What do mothers do best? They create families. And what do families do best? Families teach us ten things -- all supervised by Mom:
1) Skills that we need to live our lives: I learned to cook, to sew, to do chores, to read and write, and most of all: I learned to pray. Every dinner in the evening, we knelt down to say the rosary. My Mom led it. She also took us to Mother of Perpetual Help Tuesday devotions. She made sure we all went to a Catholic School were we had Mass and Holy Communion daily.
2) Mom showed us how to have dignity as a person. There were no doubting our dignity. Mom taught us the true meaning by her example and words the ancient Proverb: "My son, my daughter, with true humility have self esteem and prize yourself as you ought."
3) Mom taught us that God is our true Destiny. She most of all proved that by the holy death she showed us: she died having had all three sacraments and her last words were the ending of the Hail Mary: "Pray for us now and at the hour of out death. Amen." She then took in two small breaths and never exhaled. She was swept away by angels into the arms of Jesus and Mary.
4) Mom taught us what is Truth and Goodness: in short how to be a saint!
5) Mom as judge and jury of all family disputes and exercised her veto rights in administering Love and Justice between all us brothers and sisters: 8 of us.
6) Momma taught us to know the purpose of authority..that is by serving us..she taught us to serve one another. Even to this day when we kids are now in our 70's, we ALL serve one another: the fruit of true authority in humility.
7) Mom - to our knowledge - never did a wrong thing: She taught us the meaing of right and wrong by her being right and never wrong. Her wisdom exceeded any Ph.D. or M.D. She had it all: Wisdom, Grace, Love, Caring, Serving, Tenderness, Generosity, Good taste, Decency, Justice, Fairness, and a sense of humor. When she told a joke, she would always lead off with the punch line: a most unique delivery! :)
8) She had compassion for the weak, the homeless, the hungry: I saw her with my own boyish eyes of 7 years old feeding the vagrants who came down the alley looking for a handout. She made sandwiches for them...My Mom's own soup kitchen. Even on her last Thanksgiving dinner - as she eyed me taking some little of this and some little of that..worrying that I would not get enought - I noticed this and gave her my plate to fill up to her heart's content for me..and she made a mountain of food for me..with a mom's smiles of contentment. It was November of 2001; and on January 25, 2002, she was leaving us while praying the rosay and soon arriving in heaven.
9) She would teach us all how to forgive by her forgiveness. When she was only hours before her passing, we kids all lined up to go to confession to her..and get her forgiveness for any hurt we may inadvertedly caused her. She gave out absolution to every one..and herself, received absolution from Fr. Jim who gave her all three sacraments: Anointing, Absolution and Holy Communion..her Viaticum to heaven.
10) Momma -- who had to go through all our names to get to the one she was talking to -- showed us how to give full attention to each other. Attending us..what what she did best. When she asked me just a few days before going home to God, "Where am I?" I said, "Momma, you are home and all your kids are here with you..why...because You ARE MOMMA!" She was so pleased. My calling her "Momma" was like her getting 20 honorary Ph.D's. Momma was a total Success! A total Eternal Success! We love You, Momma. Happy Mother's day! We love You!
Love, Your Peter forever! xoxo
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