Happy Mothers Day!  To all mothers, and to all children… Happy Easter!  Christ is risen…  Today is the Sixth Sunday the Season of Easter, 49 days from the Easter Vigil to the Day of Pentecost. And yes, there is a connection…

God’s love abides, and we can abide in that love, even when mothers and everyone and everything else fails.

Today’s Gospel is all about love, perfect love, the love of Christ. I thank God that my own mother (and father) taught me about this love, Her love is amazing, but, she’d be the first to remind me, not perfect. And not everyone has now or has ever had a loving mother, tragically. The deepest love of the very best mother is a gift, straight from God, and we should always give thanks if we have been so blessed, but God’s love abides, and we can abide in that love, even when mothers and everyone and everything else fails.

There is no perfect mother; you probably know that by now, even all the mothers among us, maybe especially you. God bless you one and all, but for all of us, no matter what happens — and even the best mother dies — the love of God in Christ Jesus abides, and we are invited, welcome, to abide, remain, continue, stay put, in that love which is rich beyond our imagination but as close as our own heart.