The relationship between Jesus and his mother

I want to invite you to look with me for a well-known passage in the Gospel according to Saint John, in Chapter 2, verses from 1 to 11, the famous passage from the wedding at Cana.

It says there, “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding, and when the wine was lacking the Jesus' mother said to her, 'They have no wine', Jesus said to her, 'what do you have with me, woman, my hour has not yet come?'. His mother told those who were serving, 'do whatever I tell you.' And there were six stone jars for water according to the purification rite of the Jews, each of which could hold two or three jugs. Jesus told them, 'Fill these jars with water,' and they filled them to the top. Then he told them 'take it out now and take it to the steward'. And they took it away. When the steward tasted the water made wine, without knowing where it came from, although the servants who had drawn the water knew, he called the husband and said to him, 'every man first serves the good wine, and when they have drunk a lot, then the inferior, but you have reserved the good wine until now'. This beginning of signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him.

Glory to the Lord. What does this have to do with Mother's Day? We'll see. The Lord spoke to me this morning as I was preparing some notes to share with you in honor of our mothers. We always like as much as possible to bring a meditation that has to do with the area of the family, the area of motherhood as much as possible. And the truth is that I had never seen this passage from that perspective, but it is precious and very revealing with respect to what one is, I want to talk this morning about a healthy relationship between mother and child, or it can also be between father and son, but in this case Jesus and his mother express a healthy relationship.

Mary expresses a wise motherhood and Jesus behaves like a wise son, a legitimate son who fulfills his role as a son well. What is it that makes up that healthy relationship between mother and child? We are going to see that in this meditation. Interestingly, John is the only one of the four Evangelists who records two scenes that I would consider very tender and very intimate between Jesus and his mother. One is given at the very beginning of Jesus' ministry, here. He is just beginning his earthly ministry and they meet at a wedding and there is this beautiful dialogue, an exchange between him and his mother.

The other scene, the other moment, is not as positive as this, but occurs at the end of Jesus' earthly ministry when the Lord is not at a wedding celebrating and enjoying himself with friends, but at a cross, crucified looking at his mother and the beloved disciple who was John, precisely. And that is why I wonder if since John had a more intimate relationship than the other disciples with the mother of Jesus, and with Jesus himself, perhaps that is why he recorded these two events that no other evangelist records, only John records those two moments so tender, so revealing, so beautiful, between Jesus, the son, and Mary, the mother. And they are very revealing events about Jesus Christ.

We have to remember, brothers, that Jesus had a human dimension, fully human. He also had another part that was fully divine and in him these two dimensions lived together, the human and the divine. And I imagine there was tension in him at times regarding that perfect humanity and that perfect divinity. When he came into contact with his family, with the people of his community, being God and man at the same time put him in tension.

We see, for example, when he visits his home village that people don't want to believe in him because they say, 'but if that little boy was walking around with a little wheel and now look at him, a great prophet , it can't possibly be as special as it seems to be. And they had unbelief in their hearts and that is why he says that he could not do all the miracles that he wanted to do.

We also see, for example, in the famous passage from the temple when the Lord is lost to his parents as a child, and the parents go looking for him crazy and finally find him, where? In the temple, conversing with the wise men and theologians and surprising them with the supernatural knowledge that he evidently had. And at that moment the parents treat him according to his humanity and he says, but son, why did you do this to us, why do you behave like that?' But the divinity of Jesus responds and says, 'hey, no? Do you know that I have to be in my Father's business? So we continually see those tensions that exist, when they say, your mother and your brothers are looking for you, thinking that you are crazy because of the things you are saying. And he says 'who are my mother and my brothers? My mother and my brothers are those who listen to the word of my Father and do it.

So, we see that there is a tension there between those two dimensions of Jesus, which comes to light when he comes into contact with the people close to him. Now, those scenes in which the humanity of Jesus is manifested in this way teach us how to be fully realized human beings, because if anyone was humanly realized and perfect it was Jesus Christ. And by observing those moments in which his humanity blossoms or emerges, rather, manifests itself, I generally manage to learn something about Jesus and how to sometimes reconcile dimensions of our being that sometimes put us in possible conflict and tension with our beloved ones.

For example, it is interesting, I had never observed this but in that passage where the Lord loses his parents, he tells them, why were you looking for me, you didn't know that in my business Father is it necessary for me to be? But they did not understand the words that he spoke to them and look here, Luke, where this passage is recorded, adds a note, says:

“... and he went down with them and returned to Nazareth and was subject to they…”

Why did Lucas add that detail? Well, because the Lord did not say, 'hey, I am God and therefore I do not have to submit to my parents'. He held on to his parents despite who he was. And that gave me a lesson on the importance of subjecting myself to authority and those who have their fathers and mothers alive that even in our adulthood. If the Son of God was subject to his parents, how much more should we be subject to our parents even though we are adults and there is a dimension that should never be lost, that dimension.

Now, what specific things do we learn from this passage, what does this passage reveal to us? I have several moral and spiritual lessons that I have gleaned from studying this passage. First of all we see here that Jesus, already an adult, a minister, and his elderly mother, already, I imagine, share a social experience. It is the first thing I see here, in verse 1 and 2 it says that the mother of Jesus was at a wedding and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding, and there mother and son meet and the two meet and they share an experience, a social situation.

And I see something important in this, and that is that it is important that children maintain an intentional relationship with their parents and that they share social experiences with their parents. Many times, what about young people, when we become adults, well, we want to go home for mom to cook for us, don't we? And we go there and sometimes visit her at home, but what about taking her out to eat one day? What about taking her to a party or a family gathering? What about going with her to a park or somewhere, or to a movie theater and honoring her and sharing with her socially? And I'm talking to young people here, already teen agers and other young people, young adults, 19, 20, 23, 24 years old, because when you're young, what happens many times? What you want is to share with your friends and you know what? Adults, parents bless us and honor us when our children ask us out.

Yesterday Sonia, our daughter, invited Meche aside to go eat something, and I'm sure that honors her mother. And I believe that it is important that we always be intentional in honoring our parents and sharing with them, sweetening their lives. Young people, this requires intentionality because today more and more the direction of the youth is very different from the direction of the adults and every day the directions are separating more and more. And unless you, young people, do not make an effort to bless your parents and honor them and say, today I am going to invite dad or mom to go to the movies. And maybe you're going to feel a little uncomfortable at first because you're not used to seeing your mom or dad in that condition, in that light, but guess what? Over time one gets used to it and there is so much blessing and our parents are blessed.

That is, it is important that young people and adults reduce that distance that the 21st century, modern society has established between adults and young people and that we honor our fathers and mothers in that way.

There is a text in Proverbs that has always captivated me. It is in Proverbs Chapter 23, verse 22, it says:

“.. and when your mother grows old do not despise her...”

How many have heard that verse before? ? How many have read it? Don't lie to me, if you haven't read it, you won't... right? Ok, look, that's tucked in there like a hidden gem in the Scripture. When your mother grows old, don't look down on her."

The wise man knew what he was talking about. You know what? When our parents get old they're not so cool anymore, you know? Since we don't want to walk with them, they already limp a bit, they are slower, maybe they say inappropriate things, who knows, they are not so in tune with social rules and sometimes they may not do everything correctly. And what do we do? We are ashamed of them and we want to limit them. And what happens? Many times we are isolating the elderly more and more and they are losing more and more social, personal, spiritual skills and sometimes we accelerate their aging, unless there is no prior willingness on our part to honor our parents, and above all if we have parents to the elderly and bless them with a social sharing with them. It seems something precious to me.

I see that, that association, that connection evoked in me when reading this passage. Youth and adults must share and many times youth will need to initiate contact at this time.

Secondly, there is something very beautiful that I see in this passage and that is that there is balance in the relationship between Jesus and his mother. I believe that this entire passage revolves around the issue of balance. Look at this, it's interesting when you look at it further the concept of balance comes out in very interesting ways.

I see in this passage in the tense dialogue between Jesus and his mother, a balance between, for example, independence and intimacy. Later I will develop this a little more. There is a balance between independence on the part of Jesus and also intimacy with his mother. There is also a balance between subjection on the part of Jesus to his mother who asks him to do someone a favor, and on the other hand a certain personal authority that Jesus also exercises. Woman, you don't know my time hasn't come yet, but what does it do in the end? That pleases her But there is balance, there is a tension there between those two dimensions.

And there is also a balance between María exercising her privileges as a mother but also respecting barriers and her limitations. Mary approaches Jesus, asks him to do her and this family a favor, but there also comes a time when she tells the people at the wedding, do everything he tells you, and she backs down so that he determine how you are going to perform the miracle.

That is, she exercises her privileges as a mother but also at a certain moment respects her limitations as a mother, already treating an adult and a very special man of God.

I say here that the proper family relationship, like marriage, for example, is a delicate dance. It is never rigid and fixed, all on one side, for example, whether on the part of the parents or the children, but rather it is a continuous search for balance. And that balance is something dynamic, something that changes from day to day. It is never, for example, the parents have all the authority and here what I say is done because I am the father of the house and the boys speak when the chickens, you know, the Dominicans and others know what...

Not so. There is always a balance in life. There is a search for that middle ground of things. And I see that, that there is a dynamic here, there is a flexibility in the dialogue and in the relationship that Jesus and Mary manifest. The mother who exercises her authority and I imagine that someone, or she herself said, no, I am the mother of this man and he has the solution so I am going to where he is. Perhaps no one else would have dared to come to him, but she knew that she had a special entrance into his heart and into this mysterious man that she herself did not understand was fully God as well. But she dares to approach him with authority, but she also knows that he knows how to do his things with this man, so do things as he says and there you go, but understand now, I already did my part, now leave him to him that he does his, that he works. She's not there looking over it, you've put enough wine in it, you've put this or that in the water. No, no, she just leaves him, he will know how he works the miracle.

There is balance in that and that is very beautiful. And I believe that in the beauty between parents and children it is like that. Sometimes we have certain authorities, certain things that we could do if we wanted to, because we are the parents. But you know what? As Pablo says, everything is lawful for me but not everything suits me. Sometimes you have to know how to let time do things and sometimes when there comes a time when our children are already tired and what we do is provoke them more to anger and then what we do is close the relationship so that there is no contact anymore, there is no dialogue. So sometimes the wisest parents have to know when to back off a bit and let the Lord do the work in due time. There has to be balance too, we don't have absolute authority over our children either.

So I believe that all healthy and healthy families have that hallmark that they are always negotiating although it is well known that there is an authority that the father and mother have that is important and if sometimes I am not a fly ball to the pitcher, as they say out there, not like dad, understand me, I think there are times when you have to put your feet on the ground and say, you don't come through here because you have to do it that way, and I already gave you enough explanations and now you have to do it, period. But also at all times you must also have sanity of mind to know when to open space, because if you pull the rope too fast you will break the poor boy's neck and then there is nothing to fix. So balance, balance is a very important thing.

Thirdly, I also see here that there is a constructive and loving tension between Jesus and his mother, I call this a constructive and loving tension between Jesus and his mother. She presses a little, tells him, look, he ran out of wine. And I imagine that there is only a summary of something that she was negotiating with him. She pushes a bit and exercises her maternal privilege.

He obeys a heavenly agenda, he says, look, God has a purpose with me, and she kind of violates that heavenly agenda a bit. And he clears it up, but in the end, what does he do? He holds on and patronizes his mother. There's like a tension there, son, they ran out of wine. Mom, but this is not my time to do a miracle like that, it's going to appear in the newspapers and then the reporters are going to come and they're going to be looking for me and taking pictures of me and all this and it's not time yet, Mom. But, son, look, wow, they're going to be terribly embarrassed, help them even a little. Do something. And Jesus finally says, well, mom, okay, let's do it. And he condescends with his mother and in the end no one recent the process.

She doesn't tell him, but remind yourself that I gave you so much food when you were a little boy and that this and that, and that... No, no she intervenes and he clarifies something and in the end ..... And I think that's nice because every healthy relationship between father and son is nurtured by that kind of negotiation, that kind of groping, a loving struggle through many contacts, many meetings, many negotiations, until finds the right balance.

Children grow up, they become more complex, more mature, often more complicated, there are influences that now come from outside and so the father, the mother, as the child grows, has to adjust . And how are those adjustments made? How does a son learn to assert himself? Psychologists speak of the word individuation, which means how a person becomes an individual, separates from maternal and paternal guardianship, and becomes a man, an individual, separate, defined woman.

And we, the parents, have to help them and one of the ways in which this is done is through that dialogue, that struggle, that negotiation, those tensions, sometimes disagreements that occur between parents and children, and in those meetings that are sometimes tense and sometimes even strong, and sometimes a bit simply negotiating, the personality of the child is defined and the father and mother are also learning how to define their relationship, where the distances are, where they are rights, all these things.

I see it here in Jesus and his mother. He is already a young adult, a minister, and his mother is still attached to him. Little by little he is separating more and more and being more the Son of God, the Messiah who is entering his full manifestation as a mysterious being sent by God and already the relationship between mother and son is becoming a little more distant. but the mother is still there negotiating with him and he is clarifying certain things and there is this struggle, this process of individuation that we have to help our children to become fully themselves, individuals. And we have to know how to help them and how to respect that process and how not to hold on and possess them and somehow try to manipulate it so that they never cut the umbilical cord. And we have to let them go. And that process requires that both we and they learn to carry it out. constructive tension.

Another element I see here is that Maria acknowledges her son's adulthood, independence, and authority. She finds peace in recognizing that her son is already a different being from her and that he lives in another dimension.

When she says, 'do whatever I tell you,' she is acknowledging there certain talents and certain gifts that her son has that she has nothing to do with. There comes a time when we have to recognize that our children are adults and treat them as such, even though we retain certain parental privileges. You have to keep a balance there with respect to that. There comes a time when we have to say, look, this is an adult now.

You know that there are parents who say, I, even if my son gets married and has grandchildren, if I have to slap him, I'll give it to him. Have you heard that from the old fathers, from before? Well, it's cute up to a point. And I think that, how nice when a young person or an adult submits to that respect, that has unfortunately been lost and I think that humanity is much poorer for that lack of respect like this, of reverence for the fact that they gave birth to you and they brought you to life and that gives them rights that no one else has and that is wonderful and that is unbreakable, it does not change.

But how nice it is when the father also says, ok, look, I know that you are an individual, you are an adult, you are independent and now we are going to establish a different relationship between you and me and We are going to be friends, we are going to be interlocutors, we are going to be partners and we are going to treat each other in a different way, and now I am going to be more like a mentor for you, and now I have to let your marriage.... < /p>

How many of us parents are always looking over our children to see how the marriage is doing and sticking the spoon in, and making comments and criticizing and saying, you should do this and that. Look, when now, therefore, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will be one flesh. You have to respect certain things that adulthood brings with it.

And María seems to represent very well that attitude of respecting the authority and adulthood of her son. Another thing, I see here is that Jesus for his part reflects a healthy maturity with respect to his mother. He reflects a maturity and self-confidence that I believe comes as a result of being God but humanly speaking also as a result of his father and mother knowing how to navigate the mystery that is that being with whom they have all lived. this years.

It is seen in Jesus, the man who has individuated himself, the man who has become an individual and who reflects a certain healthy independence from paternal or maternal tutelage. Look, with what certainty the Lord says, woman, my time. And that word woman here is not derogatory, it is more of a Hebrew expression that I think was more of respect for her to a certain extent, but also reflects a certain authority. If he had said mom, in that mom there would have been an authority too.

He moves very confidently, very sure of his calling, very sure of the chronology of his ministry, and he knows that at that moment what his mother is asking of him is not appropriate with the plans that God has for him. his life. There is a healthy independence that I believe is the goal that we should aim for our children, that the day comes when our children love us, look for us, respect us, like to be with us, but that they are also independent and can be alone and make their life themselves. Many times parents create dependent children and we do not give them enough space for them to develop, and we, as parents, must start that journey of increasing maturity and independence little by little from the first day they are born, in fact, little by little helping them to recognize their independence and help them inhabit comfortably within their own skin. Jesus reflects that, the individual who is sure of himself because his parents have helped him express that confidence.

Now, it's interesting, here I also see that the problem arises when we try to do this prematurely. Now I speak to children and young people, as in the case of the prodigal son and of so many young people of this generation that many times today independence is thrown away prematurely and rather rebellion is created, and the boys do not want to hear advice from their parents .

Oh, I know how to do it. That is the answer. I know how to do it. And then you know what? That creates judgment and condemnation for the young. I believe that one of the big problems today is that of a lot of youth and they are going to pay the price, if God does not put his hand in, when they are more adults because that goes on with life. It is rebellion and dishonor to parents and I believe that when a son honors his father and mother, obeys them and plays a role of blessing his parents and submitting to their guardianship, that son is blessed and protected. Oh my God. When he tries to become independent prematurely and does not respect the laws that God has established, there is a shadow that follows him all his life.

Honor your father and your mother so that it goes well with you, says the word and so that you may have long days. That is a commandment but it is also a warning. If you don't, you won't do well. So it's important.

But the Lord shows that individuation in his time. Now, I add this same thing again, that another thing that I see here, in the sixth place, is that Jesus pleases and honors his mother even though he is not fully in sync with her. That was not the moment that he wanted to perform a miracle as notorious and as outstanding as that, but he clarifies it and what does he do? He finally recognizes, look, it's mom how can I say no. And condescends with her.

And for me that is truly honoring our parents and authorities, pleasing them and listening to them even if we sometimes disagree with them. That is true subjection and true harmony. I see many people who only respect their authorities when they agree with them, but when they disagree, then they kind of lose the relationship of authority.

The Lord Jesus Christ said, why do they call me Lord, Lord and don't do what I tell them? I have a small wound that is always bleeding a little, because I see that many times in these times people want mentors, people want pastors, but many times they do not want to submit to them, and we submit to our pastors, authorities , mentors, only when we agree with them. I believe that throughout history I have always seen that the mentor, the pastor, the spiritual authority abide by his teaching, that is the privilege of a relationship of mentoring or spiritual guardianship where one is subjected, one pleases, one honors the tutor, one often puts their own ideas and things in parentheses because they are your tutor, they are your mentor, they are your pastor, and God blesses that, as long as there is a relationship of oppression or exploitation or manipulation on the part of the tutor. But if your mentor, your pastor, your authority, your elder, your mother, your father reflect a healthy authority, hold on to them and God will bless you in the long run.

The big problem of this modern generation is that, we have lost the concept of authority and honoring our authorities. The Lord here honors his mother even though he does not fully agree with the rhythm that she sets for him.

I'm finishing up. Seventh, Maria submits herself to her son's authority and recognizes his abilities and talents. You know, there's nothing wrong with holding on to your son or daughter from time to time, that's the wonderful thing about family. Just as there is nothing wrong with a husband holding on to his wife on many occasions. The Bible talks about submitting to one another, when your wife is right, submit to her reason, don't submit to her, but submit to the reason she represents. When your son is right, hold on to the reason that he represents, don't hold on to your son if anything, but hold on to the truth that he embodies.

You have to submit to the truth wherever it comes from, from a donkey, if it comes from a donkey you also submit to that authority. So, she allows herself to be guided by the wisdom of her son. "Do everything he commands you." There comes a time when our children begin to display skills and knowledge that we do not have. And we must learn to listen to them and be humble on those occasions.

When the children grow up, there comes a time when there are almost times when the relationship is reversed and the children, by dint of studying, having contact with a much broader world, enriching themselves intellectually, having a fullness of life greater than the one that we, who move in a more limited environment, have, sometimes become our educators, or sometimes they reveal things that we do not know and we have to learn to celebrate that and bless them and learn from them to thank God that we have produced beings that can now teach us.

And how beautiful it is when there can be that mutual support and mutual blessing and thus we bless our children and affirm them in their gifts, in their skills as well, in their growth and maturation process. By doing this we bless and affirm them and give them permission to move forward in the process of maturation and personal security.

Our kids are sometimes very insecure and they feel blessed when their parents affirm them and say, wow, look, I've never seen it that way. Thank you for letting me know. And in that way you are also blessing them.

Two more things, number eight, I see between Jesus and Mary a balance of independence and intimacy, as I pointed out before. There is not what psychologists call entanglement, nor is there a dependency between them. There is an intimacy between mother and son, very nice, but there is also an independence, as they say out there, they are together but scrambled.

Look how I see this here, in verse 1 and 2 it says, “... on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there, but it says, and They were also invited to the wedding, Jesus and his disciples....”

They arrived there and found each other. The mother was there and Jesus arrives at the wedding with his group of followers, who are his disciples, now he is already a rabbi, successful, influential, who has his disciples and he arrives at the wedding and is there with his mother, they share an event, they share a space, they share a very intimate process, but each one is also there in an independent capacity. And that is so important, brothers, in families. There are tangled families where the children grow up but the boundaries are not clearly drawn.

I think I have alluded before to a family that once pointed out to me that the son, when he got married, moved to the other side of the yard from where his mother lived, and his mother washed his clothes, and that was where he was going to change. And there he ate too. I imagine how that poor woman must have felt. What am I, chop liver? As they say in English and that is entanglement, there are fathers and mothers that sometimes we do not let go of our children and we make sure to throw them some magical, transparent ties that cannot be seen but are very strong because they cannot be seen exactly, and we warn them, we prevent them from entering their full personal manifestation.

Jesus walks with his disciples, he already exercises his ministry, he is a successful professional, so to speak, but even so they have communication, they cooperate in a common cause, they dialogue and relate to each other and they maintain a nice relationship of mother and son.

I thank the Lord that my mother never tied us down, she was totally independent. We had to force her to stay with us. Marina because she said, I don't want to be a burden and we celebrate that fact of a mother who always knew... barriers must be respected, boundaries must be respected and wise is the father or mother who is always watching to maintain that balance and give the son or daughter the freedom they need to find their destiny and find their personality, as the wise father did when the prodigal son said, look, give me this. He said, okay son, here it is, let's see, go ahead with your process and we'll talk about it at the end.

Finally, say everyone, thank you Lord. Finally, as a result of Jesu s' wise attitude, this is the outcome of this drama, towards his mother, he honors her, listens to her, pleases her, and Mary's attitude towards Jesus, respects him, gives him his place, respects boundaries and barriers, there is a blessing for everyone. The entire community is blessed.

That's what happens when there are healthy families. And that is why you have to learn these things, you have to study, you have to take advantage of opportunities like this because not only are our families blessed, not only are we blessed by having a family that brings us joy and pride and blessing and a process of growth because They both learned a lot there, I think, in that process and there was a blessing, but rather the entire community, the Latino community needs healthy families, the churches need families.

María came out honored from the whole process, she respected her place and instead of coming out impoverished, she came out honored and shining like gold. I mean, she comes out so honored, brothers, that the Catholics have seen in this event, I think personally, more than they should see, and they have made all of this the basis for the intercessory work of Mary, who came before her son to intercede to do a favor and from there an entire theology has been built, it seems to me, unjustifiably, but I respect differences in that sense. But it is clear that the Lord respected his mother, and that his mother had a special place in her son's heart. That is undeniable and she leaves there honored.

I imagine that bouquet of flowers was earned, that couple sent it to Maria later. Thank you for freeing us from the embarrassing situation. On the other hand, Jesus is also blessed because, look, it says here that at the end of the process he manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him. There was progress for the kingdom and there was progress, so to speak, for the ministry of Jesus as well.

When a son honors his mother, when a son gives his place to his father or mother and submits to authority and even though he has strength and authority and money and wealth and everything else, influence, when you honor your father and mother there is blessing and prosperity and progress for your life.

And finally a family is also freed from shame, a great shame would have been for that family if there had not been a healthy relationship and adequate communication access between mother and child. And finally millions of people like us today have been blessed throughout history by this beautiful account of the wedding at Cana.

May the Lord bless his word. We congratulate our mothers. We bless them in the name of the Lord and we thank God for their lives, and we ask that the Lord each day help us as families to exemplify these beautiful values of the Kingdom of God. let's stand up and consider ourselves all educated, the first to be educated is me. I would like to have my father and mother with me today to be able to put into practice some of these beautiful teachings. If you have them, take advantage of them.

Now, if there is an aunt out there or a grandparent or an older brother who has blessed your life or someone who has had a special influence in your life, look, honor him, respect him, bless him, show preference and you too will be blessed. And with our children, let us also be wise, let us not provoke them to anger, let us not abuse our authority, let us not treat them as objects, they are interlocutors, they are also friends and may the Lord help us all.

Father, thank you for the wisdom contained in your word this morning, Lord, we ask that you fill us with your double portion and that these truths, Lord, that we have received are engraved in our hearts, allow us to have healthy families , Lord, to be wise parents that we understand the mystery that our children represent, father, that we know when to step aside and let you take their hand and we just go after you then, observing and participating in the mystery of another being that joins individual life, Lord, and thank you because in your word there is great wisdom and advice for all of us. Thank you for our mothers again we give you Lord and we bless you on this day in the mighty name of Jesus, amen and amen. May the Lord bless you, brothers, may his grace be with all of you. Amen.