Remembering my mother

With my mother Mary - August 27, 2006

My mother Mary would have been 84 today, but we celebrate her life in heaven today, after leaving this earth three years ago yesterday on April 25, 2010. It was around 6 AM when she slipped away into eternity while I was praying my Breviary next to her, after a restless night with my sister by her side. But we remember happier times, as this picture shows from August 27th 2006, which was my 54th birthday. I took this photo at my brother Paul's apartment, just after the procession with the statue of St Julian ended, late at night.

In her memory I share with you this reflection written by Cardinal Josef Mindszenty of Hungary: "The most important person on earth....is a Mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any Cathedral - a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body. The Angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God's creative miracle to bring new Saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature. God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation. What on God's earth is more glorious than being a mother."