Mother's Day Blessings

On Sunday, May  13, 2012, I was at mass and at the end, the priest had all the mother's remain standing for a blessing.  I know this is a yearly occurrence and I like that a special blessing is given to all the mothers on their day.  After the priest prayed for us and gave us a blessing, he then asked all the family members to place a hand on their mother for another prayer.  I thought that was a nice touch and as I looked around I saw about five women standing alone, including me.  I felt a bit sad but accepted the fact that we did not have anyone to place a hand on us.

If it had just ended at this point, I would not have thought much about what was happening.  But, the priest continued  with, "Now, every member of the family, give your Mom a blessing by using your thumb and making a cross on her forehead."  There was a flurry of movement, kids jumping up on the pew, and some shoving and pushing to be the first to place a cross on Mom's forehead. The rest of us just stood there, waiting for those Moms with family present to get a blessing from everyone in the family. 

I remembered a priest saying that the only one that can actually bless anyone is a priest. Made me wonder about my grandmother, Dad's Mom, who when someone was leaving would have them kneel in front of her and she would make the sign of the cross over them and give them a blessing.  Did that blessing count? Did any of the blessings going on around me count?  One of the ladies standing alone took out a handkerchief and blew her nose and wiped her eyes. It's tough standing without a family on Mother's Day, especially when there are so many different blessings! I even felt like wiping a tear as I waited for all the blessings to end.

Maybe the priest should have said something about those women who no longer had their Mothers, or something about children living out of state, or something to make the lone women feel part of the group, but he didn't.  I am sending this note to our pastor to make him aware that all Mothers, whether with family present or not, should be included or mentioned if more than one blessing will be done on Mother's Day.