“A sword will pierce your own soul too.”  Luke 2:34 In our increasingly secular society, one of the things that remains almost unchanged is language. The Irish equivalent of the word ‘hello’, means ‘God be with you’, to which the response is ‘God and Mary be with you’. Regard for Mary was embedded in people’s daily conversation. Whatever changes there may be in society, Mary remains a major figure in the Biblical account of Jesus, and on this Mothering Sunday it is appropriate to learn from this most famous of all mothers. ‘Sure, even his own mother couldn’t love him’, was one of the worst comments one could make about a man in the North. Sometimes it was said as an insult, the person was regarded with such little... Similar posts

Mothering Sunday was originally a Sunday in the middle of Lent in which young people who had left home went back to their “mother church” for mass. This meant that they would see their family and they would often pick flowers along the route to give to their mother. This gradually evolved into the day we celebrate today. I never used to take the celebration seriously. It was something that meant normal lessons in school were replaced with an afternoon of art where we could make a mess and have fun making lists of words to rhyme with “mum”. All the while peeling a film of glue from our hands (the 80s equivalent of having fun on the Wii). Throughout my teenage years I would buy a card and flowers/chocolates/plant/diary, whichever I could afford. I’d hand them... Similar posts

Here in Ireland (and the UK), Mothers’ Day is tomorrow. Flowers and candy are on sale everywhere, as you’d expect. The Irish-English story of Mothers’ Day is a nice example of the entanglement of the Anglophone countries. Mothers Day is technically named Mothering Sunday, and it falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent. (So this year, it’s abnormally early. I’m sure that many Irish sons were caught unawares!) The tradition originates in Laetare Sunday on the Catholic liturgical calendar. The story is that, centuries ago, servants and apprentices were allowed to return to their mother-church and their family on Laetare Sunday. So, that Sunday became associated with children returning to their extended families and thus, their mothers. Mothering Sunday was nearly... Similar posts

Today is Mothering Sunday which is a day that originally celebrated all women not just mothers. People all over the UK returned to their 'Mother Church' and this was often the only day in a year that a family was together. All the women in church were given a flower on this day hence the tradition of giving flowers on Mother's Day, as it has now become more commercially known. Unfortunately I can't be with the women in my family, my mum (pictured above), sister or granny as we all live in different countries but they are in my thoughts today. I will be having a busy day though, we are going out to lunch to celebrate Dillon's impending birthday and if the weather remains dry, this evening we will head into Dublin Quays to watch the St Patrick's Day Skyfest. Whatever you're doing today... Similar posts