Spiritual Reflection - A Mother’s Gaze
‘A world that looks to the future without a mother’s gaze is shortsighted.’ Pope Francis, January 2019
The intricate art of mothering is fulfilled by many in our midst: mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, aunts, foster mothers, some fathers and ‘mother figures’ in our lives. We turn to them for unconditional love, comfort and hope. Mothering is intrinsically the work of the heart - an outpouring of love that finds its way to us when we need it most.
Over the past two years, the unfolding challenges have highlighted our yearning for the unique qualities that only our mother's gaze brings. It is our mothers we turn to for solace, support and guidance.
Images of mothers around the globe, across our nation and within our very own communities have reminded us of these gifts in the most pronounced ways. We witnessed mothers driving children to safety; sitting on ash covered beaches singing songs of comfort to their children and assisting in crisis centres during the bushfires. We observed mothers navigating their way through two years of a global pandemic, doing their utmost to keep their family safe; juggling homeschooling and work, walking through their neighbourhoods with their children hunting for teddy bears and meeting newly born grandchildren via facetime. In recent weeks we have seen mothers during the flood crisis sitting on rooftops consoling their children as they await rescue; leading the clean up of the homes in their local areas and giving support to the most vulnerable members of our community.
Collectively, we bear witness to the heroic nature of mothers and their ability to read the needs of their children in the spirit of selflessness, pragmatism, humility and enduring love.
During this time of reflection and celebration of mothers, we turn our gaze to the ultimate role model of motherhood – Mary.
A mother of the deepest love and boundless bravery who dared to say ‘yes’ to God. As a young mother, Mary found herself in a deeply challenging situation as she and her family fled Israel as refugees, with the very real fear that their young son would be killed. One can only imagine the inner strength that Mary would have summoned to make her journey across the desert with her newborn in tow.
In recent weeks we have observed the plight of refugee mother’s yet again, highlighted by the recent conflict in Ukraine. Haunting images of mothers fleeing conflict with their children in the dead of night, giving birth in underground basements and smuggling their offspring across borders is a story as old as time. Mothers across the globe from near and far stand in solidarity with refugee mothers in the living hope that peace, civility and above all that love will conquer.
This artwork by artist Margherita Gallucci, invites us to view Mary through a contemporary lens.
She invites us to reflect as she writes:
“I felt in my heart the need to give an image of tribute to all the people who suffer marginalisation, war, hunger, despair, escape from their land, loneliness, illness... one day I looked at the images of African migrants who landed in Italy, who miraculously survived their escape into the sea, and shocking photos of all those people and children drowned in water. My heart got tight. The images of those people wrapped in emergency blankets reminded me of the Madonna of Loreto. We are inspired as nations, communities, and individuals, to see that those who come to our shores are our brothers and sisters. Let us share with them... share with them the blessings we have received, and recognise that together, as one human family, we are all migrants, journeying in hope to our true home, where every tear will be wiped away, where we will be at peace and safe in God’s embrace.”
Let us never underestimate the power of our Mother’s gaze, especially in times of uncertainty.