MOTHERS OF PRIESTS

KRYSTYNA CZUBA

Journalists of various media wrote and spoke about the death of Marianna Popiełuszko – mother of blessed priest Jerzy. One of the most beautiful utterances was the reflection of Fr. inf. Ireneusz Skubiś during an Appeal prayer at Jasna Góra on 19 November this year. I participated in this prayer through the Television Trwam. At that time, at Jasna Góra there were many priests. I saw their emotionally agitated faces. It was to them and about their mothers. Beautiful and real.

Being a mother of a priest is an unusual grace, how much poured over with tears today. It is a path to Heaven through the cross. Priests’ mothers are going this path together with Mother of Jesus – the Supreme Priest. Mary, must have heard insults, verbal abuse, mockery addressed to Jesus on the Road of the Cross. But Jesus was carrying all sins of the world on his shoulders. Tormented for our all offenses and wickedness. Maybe she heard: ‘It is the Mother of this Criminal’. She thought then: where are those whom he healed, whom he gave food of the Bread of Life? They ran away! They got scared of the rulers of this world, who are very powerful and strong. They got scared of scoffers. Judas left Jesus by betraying him – his pragmatism did not endure the ‘naive’ love of the Master. This repeated history of Judas takes place in every generation and in every time. And mothers are crying!

Sometimes mothers go to Jesus, in order to ask him for a place for their sons in His Kingdom – ‘one on the right, and another one on the left of You’(Mt 20.21). They ask Jesus because want their sons to take important places. There is motherly love in it. Maybe it is preventing, irritating or ridicule love, but it is still motherly love.

Many mothers of priests accompany their sons discreetly, without any fame, in every day prayer for faithfulness to vocation. Without faithfulness human life is unsuccessful, deprived of love and sense. Mother’s influence is the most essential and the strongest. There are people on the Earth, also priests who were not taught to love by anybody and this is their unhappiness. Only sacrificial and wise mothers teach to love God and people. One prefect of a seminary told me that many clerics do not leave seminaries during church holidays or summer holidays. They do not have homes where they could go. They do not have loving mothers. Will they persevere in sacrificial priesthood?

St. Monica devoted her life for her son’s religious conversion. He became a saint bishop. St. Augustine wrote in his ‘Confessions’: ‘My Saint Mother, Your beloved woman, has never left me. She gave birth to me in body for this earthly life, and in heart for the eternal life. Who I became and how I became, I owe to my mother’.

Being a mother of a priest is a great gift and a very difficult experience and task. We apologize to priests’ mothers who are crying because of bad words of people, their wickedness and insensitive hearts. We believe that these tears will be a blessed sacrifice for priestly vocation and eternal joy of the mothers.

(AA)

"Niedziela" 49/2013

Editor: Tygodnik Katolicki "Niedziela", ul. 3 Maja 12, 42-200 Czestochowa, Polska
Editor-in-chief: Fr Jaroslaw Grabowski • E-mail: redakcja@niedziela.pl