From the Principal
Happy Mother’s Day 2021
Last Sunday was a special day, a special day for Mums, Grandmothers, Aunts and special female figures in our life. I have included my Principal’s address given at last Wednesday’s Principal’s Assembly to commemorate mothers.
I love this banner. I noticed it a couple of years ago on a bike ride around Observatory Hill… “Your Mother is a Star”. Of course, Mums are ‘stars’ because of all they do and for the way they put their children and families first. Last Sunday was especially about recognizing this and honouring the role of mothers in our community. At the College on Wednesday evening, we celebrated Mother’s Day with a Mass and a Marist community supper for Mums. About 300 Mothers and daughters attended …joyous to be together for the first time since COVID.
Mother’s Day Mass and Supper
In a touching tribute, my Parish Priest gave carnations to each of the Mothers, Grandmothers and Female Carers at our Masses to recognize the wonderful role mothers play in everyone’s life.
Let’s hope that all Mums last Sunday felt the immense gratitude for all they do and mean to us.
Mother’s Day has long been a part of the Australian calendar, but where did the idea to dedicate the second Sunday in May to honouring motherhood come from?
The idea to celebrate Mother’s Day began in the USA. It did not gain traction until 1908, when West Virginia woman Anna Marie Jarvis held a church memorial to honour the legacy of her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis.
Ann Jarvis had been a peace activist who nursed wounded soldiers during the Civil War and created Mother’s Day work clubs to address public health issues. Anna Marie Jarvis wanted to continue her mother’s work and pushed to have a day set aside to honour all mothers. In 1914 her campaigning paid off, when US President Woodrow Wilson officially declared the second Sunday in May to be Mother’s Day. This was just after the start of World War I, so it also honoured mothers who had lost sons in the war as well as those mothers who worked to keep the country moving throughout the Civil War.
Australia celebrated Mother’s Day for the first time in 1910 with special church services. The tradition of giving gifts on Mother’s Day in Australia started in 1924.
So, who is the Patron Saint of Mothers?
Born in the 4th century, St. Monica is recognized as the patron saint of mothers and wives. Her faith and dedication to motherhood played a pivotal role in the spiritual formation of one of the most brilliant philosophers and well-known saints of all time – Saint Augustine her son.
After her husband’s premature death, St. Monica dedicated her life to raising her children. As a single mother of three, she persevered in the face of many difficulties. Her greatest desire was for her children to follow Christ. Although later in life he was known as a fervent man of God, St. Augustine did not easily come to see God’s truth. As a child, he proved to be quite difficult, causing Monica much grief, and as a young adult he remained uninterested in Christianity. But St. Monica never stopped praying for his eternal soul, in spite of the circumstances.
After many years of prayer, Saint Monica finally saw her son give his life to the service of God. St. Augustine declared that his mother’s resilience and dedication to prayer is what led him to become the man of God he was meant to be. He stated that St. Monica was not only his mother, but “the source of his Christianity.”
Mary’s mother – St Anne and grandmother of Jesus. As you would guess, St Anne is important to me as I carry her name.St. Anne is often depicted as a seated woman with a book upon her lap and the child Mary leaning against her, eager to learn. As teachers and learners this image resonates well with us. St. Anne had a unique position in which God trusted her with the task of bringing up Our Lady in a holy and virtuous way. While teaching Mary to cook, take care of her home, and look after her family and neighbours, St. Anne modelled for the Virgin Mary a life of prayer, love, and humility. In doing so, St. Anne prepared Our Lady to receive Our Lord not only into her heart, but into her very body, becoming the Mother of God.
St. Anne is the patron saint of unmarried women, housewives, women in labour, grandmothers, childless people, equestrians, lacemakers, miners, the poor, and seamstresses. What a role description! However, the most well-known patronage of St. Anne is that of grandmothers. Certainly, as the mother of the Virgin Mary and the grandmother of Jesus Christ, St. Anne was a woman of great virtue and love.
And then there is the most significant women for us as Marists is Mary, our Holy Mother.
Mary of the Southern Cross
This image of Mary and infant Jesus is named Mary of the Southern Cross, particularly an Australian Image of Mary. It was commissioned in 2008 for World Youth Day. It reminds us all that humanity is blessed in the sense that Mary is Mother to all. While Mary is Patron of the Sydney Archdiocese, we delight as Marists that we are Maryists. The original name of the Marists was Maryists. Forming the order in Mary’s name 205 years ago means we follow her way. At MSCW we say: to think, judge, feel and act as Mary. It is through Mary that we see humility, someone who puts others first, who values relationships, who listens and who goes out of their way to help others. These are the special characteristics of our Mums.
So last Sunday you may have celebrated your Mum by giving a card, flowers and gift or bringing her breakfast in bed or as a family enjoyed lunch or dinner together. For those whose Mum is not living you may have visited her gravesite or those that couldn’t be together you may have chatted on the phone. Whatever you did it was important that we all stopped and remembered the significant women who have made a difference in our lives and in some way offer them our great gratitude for the significant impact they have made.
I conclude this column with this quote from an unknown author that explains the special relationship of mother and child:
In a hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the type of house I lived in, or what kind of clothes I wore. But the world may be much better because, as a mother, I was important in the life of a child.
Thank you Mum’s for all you do!
