In recent years, there has been greater recognition in the Church of the vocation of spiritual motherhood. It is a vocation formed in love: love of God and love of neighbor. Women of every age and in every state of life—single, married, widowed, or in religious life—can be spiritual mothers. However, it is not something a woman can do on her own, but only in union with God by spending time with Him in prayer.
The primary way of practicing spiritualmotherhood is by intercessory prayer, but it can also involve service toothers. A woman praying outside an abortion clinic, a woman visiting a personin a nursing home, a woman teaching a catechism class, and a woman serving ameal at a soup kitchen are all examples of spiritual mothers. This vocation isalso lived out every day at home, at work, and in all of a woman’s interactionswith others by her kindness and concern for people’s spiritual welfare.
An essential aspect of spiritual motherhood is described in these words by Saint John Paul II: “The moral and spiritual strength of a woman is joined to her awareness that God entrusts the human being to her in a special way.” (On the Dignity and Vocation of Women, 30) A woman who understands this will feel a sense of responsibility for others and will be committed to praying for all the people who are particularly entrusted to her, such as her family, godchildren, friends, and co-workers, as well as others in need of prayer. A woman’s awareness that people are entrusted to her leads her to entrust them to God. A spiritual mother is concerned about people’s salvation. She wants them to have a relationship with God, to live virtuously, to experience conversion, and to have the peace that comes from a life of faith. A spiritual mother also cares about people’s physical and emotional needs as well. She wants to bring healing to the sick, consolation to the sad, hope to the discouraged, and above all, to bring God’s love to everyone. A woman can be a spiritual mother to people of any age, including people who are older than she is.
Spiritual motherhood is not about treating people as though they are one’s children, and it is not about telling people what to do. It does not involve an attitude of superiority. A spiritual mother must be humble and aware that some of the people that she is praying for may be much holier than she is. It is possible for a woman to be a spiritual mother to people she has never met by praying for people she learns are in need of prayer, such as persecuted Christians.
There is a special vocation of spiritualmotherhood of priests. In 2012, the Congregation for the Clergy wrote a letterasking laity and religious to pray in Eucharistic Adoration for thesanctification of priests and for women to be spiritual mothers to priests byoffering their prayers and sacrifices for them. Although the Congregation alsoinvited men to pray for priests, their specific request for women to do so maybe related to the Church’s teachings on the complementarity of men and women.This might be seen as a form of spiritual collaboration. Through their prayers,spiritual mothers support priests in their vocation, as priests are engaged intheir ministry to the Church. Priests are spiritual fathers and represent Jesusto others. Catholic women are spiritual mothers and represent Mary and theChurch.
Mary, who was the first spiritual motherin the Church, and who is our mother, is the greatest example of spiritualmotherhood. It is important to ask for Mary’s intercession for our ownspiritual maternity and for all the people God has entrusted to us. Saint JohnPaul II described Mary’s role this way: “Putting herself at God’s service, shealso put herself at the service of others: a service of love.” (Letterto Women, 10)
Many women experience sadness becausethey are unable to have children. However, they are still able to be spiritualmothers and have a service of love, following the example of the BlessedMother. Women without children can be mothers by their prayers, by lookingafter someone who is sick, by mentoring a young adult or teenager, by helpingthe homeless, and in many other ways. As they pray to discern the way God wantsthem to be a mother to others, they will eventually discover a vocation thatwill bring them joy. I have discovered this in my own life. Although I do nothave biological or adopted children, I am a spiritual mother to many peopleincluding my four godchildren and their families, my friends, and all thepriests I pray for every day. My writing is also part of my spiritualmaternity, as I seek to encourage others in living as faithful Catholics. I amvery thankful to God for giving me the vocation of spiritual motherhood.
Saint John Paul II understood that women have a vocation of love: “For in giving themselves to others each day women fulfill their deepest vocation. Perhaps more than men, women acknowledge the person, because they see persons with their hearts. They see them independently of various ideological or political systems. They see others in their greatness and limitations; they try to go out to them and help them.” (Letter to Women, 12)
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For more resources on Spiritual Motherhood, see the site for The Foundation of Prayer for Priests as well as the book, Praying for Priests: An Urgent Call for the Salvation of Souls, which is available from Sophia Institute Press.
