It was three decades ago when a fellow teacher showed me a new children’s book she’d found. “Can I ask you to do me a favor? I bought this book for a baby shower gift, and I don’t know if it’s appropriate. Will you read it?” Of course, I agreed to help her. That day, I became acquainted with Robert Munsch’s book, LOVE YOU FOREVER*. When I delivered the book to her classroom a few minutes later, I tearfully assured my colleague that her purchase was the best baby shower gift I’d ever seen. After school that day, I announced to my dear husband that I needed to find that book and to purchase a copy of my own…
A few years later, the year our parish was founded, my husband-the-deacon read that book at all of the Masses on our first Mother’s Day together. Mike has gathered our parish children at the foot of the altar to do the same every year since. Though this book might seem to be a cutesy means to keep the children’s attention for a Mother’s Day homily, its message is meant to do far more for us all. When we listen carefully, we who believe in God’s promises can’t help identifying with the outlandish antics of the child in the story. More importantly, we can’t miss the meaning behind the eternal patience of that child’s mother. By the end of the book, we understand that the experiences of this child and parent illustrate the relationship which God offers to each one of us precisely. If you have doubt, let me explain…
From his infancy, that mother finds her baby irresistible. She immediately promises to love him forever. As is the case with us all, it doesn’t take long for this child to become adept at behaving in less-than-lovable ways. That mom thinks the worst that can happen is having her watch flushed down the toilet until her toddler grows into boyhood and his teens with all of the accompanying trials and tribulations. Still, whatever phase her child grows into, that mom repeats her promise to love him forever.
Eventually, that young man leaves home for life in the world. Despite the geographic distance between them, that mom makes her way to her son to repeat her pledge to love him. As is often the case with those of us blessed with “seasoned” parents, the day arrives when that mom can no longer make her way to her son. She calls and invites him to come to her so she might to speak those words of promise to him one more time. You’ll have to read the book to discover what occurs when mother and child meet…
On this Ascension Day, Jesus finds himself in a similar predicament as his time on this earth with his disciples comes to an end. Though we hear different Ascension gospels each year, the core of Jesus’ message remains the same. Jesus promises to remain at his friends’ sides through everything. Like the mother in Robert Munsch’s story, Jesus repeats his promise to those he loves over and over again. This is precisely the point of everything Jesus said and did. By the end of the story, we realize that Jesus’ hope is the same as that of this grown child’s mother. Jesus wishes only that his beloved friends will accept his love and that they learn to generously love one another in return.
You know, my sister’s passing is still on my mind these days. When I bade her my final farewell on this earth, I pictured her cradled in God’s arms just as that mother cradled her son and just as that son eventually cradled his mother. I was convinced that God wouldn’t begin my sister’s first day at home in heaven in any other way. So it is that I thank you, Robert Muncsh, for the poignant glimpse of God’s love which your wonderful book has given me. Thank you, Jesus, for preaching this very lesson every day of your life among us. Thank you, dear and generous God, for loving each of us -even better than that mom did- throughout our lifetimes here and our lifetimes at home with You. Happy Mother’s Day!
©2024 Mary Penich – All Rights Reserved
*Munsch, Robert (1986). LOVE YOU FOREVER. Ontario, Canada: Firefly Books. This book is available in bookstores and online.
Mary Penich 
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