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Read about Catholic motherhood and the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of the Church.

Seasonal Features
Mother's Day
Send a Mother's Day e-Greeting!


The Other Mother's Day

Lately I’ve been thinking about the other side of Mother’s Day: the heartbreak. For too many people, this day doesn’t mean corsages, brunches and presents.

Mother’s Day: What Does It Really Mean?

Learn about the roots of Mother's Day, and find ways to celebrate the holiday and to honor mothers throughout the year.
 
Mothers as Nurturers
A major characteristic of mothers is the ability to be nurturing and relational. This excerpt from Awakening to Prayer: A Woman's Perspective describes a way for women to use God's love as a model for nurturing and relating to their families.

Hallmark of a Good Family
Both mothers and fathers often expect to have a picture-perfect family, and struggle with the realization that their own family falls short of the mark. Dr. Ray Guarendi's Adoption: Choosing It, Living It, Loving It contains valuable insights for all families.

I Am the Prodigal Mom
The gospel story of the prodigal son is for parents a perfect example of forgiveness and second chances.

Baby Wanted: The Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche
For many women who make the pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, the Virgin Mary is the “mother of maternal desires.”

The Hardest Part of Being a Mother
Each stage of a child's life presents its own difficulties. None of them is as difficult, as this mom discovered, as letting go.

Saint for Moms and Everyday People
Read about the life and death of St. Gianna Beretta Molla—pediatrician, wife, mother, saint.

Mother’s Day Reflection
Read a Mother's Day reflection from Thresholds to Prayer.

Mother’s Day Prayer
Read a Mother’s Day prayer from Friend Jesus: Prayers for Children.

Learning About Mary
The Church honors the Blessed Virgin during the month of May. Visit our Mary feature to find more Mother’s Day inspiration.

Gifts for Mother’s Day
Your favorite authors, on a wide variety of subjects of interest
especially to women. Select titles also available in audio.


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Blaise: We know more about the devotion to St. Blaise by Christians around the world than we know about the saint himself. His feast is observed as a holy day in some Eastern Churches. The Council of Oxford, in 1222, prohibited servile labor in England on Blaise’s feast day. The Germans and Slavs hold him in special honor and for decades many United States Catholics have sought the annual St. Blaise blessing for their throats 
<p>We know that Bishop Blaise was martyred in his episcopal city of Sebastea, Armenia, in 316. The legendary <i>Acts of St. Blaise</i> were written 400 years later. According to them Blaise was a good bishop, working hard to encourage the spiritual and physical health of his people. Although the Edict of Toleration (311), granting freedom of worship in the Roman Empire, was already five years old, persecution still raged in Armenia. Blaise was apparently forced to flee to the back country. There he lived as a hermit in solitude and prayer, but he made friends with the wild animals. One day a group of hunters seeking wild animals for the amphitheater stumbled upon Blaise’s cave. They were first surprised and then frightened. The bishop was kneeling in prayer surrounded by patiently waiting wolves, lions and bears.</p><p>As the hunters hauled Blaise off to prison, the legend has it, a mother came with her young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Blaise’s command the child was able to cough up the bone.</p><p>Agricolaus, governor of Cappadocia, tried to persuade Blaise to sacrifice to pagan idols. The first time Blaise refused, he was beaten. The next time he was suspended from a tree and his flesh torn with iron combs or rakes. (English wool combers, who used similar iron combs, took Blaise as their patron. They could easily appreciate the agony the saint underwent.) Finally, he was beheaded.</p> American Catholic Blog To give drink to the thirsty is now, as it was then, a supreme work of mercy in that it involves giving the living water of the Spirit to those who cry out for him.

 
PICK OF THE DAY
After Miscarriage

Find healing and hope with this new book for Catholic women.


 
CATHOLIC GREETINGS
Catholic Schools Week
In the Catholic school, family values are supported.



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