The earliest history of Mother’s Day dates back to the ancient annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to maternal goddesses. The Greeks used the occasion to honor Rhea, wife of Cronus and the mother of many deities of Greek mythology. Ancient Romans, too, celebrated a spring festival, called Hilaria dedicated to Cybele, a mother goddess. It may be noted that ceremonies in honour of Cybele began some 250 years before Christ was born.
The celebration made on the Ides of March by making offerings in the temple of Cybele lasted for three days and included parades, games and masquerades. The celebrations were notorious enough that followers of Cybele were banished from Rome. Early Christians celebrated a Mother’s Day of sorts during the festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent in honour of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ. In England the holiday was expanded to include all mothers. It was then called Mothering Sunday.
0512 MOTHER’S DAY 2p SMC 8.5 x 11 R1R 20240311 A Prayer in Gratitude for Our Mothers
Good and Gentle God, we pray in gratitude for our mothers and for all the women of theory who have joined with you in the wonder of bringing forth new life. You who became human through a woman, grant to all mothers the courage they need to face the uncertain future that life with children always brings. Give them the strength to live and to be loved in return, not perfectly, but humanly. Give them the faithful support of husband, family and friends as they care for the physical and spiritual growth of their children. Give them joy and delight in their children to sustain them through the trials of motherhood. Most of all, give them the wisdom to turn to you for help when they need it most.
Mother’s Everywhere
May the blessing of the Divine
Be an especially bright benediction
Upon mothers everywhere
On your blessed day –
On Mother’s Day!
An Irish blessing
There is but one and only one,
Whose love will fail you never.
One who lives from sun to sun,
With constant fond endeavor.
There is but one and only one
On earth there is no other.
In heaven a noble work was done
When God gave us a Mother.
A Mother’s Love
There are times when only a mother’s love
Can understand our tears,
Can soothe our disappoints
And calm all of our fears.
There are times when only a mother’s love
Can share the joy we feel
When something we’ve dreamed about
Quite suddenly is real.
There are times when only a mother’s faith
Can help us on life’s way
And inspire in us the confidence
We need from day to day.
For a mother’s heart and a mother’s faith
And a mother’s steadfast love
Were fashioned by the angels
And sent from God above.
A Mother’s Day Prayer
I said a Mother’s Day prayer for you
to thank the Lord above
for blessing me with a lifetime
of your tenderhearted love.
I thanked God for the caring
you’ve shown me through the years,
for the closeness we’ve enjoyed
in time of laughter and of tears.
And so, I thank you from the heart
for all you’ve done for me
and I bless the Lord for giving me
the best mother there could be!
To the Moms Who Are
To the Moms who are struggling, to those filled with incandescent joy.
To the Moms who are remembering children who have died, and pregnancies that miscarried.
To the Moms who decided other parents were the best choice for their babies, to the Moms who adopted those kids and loved them fierce.
To those experiencing frustration or desperation in infertility.
To those who knew they never wanted kids, and the ways they have contributed to our shared world.
To those who mothered colleagues, mentees, neighborhood kids, and anyone who needed it.
To those remembering Moms no longer with us.
To those moving forward from Moms who did not show love, or hurt those they should have cared for.
Today is a day to honor the unyielding love and care for others we call ‘Motherhood,’ wherever we have found it and in whatever ways we have found to cultivate it within ourselves.
A Mother’s Day Prayer to Honor and Bless Moms
Heavenly Father,
I speak this prayer to you now in gratitude and praise for the gift of mothers. My mother, those of my friends, relatives, those I’ll never know, all mothers. Thank you for the role they play in the family unit. Thank you for their teachings, their wisdom, their patience, and understanding. Thank you for the physical, emotional, and they possess. I pray that you help mothers all across the world to be a blessing upon their children. Whether delivering affirmation or discipline, I pray that you help every word and action to be done in love. And I pray that children throughout the world would take time to honor their mothers, that you would show them how to uniquely do so.
I pray that these mothers also act as a blessing beyond their households, reaching into their extended families, communities, churches, schools. I pray that the impact of motherhood is revered throughout society and that these women are acknowledged for their everyday impact on the world. May you guide each of them into fulfilling their purpose here on Earth. Amen.
Dear God, Bless All Mothers…
In this intense nine months, when mothers-to-be are realizing that their life is about to change forever, bless them God, because they feel alternately elated and alarmed. Help each mother-in-waiting to understand that she has been carefully chosen, by both you and by her baby, to guide it through its early years on planet Earth. Let her know that she will never be alone in the process. Help her to remember that her baby is your own perfect creation, just as she, herself, is your
own perfect creation. Thank you God, for making each of your creations uniquely perfect in its own way. Amen.
Prayer for New Mothers
God our Creator, we pray:
for new mothers, coming to terms with new responsibility ;
for expectant mothers, wondering and waiting;
for those who are tired, stressed or depressed;
for those who struggle to balance the tasks of work and family;
for those who are unable to feed their children due to poverty;
for those whose children have physical, mental or emotional disabilities;
for those who have children they do not want;
for those who raise children on their own;
for those who have lost a child;
for those who care for the children of others;
for those whose children have left home;
and for those whose desire to be a mother has not been fulfilled.
Bless all mothers, that their love may be deep and tender,
and that they may lead their children to know and do what is good,
living not for themselves alone, but for God and for others.
Amen
A Mother’s Day Prayer
I thank you, Creator of us all, for my Mother.
I thank you that she gave me life and nurtured me all my years.
She gave me faith, helping me to know You
and to know Jesus and His ways.
She taught me how to love and how to sacrifice for others.
Bless her with the graces she richly deserves
and keep her in Your care.
Embrace her to let her feel precious in Your eyes today
and to know that I love her.
Give her strength and courage, compassion and peace.
Bless her this day with your Love.
A Prayer for Single Moms on Mother’s Day
Father God, we thank you for each and every woman you have blessed with the privilege of motherhood. We thank you that each single mother is a Godly steward of each of their children, and that they raise them in the ways of the Lord. Father, we pray and ask that You continue to give them grace to walk out being a single parent with kindness and generosity. We pray that each single mother has a relationship with You, and worships You in spirit and truth.
Help each of your precious daughters to remember that although they are parenting alone, You have not left them nor forsaken them. We thank You that You see each of them and love them. Lord, if they are weary, we pray and ask that You send them a Godly sister in Christ to hold up their arms in the battle, just as Aaron did for Moses. Lord, thank you that You care about every big or small thing that concerns them. Place a hedge of protection around every single mother and her children, Father. We thank you that You alone are their Provider. Where there is lack, Father, we pray that be it Your will You bring abundance. We pray and ask these things in your name, Amen.
Mother’s Day Prayer
(suitable as an opening prayer in a church service or meeting)
Lord, thank you for all mothers. For the new ones, who endure sleepless nights with infants in arms. For the busy ones, who juggle the pressures of home and family life. For the steadfast ones, who nurture and care for our special vulnerable children. For the patient ones, who always seek to forgive and engage with their pre-teens. For the persistent ones, who cleverly find new ways to connect with their mini-adults. For the mother aunts, who step in to cradle and care for nieces and nephews. For all grandmas, who love and support their precious grandchildren. For the foster mums that are called to gather and cover the fragile ones. For the Sunday mums who care for our children and lead them in faith. For the mums who give far beyond their own resources, who overcome disability to cherish and love. Thank you Lord for all our beautiful mothers. Help us to support them and keep them in our prayers. May you bless them now on this their special day. Amen.
A blessing and prayer tribute to all mothers
“Blessed be all mothers
Who have come into our lives
Whose kindness, care and loving
Remain with us to guide.
Your inspiration in us Made us
strive in every way
Especially to remember
Helping others makes our day.
Mothers, this little tribute
Flows directly from my heart
You are so loved and cherished
Invaluable, one and all, you are.
