Motherhood and abortion are two topics often viewed as separate. In fact, we tend to focus almost exclusively on the child when condemning the act. However, maternal love seen as an absolute value must not be absent when addressing the tragedy of killing the unborn. For children to be safe from harm, nothing must come between mothers and their children.
As Catholics, we have a special knowledge of what having a mother means. Maternal love surrounds us, engulfs us, and consoles us in our churches, our homes and in our prayers. Our heavenly mother listens and speaks to us, and comforts us in many guises. She is present to us under many names, such as Mother of Mercy, Mother of Help, Mother of Divine Grace, and many more. Her splendid iconography is omnipresent like the crucifix, her love shining forth through the radiance of her face. Yet her loving presence is always gentle. We know that she is always our last resort.
However, as our heavenly mother, Mary is not only everyone’s mother. Knowing Mary, we also have a special knowledge of what being a mother means. Any mother can find a reflection of Mary’s love in the love she feels for her own children. In that sense, images of Mary with Christ remind us of the beauty of any mother’s love for her children. We perceive in depictions of her holding Christ a mother’s love, complete in giving, grace, and perseverance. The pieta reminds us that her love remained absolute to the most painful end. And which mother does not react emotionally to the sadness shown? The beauty of Mary’s love comes from purity and strength. She is the ultimate mother, with us throughout the struggles of time through her maternal presence and as a model of timeless maternal devotion.
