I had just turned 20 when I became a mother. I had met my husband at 16 and we naturally desired marriage and consequently, if God wanted, children. We got married young… the year after my A levels This is what I truly desired, I was not leaving a job, or giving up on pursuing a career at all… marriage and motherhood was, for me, the first and best choice.
It was only when, after having had my first child, that I started spending more time with other mothers (both Catholic and not) in playgroups …when the question ‘So,You are so young, what are you going to do next? Are you going to University or have you got a career path you are going to follow?’...These were the questions that took me by surprise, especially coming from other mothers like me. Was my choice a second-best choice? I certainly didn’t feel like that, but the temptation to think that this was, was incredibly strong at times.
I went on having more children, working on and off and in the meantime meeting more and more women who had found themselves alone in motherhood and needing encouragement and support in this wonderful but at times lonely journey. Women are the first who have rejected motherhood and it was clearer and clearer that instead of helping each other in our conversations, we were all deep down despising motherhood and really wanting a life of quiet, glamour and fame…
It was in 2015 that after spending several months in front of the Blessed Sacrament, with the resounding words of Saint Pope John Paul II ‘Be Not Afraid, Open Wide the Door to Christ’, that the Apostolate was conceived. With the knowledge that children are not a hindrance to our personal and spiritual development … in fact quite the opposite… We promote motherhood, support mothers in this wonderful natural journey and create opportunities for both spiritual and personal formation.
Our workshops are open to all mothers where the missionary outreach of the Apostolate happens. We will have been around for 10 years next year leading a bit of a hidden mission (not many people know about us) fitting to motherhood.
The Guild has promoted our work and encouraged us to keep up with the mission. The recent financial support has allowed us to provide some sponsored places at our latest conference and free resources which would have not been possible otherwise as we do not receive many regular donations!
England is a land of mission, but being also a land of great martyrs it feels to me, an Italian Immigrant a Blessed Land … the blood of martyrs on these grounds has been shed and not in vain … and their prayers for us Catholics of this Land are constant. People are going back to their roots in these times changing at such speed that it’s impossible to keep up with… young people are more committed and reverent to the Eucharist and new ministries are starting, with traditional values originating from our children! These are exciting times! Yes, as Cardinal Sarah once told me ‘Yes we are in the middle of a tempest, but keep your eyes on Christ and everything will be alright’.
To reach out more and more mothers and families to tell, remind them or help them to discover the beauty of our vocations because I strongly believe that women are the hope of the church… when they don’t reject their lifegiving nature and their unique calling to motherhood. As Alice Von Hildebrand reminds us: One thing is certain: ‘When the time has come, nothing which is man-made will subsist. One day, all human accomplishments will be reduced to a pile of ashes. But every single child to whom a woman has given birth will live forever, for he has been given an immortal soul made to God's image and likeness’.
We want to continue providing formation for Mothers and are also moving into helping home education initiatives and to set up a Centre in South London. We hope to receive more donations in the future as people recognise the precarious state of women and Catholic families it's important to support them.
There is not just one moment I am afraid - there are so many - St Gianna Molla's daughter speaking to 120 Mothers at our conference in 2018, 250 people from families across the country listening to talks for mothers, fathers and children at the Cabrini Centre in South London recently and the countless times we have helped each other or been helped online or in person sharing the good news of the Church's teaching on marriage and the family. God is in the lead, the Apostolate is under Our Lady’s Mantle, Christ our strength, the Holy Spirit moving us and God laying the path and leading the way… I think the fact that we are about to sign a lease for a Catholic Mothers Centre… is a great sign for us of God’s action… but we will need a whole article about it because it is an amazing event! Ah! Of course, St Joseph was involved in this … clearly!
To learn more about the mission and work of Catholic Mothers, you can read more on their website.
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