Tuesday, July 8, 2008

The Mother of All Nursing Mothers

To Nurse a Child (excerpted from Mothers' Manual by A. Francis Coomes, S.J.)

Holy Mary, you remember devoutly how as a young mother you pressed the divine Jesus tenderly to your breast. You were not then denied that precious privilege of motherhood, to nourish life you had brought into the world.

Dear Mother of Mothers, I beg you to speak to God with me now to obtain the privilege that I too may so nourish [my child]. May I know the fullness of the office of holy motherhood. And ask with me, too, holy Mother, that, in the fulfillment of the blessed office which God has beautifully ordained, I shall be closely drawn to my child with the tenderest mother love and that by this bond of affection I shall likewise be better able to nourish the soul of my little one with the holy truths of faith, so that my child may serve its Creator with a strong body and an upright mind in fidelity and love.

For those of us who are blessed enough to be able to breastfeed our children as our Holy Mother fed the infant Christ, let us give thanks.

Mother of Mothers,
Pray for us!