the way to the cross.
SPEAKER_00: The love of a mother is persevering, amen.
SPEAKER_00: Alright, so three qualities of a love of a mother.
SPEAKER_00: The love of a mother is sacrificial, love of a mother is faithful, love of a mother is persevering, and that's a reflection of the love of God for us.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, to conclude, here's what I'd like to do.
SPEAKER_00: You know, at the beginning of the uh Mass Day or the homily, I said a prayer of blessing for the moms, right?
SPEAKER_00: But now I want to give you an opportunity.
SPEAKER_00: If your family is here, your mom, your family's here, I want to give them, you guys, a chance of an opportunity for you to pray for mom.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna I'm gonna lead you in this moment of prayer, I'm gonna lead you in this moment of meditation and allow you to pray for mom.
SPEAKER_00: So um, if mom, your family's here, here's what I'm gonna invite them to do.
SPEAKER_00: I invite your family to either hold your hand, the mom's hand, or place your hand on mom, on her shoulder, or on her arm, whatever it is.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: And if and if your family's not here for whatever reason, you know, you can just receive this prayer.
SPEAKER_00: If your mom here, your family's not here for whatever reason, maybe just place your hand on your heart.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe if um your mom has already passed on, you know, passed on to be with the Lord, we're gonna we're gonna pray for her too.
SPEAKER_00: Alright?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, and invite all of us to just close our eyes, and we're just gonna I'm gonna lead you in this moment of prayer for mom.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, today we just want to give you thanks and praise for the gift of all of our moms.
SPEAKER_00: And today we heard how the love of a mother is sacrificial.
SPEAKER_00: The love of a mother is faithful, the love of a mother is persevering.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for all of our moms who have shown us these beautiful qualities, who've shown us so how much they love us, and how much this is just a reflection of your love for us, Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the love of our moms.
SPEAKER_00: And moms, I invite you in this moment to just uh bring to mind uh how you're coming to mass today.
SPEAKER_00: Uh maybe you're a mom, and today is such a day of great joy.
SPEAKER_00: Your family's here with you.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you invited your kids to come and, like, okay, this is this is the gift I want for Mother's Day, for you to come to Mass with me.
SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna go and we're gonna have brunch after this and celebrate mom and a day of great joy.
SPEAKER_00: I may for other moms you're coming today, and uh maybe not a day of great joy, but maybe just an okay day.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're here at Mass, and uh maybe it feels like another Sunday, and may for some moms, grandmoms, spiritual moms you're coming today, and maybe it's a it's a hard day for you.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you got a sickness.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you lost a loved one.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you have a struggle inside that only you can see and feel.
SPEAKER_00: Uh nobody else really knows, but you know it.
SPEAKER_00: However, you come to Mass today, I invite you, mom, to just uh lift that up to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I want to pray for anybody who's here today who may not have been blessed to experience the love of a mother.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe today's a little bit of a painful day.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if there's anybody here like that today in our congregation, but if there is, um this moment be for you.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you you you would have loved to experience uh the sacrificial love of a mom, faithful, persevering.
SPEAKER_00: But maybe you didn't receive it in the way that you would have liked.
SPEAKER_00: And could this be a moment of prayer for her?
SPEAKER_00: Of forgiveness.
SPEAKER_00: None of us are perfect.
SPEAKER_00: And even honoring her just for the fact of being mom.
SPEAKER_00: And Lord Jesus, we open our hearts to receive you into our lives today.
SPEAKER_00: May your love fill the hearts of all of our moms so that their love might radiate your love in the world.
SPEAKER_00: We ask the intercession of Mary, our spiritual mother, to cover all of us, and especially our moms under her holy mantle.
SPEAKER_00: The prayer of Saint Joseph, our patron, and all the angels and saints in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: And we pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: The Father, Son, the Holy Spirit, amen.
SPEAKER_00: Give mom another hug, another kiss.
SPEAKER_00: It's never, you can't give two few or two little hugs or kisses or embraces from mom.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna try to.
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: It's a little bit of a trek, but all right.
SPEAKER_00: How about we uh conclude with uh Hail Mary, asking for Mary's intercession for all of our moms as well.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, let's stand as we pray together.
SPEAKER_00: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
SPEAKER_00: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.