In a full church, we celebrated Mothering Sunday today. In addition to our normal congregation our Guides and Brownies joined us. At the beginning of the Mass Father Martin pointed out that we were celebrating Mothering Sunday and not “Mother’s Day” the American celebration. Mothering Sunday celebrates Mother Church, Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of us all and, of course, our own mothers.
During the sermon Father Martin demonstrated how much mothers do for their children by asking for a volunteer from the Brownies who was asked to hold an empty 6 pint milk container. The children were asked to name what their mothers do for them and various answers were given: cook our food, do the washing, cleaning, ironing, caring for us. As each answers was given he partly added water to the container until it was full and the Brownie could no longer hold it alone and had to be helped by another Brownie. He pointed out that the weight mothers carried could be made lighter by the help we given them.
Before the offertory, Father Martin blessed the flowers which had been prepared by the Guides and they were then distributed to the mothers in the congregation. Votive candles were lit by those whose mothers had died or who were unable to see their mothers today.
The fourth Sunday in Lent has various names including Laetare Sunday, Mid-Lent Sunday, Refreshment Sunday and Mothering Sunday. Rose vestments are worn only twice a year; once in Advent and on this Sunday in Lent.
It is a great shame that Mothering Sunday and Mother’s Day have become confused. The American version is celebrated on the second Sunday in May – this year on Sunday 9th May. It has become quite difficult to find Mothering Sunday Cards in the shops as the card manufacturers seem to have copied the American version and now sell Mother’s Day Cards........another example of the secularisation of our nation.
NEXT SUNDAY
21st MARCH 2010
The Annual Vestry and Annual Parochial Meeting will take place in the Hall following the 10.00 a.m. Parish Mass.
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