Hi friends,

I don’t know if you notice or not, but I can certainly feel the warmth of the summer air creeping in closer and closer every day. How fast time flies! I hope you’re all comfortable with your present grades in school, because there’s only a few weeks left before school is over. For those of you who need to raise up your grade a bit, you should get your books out right now and study like there’s no tomorrow. In the mean time, I’ll be thinking of you every time I sing that song .Love for the world, hope for the hopeless.hi hi hi (just kidding!). I’ll pray for all the students so you may do well and get good grades by the end of the school year.

This month, in honor of Mother’s Day, I would like to dedicate this column to all the moms in the world. To me, a mother is like a security blanket, one that was given to you by God. I think God wishes us to hang on to it and find comfort in it, especially in tough times. Every time you snuggle-up to it, you feel relaxed, "at-home," and comforted right away. The reason I know this is because I’ve seen first hand what powerful effect a "blankey" can do for you. You see, someone very dear to me, whose name I shall not mention here, is so hopelessly addicted to her "blankey." I’ve seen the soothing effect it has on her, especially when she had a bad day. All she needed to do was to find a quiet place somewhere and sit with her "blankey" (and her thumb of course) - that would have been heaven on earth for her already! It won’t matter if the sky is falling, or if it’s raining meat balls outside, she would be perfectly content in her own "little world" along with that "blankey." In a way, I think mothers tend to have similar effects on their children, no matter how old the children are. If a person ever needed love, acceptance, comfort, sympathy, understanding, good food, etc., usually, mom would be the best person to go to. I know there are exceptions to this, and for those who do not get to taste the sweetness of a mother’s love, please find comfort in the fact that you do have a beautiful Mother in heaven, Our Blessed Mother Mary who loves you dearly, and always intercedes with God on your behalf. Come to her, offer yourself to her and let her comfort you. Remain in her embrace. Thank God for Our Blessed Mother and for all our mothers on earth. Dear mothers, thank you for all the hard work and sacrifices you made unconditionally, for love of your children. May your hearts find strength and nourishment inside God’s heart. May Our Blessed Mother guide you in shaping young hearts and minds into a beautiful reflection of Mother Mary’s own Son, Jesus.

As my gift to you on Mother’s Day, I would like to share with you a true story about a mother and her great love for her children. Her name was Gianna Beretta Molla. She was a doctor, a wife, and a mother. but most of all, she was a Christian who lived Jesus’ command of love to the fullest - She gave her life for the one she loved. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1994 and will be canonized on May 16th. I hope her story will inspire you to love and appreciate your own parents all the more and show them how much you love them, not just in words, but through concrete actions. Join me in praying for our parents on this special month, won’t you?

Peace & Love,

* Smile, your mommy loves you!

____________________________________________________________________

Gianna Beretta Molla was born in Magenta (Milan), Italy, on 4 October 1922, the 10th of 13 children. Already as a young girl she willingly accepted the gift of faith and the clearly Christian education that she received from her excellent parents. As a result, she experienced life as a marvellous gift from God, had a strong faith in Providence and was convinced of the necessity and effectiveness of prayer.

She diligently dedicated herself to studies during the years of her secondary and university education, while, at the same time, applying her faith in generous apostolic service among the elderly and needy as a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. After earning degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of Pavia in 1949, she opened a medical clinic in Mesero (near Magenta) in 1950. She specialized in pediatrics at the University of Milan in 1952 and thereafter gave special attention to mothers, babies, the elderly and the poor.

While working in the field of medicine--which she considered a "mission" and practiced as such--she increased her generous service to Catholic Action, especially among the "very young" and, at the same time, expressed her joie de vivre and love of creation through skiing and mountaineering. Through her prayers and those of others, she reflected on her vocation, which she also considered a gift from God. Having chosen the vocation of marriage, she embraced it with complete enthusiasm and wholly dedicated herself "to forming a truly Christian family."

She became engaged to Pietro Molla and was radiant with joy and happiness during the time of their engagement, for which she thanked and praised the Lord. They were married on 24 September 1955 in St. Martin's Basilica in Magenta, and she became a happy wife. In November 1956, to her great joy, she became the mother of Pierluigi; in December 1957 of Mariolina; in July 1959 of Laura. With simplicity and equilibrium she harmonized the demands of mother, wife, doctor and her passion for life.

In September 1961, at the age of 39, Blessed Gianna was pregnant with her fourth child when physicians diagnosed a large ovarian cyst which required surgery. The surgeon suggested that Gianna undergo an abortion in order to save her own life. Gianna's decision was prompt and decisive: "I shall accept whatever they will do to me provided they save the child." The life was saved, for which she thanked the Lord. She spent the seven months remaining until the birth of the child in incomparable strength of spirit and unrelenting dedication to her tasks as mother and doctor. She worried that the baby in her womb might be born in pain, and she asked God to prevent that.

A few days before the child was due, although trusting as always in Providence, she was ready to give her life in order to save that of her child: "If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child--I insist on it. Save the baby." On the morning of 21 April 1962 Gianna Emanuela was born. Despite all efforts and treatments to save both of them, on the morning of 28 April, amid unspeakable pain and after repeated exclamations of "Jesus, I love you. Jesus, I love you," the mother died. She was 39 years old.

On April 24, 1994, during the Year of the Family, Pope John Paul II beatified Gianna Beretta Molla. Present for the celebration in St. Peter’s Square were her brothers and sisters, her husband Pietro, and her surviving children: Pierluigi, Lauretta, and Gianna Emmanuela. Praising Gianna for her heroic virtue in sacrificing herself "to give life to the child in her womb," the Pope offered her as a model for all mothers, saying:

Ten years later, on May 16, 2004, in St. Peter’s Square, Pope John Paul II will canonize Blessed Gianna Beretta Molla due to a miracle attributed to her intercession. At the start of 2000, as Elisabete Arcolino Comparini, an Italian woman, was pregnant with her third child, she experienced some serious problems. Comparini lost all the amniotic fluid. Without the natural protection, the unborn child normally would have died, yet the girl was born in May 2000. The birth is scientifically inexplicable. Her parents, who prayed to Molla, called the baby Gianna Maria.

My Dear Mama

"Dear Mama, thank you for having given me life two times: when you conceived me and when you permitted me to be born. My life seems the natural continuation of your life, of your joy of living, of your enthusiasm; I discover my life’s full meaning in dedicating myself to whoever lives in suffering.

"Dear Mama, intercede always for all mothers and all families who turn to you and entrust themselves to you."