Mothering Sunday

[organist]

As a mother cradles her child, so you enfold us, gently in your arms. As a mother comforts their pain, you calm and quieten our souls with your love.
As a mother teaches her child, so, Lord, you guide us, leading us through life. As a mother listens and cares, O Lord, you hear us and answer our prayers.
As a mother cries for her child, so you are weeping over our sins. As a mother feeds us from our birth, you daily nourish us with the bread of life.
Jesus as a mother, you gather us all to you. In your compassion bring forgiveness and grace. In you tenderness restore and remake us, In your love, bring us joy, give us peace.

This beautiful song by David Ogden is based on a text by St Anselm and fitted the liturgy at the Anglicans perfectly. This was a family service which included the dedication of a child (parents not yet ready to make baptismal promises). We used the Anne Quigley response "There is a longing" in the prayers, Taize Kyries and Arcadelt "Ave Maria" during the distribution of the flowers. One unexpected aspect was guides giving the choir flowers as they were singing! We also had the admission to the choir of our 2 young ladies which is a joy and our new alto will be admitted on another Sunday.
Do you think of Jesus as a mother? Remember the passage about gathering the children of Jerusalem like a hen gathering her chicks and how open He was to children.

[lesley wright]

I'd hesitate to contradict either St Anselm or David Ogden, since my only theological instruction has been through the SSG (apart from Scripture and Sunday School as a child). But I feel that Jesus, being a man, cannot be my mother, and I'm a bit worried that the last phrases of the prayer muddle the nature of the Trinity. Sorry, organist, 'cos it is a lovely prayer apart from that.
L

[festivaltrumpet]

Thankfully, in the Catholic Church, it was Laetare Sunday and we had none of this make-it-up-as-you-go-along sentimentality.

[HallamPhil]

We had no sentimentality until the end of Mass when those presumed to be mothers were given daffodils or, to be precise, a daffodil. Every year when it comes to Father's Day I wait to see if the priests dish out any thing for the dads but have never been aware of this. What would you dads want your priest to give you? Hammers? oil for your bunions?

[johnquinn39]

But I feel that Jesus, being a man, cannot be my mother...

As far as I am aware, it is OK to use female imagery for God (see the new catechism). My favourite example of this is Bernadette Farrell's 'Everyday God'.

[organist]

We had no sentimentality until the end of Mass when those presumed to be mothers were given daffodils or, to be precise, a daffodil. Every year when it comes to Father's Day I wait to see if the priests dish out any thing for the dads but have never been aware of this. What would you dads want your priest to give you? Hammers? oil for your bunions?

I don't think this song is sentimental! I would want chocolates or beer!

[organist]

Thankfully, in the Catholic Church, it was Laetare Sunday and we had none of this make-it-up-as-you-go-along sentimentality.

To be exact this service was based on a model in Common Worship and it worked well. I think there is plenty of sentimentality knocking aorund in Catholic churches - "Shall I not love thee mother dear" etc.

[organist]

But I feel that Jesus, being a man, cannot be my mother...

As far as I am aware, it is OK to use female imagery for God (see the new catechism). My favourite example of this is Bernadette Farrell's 'Everyday God'.

Men can be maternal! Where would I found Bernadette's song?

[Southern Comfort]

But I feel that Jesus, being a man, cannot be my mother...

As far as I am aware, it is OK to use female imagery for God (see the new catechism). My favourite example of this is Bernadette Farrell's 'Everyday God'.

Men can be maternal! Where would I found Bernadette's song?

It's in the Restless is the Heart collection (OCP, available from Decani Music).

[Hare]

But I feel that Jesus, being a man, cannot be my mother...

As far as I am aware, it is OK to use female imagery for God (see the new catechism). My favourite example of this is Bernadette Farrell's 'Everyday God'.

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) referred to a female creator (Creatrix) in at least one of her works..... There's nothing new!

[Hare]

Thankfully, in the Catholic Church, it was Laetare Sunday and we had none of this make-it-up-as-you-go-along sentimentality.

To be exact this service was based on a model in Common Worship and it worked well. I think there is plenty of sentimentality knocking aorund in Catholic churches - "Shall I not love thee mother dear" etc.

The hymn "Shall we not love thee, Mother dear" was by H W Baker, an Anglican priest and promoter of "Hymns Ancient & Modern" I do not recall seeing it in any Catholic hymnbooks, but I stand to be corrected.........

[JW]

I was visiting a church in North Wales (Saturday vigil). No mention of Mothering Sunday at all; no mention of Laetare Sunday (no flowers on show); no music; EP2, sermon was a few minutes on doing some penance for Lent if you haven't already started as an acknowledgement of our need for forgiveness and a couple of minutes on the Wales / Ireland rugby match that was being played at the time. Mrs JW pointed out that at 30 minutes it was probably a record for a Sunday Mass she's attended.

[gwyn]

I was visiting a church in North Wales (Saturday vigil). No mention of Mothering Sunday at all; no mention of Laetare Sunday (no flowers on show); no music; EP2, sermon was a few minutes on doing some penance for Lent if you haven't already started as an acknowledgement of our need for forgiveness and a couple of minutes on the Wales / Ireland rugby match that was being played at the time. Mrs JW pointed out that at 30 minutes it was probably a record for a Sunday Mass she's attended.

It's appauling, isn't it? He who sits in the heavens (surely) laughs. I suppose we can take some small comfort that this is not the Mass that the Welsh martyrs shed their blood for, but rather a Bugnini Masonic cut-down.

[Southern Comfort]

I suppose we can take some small comfort that this is not the Mass that the Welsh martyrs shed their blood for, but rather a Bugnini Masonic cut-down.

It most certainly is the Mass that the Welsh (and indeed all) martyrs shed their blood for, merely a different form of it. A significant proportion of the martyrs of England and Wales died for what was then the Sarum/Bangor/etc Usage of the Roman Rite, to give just one example. The so-called Tridentine Rite had not at that time been promulgated.

Please do stop perpetuating this fantasy that the Missa Normativa of Paul VI was created by Archbishop Bugnini (the work was done by an international body of liturgists representing the Catholic Bishops of the world - read the history) and that he was a Freemason (he wasn't). It's really not helpful when people continue to throw around unfounded accusations in this way.

I agree that the pastor mentioned in JW's post was at fault, but that's no reason to blame the rite itself. Some of our priests are not as effective practitioners as we would like them to be. I take no comfort whatsoever from the fact that the Mass was in the ordinary rather than the extraordinary form.

[JW]

As Southern Comfort says, it's not the rite (I'm old enough to know examples of dire Tridentine abuses). If I remember correctly, the Tridentine Mass does not contain Prayers of the Faithful nor was it permitted to introduce the Mass after the priest arrived at the altar. Sermons were rare, so Mothering Sunday probably would not have had any mention whatsoever in a Catholic church when the Tridentine Rite was normative. As a visitor last Saturday, I just wondered what was going on in the life of that particular parish (people, ministers and bishop) - maybe that was the way that particular community like their Saturday evening Masses - and if so I have no right to criticise.