Of Mothers, Pelicans, and the Eucharist

My Dear Family in Christ, 

Today, in addition to celebrating the 6th Sunday of Easter, we celebrate many of our grade two students making their first Holy Communion, and it just so happens that all of this coincides with the celebration of Mother’s Day. 

As a Christian, I have learned not to ignore such coincidences. At the heart of motherhood is the same sentiment that lies at the heart of the Eucharist: “This is my Body, given up for you. This is my blood, poured out for you.” Our mothers can say these words of us as none but Christ Himself can. Every Mass, we obey the command of Jesus to do this in memory of Him- we remember His great love and sacrifice for us. Every Mother’s Day, and of course hopefully more often, we remember and honour the sacrificial love our mothers have made and continue to make for us.

For medieval Christians, the Pelican was a symbol of the manner in which Christ nourishes us with His own Flesh and Blood in the Eucharist. It was believed the mother pelican would, in the absence of other sources of food, pierce her own breast in order to feed her young, sacrificing her own flesh so that they would have life. 

‘How blessed are we to have a Saviour who loves us so deeply that He feeds us out of His own Flesh! He gave Himself up to the death on the Cross for us, that we might be given life through His sacrifice. He hovers over us like a mother with His Mercy, offering His sinful children His own Body and Blood as our soul’s sustenance. In every Communion, He heals the wounds of our fallen nature by nourishing us with the manna of His divine nature.’ -Adelaine Nohara, local artist and catechist

Happy Easter, Happy Mother’s Day, and Happy (First) Communion!

God love you, 

Father Daniel