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My Dear Sisters in Christ, 


Today, we celebrate Mother’s Day, a day that is designated to honor and cherish the women that gave us the gift of life. As it is also the month of Mary, I want to reflect with you on the power of a mother’s intercession for her children. 


I thank God for my mother every day. Because of her devotion and the prayers she prayed for me when I was a baby, I survived a diagnosis that doctors said I would never recover from. My mother brought me before the Blessed Sacrament and consecrated me to the Immaculate Conception. I can truly say that I am a living miracle because of the protection and intercession of Our Lady and my earthly mother. I am sure you have your own testimony of that relationship with your mother.


But also, if your relationship with your mother was not the best, it is time for reconciliation and healing. The world will be better when we have peace in each family, particularly between mother and children.


When the archangel announced that she would bear God’s own son, Mary gracefully accepted her role and placed her trust in the will of the Father. Mary freely chose to devote her whole life to pursuing something greater than herself: a life of service and love for her family. She never ceased to pray for, nurture, guide and protect Jesus. Then, she also adopted each of us, and we are so fortunate to her as our advocate before the throne of the almighty. 


You, like Mary, have been given the gift of motherhood. This heroic vocation is a daily giving of yourself for the love and well-being of your children – not only for their physical well-being, but more importantly for their soul and life in Christ. 


This vocation is not easy. It comes with heartache and hope, tears and joy. But I urge you to remember the power of your prayers for your family. Keep praying for your husbands, for your daughters and sons. The prayers of mothers have changed the course of history and brought about some of the greatest saints in our Church. As St. Augustine said, “If I am thy child O God, it is because you gavest me such a mother.”  


I wish you all a blessed and happy Mother’s Day! 


In Christ’s love, 


Most Rev. Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS 

Bishop of Charleston