LIKE A MOTHER

PRAYER MOMENT

Tuesday 27 August 2013

LIKE A MOTHER

Pause. Be still in God’s presence

Reading. “Like a mother feeding and looking after her children, we felt so devoted and protective towards you, and had come to love you so much…” (I Thess 2:1-8)

Reflection. This is probably the earliest of the New Testament writings and Paul is expressing his love and concern for the church in Thessalonica. Today is the feast of St Monica who felt this same concern and love for her son, Augustine. It is a moment to think of the many mothers and fathers you wait lovingly while their teenage or young adult children work through sometimes horrendous challenges thrown at them by the modern world. Young people can feel a sense of hopelessness and frustration and they can look for compensations for their pain in alcohol and drugs. It is hard for parents to watch especially as they, the parents , cannot force a change. They have to wait and accompany their son or daughter with tenderness, as Monica did.

Prayer. Lord, teach me to be compassionate with my children when they are in difficulty and with all parents who accompany their sons and daughters with patience and love. I believe that you walk with us in our pain as you did with the two on their way to Emmaus. Amen