“Clothed in strength and dignity, with nothing to fear,
    she smiles when she thinks about the future.
She conducts her conversations with wisdom,
    and the teaching of kindness is ever her concern.
Her children rise up and bless her.
Her husband, too, joins in the praise.”
-Proverbs 31: 25-26, 28-29 [NIV]

A Time to Think… “The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother.” ―St. Therese of Lisieux

A Time to Act… On this day after Mother’s Day, continue to praise God for your mother or the woman who raised you. If you are a mother, praise God for giving you the precious treasures of children. And if you are not a mother yourself, be a mothering helper with love for those who need a mother. Ladies, we are all ‘mothers’ in some way—given the gift of nurturing from God, so we may reach out to those who need love, guidance and care.

A Time to Pray… Dear God, thank you for mothers and those who step in to be mothers. In a world of families that are often broken and separated, many mothers step in to be both mother and father. I pray you give them inner strength and the trust in you they need for the task. And I pray for the ones who had mothers that abandoned them, hurt them, and left them to work out their own lives. Be their mother, O God, for you are both Father and Mother to us all. In your name I ask it, AMEN.