Life in community with mothers, though not a physical mother myself, has opened my eyes to the beauty, pain, joy, and deep love manifest in motherhood.
God entrusts to each mother something so precious, so weak, so perfect: a baby. This child longs for communion with her mother. She knows her mother by scent, by sound, by touch. Her mother has the ability to console her as no other human can.
To become a mother is transformative, body and soul. As her body grows, so does her heart. The mother’s body creates space for her child, just as her soul makes space to nurture the baby’s soul. In this way, mothers become a dwelling place for love. And, as they welcome their new child, they welcome Christ.
This spiritual reality is seen each and every day at Maggie’s Place. For many of our mothers, her baby is the reason behind the miracle of sobriety, the drive to get a diploma, and to obtain stable housing. Her baby is the motivation for a better life.
Babies, although physically weak, give mothers hope and strength to endure. As I am surrounded by Maggie’s Place moms, day in and day out, I am captivated by their determination and super-human sacrifice. I am thankful for their witness to love without limits.
Perhaps Joszef Cardinal Mindszenty said it best when he said this:
“The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral—a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body….
What on God’s good earth is more glorious than this; to be a mother?”
To all our mothers, thank you.
By Ellen Dahlby, a MissionCorps
