The most beautiful word on the lips of mankind is the word “Mother,” 

and the most beautiful call is the call of “My mother.” 

It is a word full of hope and love, 

A sweet and kind word coming from the depths of the heart. 

The mother is everything – 

she is our consolation in sorrow, 

our hope in misery, and our strength in weakness. 

She is the source of love, mercy, sympathy, and forgiveness.

• Kahlil Gibran

Spiritual light actually is the truth of faith, and spiritual heat is love. This will enable one to form an idea of what a member of the church is like, when they have faith combined with charity; they are like a garden...  (Swedenborg, New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine # 114)

“Spiritual light is the truth of faith and spiritual heat is love.”  And the two together make the church within a person.  What a lovely thing to think about this time of year, and what a perfect connection to “our mother” in the spiritual sense:

The Church exists from truth and the affection for it, and is given the name ‘mother’.  (AC 3583)

This is an obvious connection for me and brings a flood of associations.  Growing up, my family kept a copy of the Word in a central place in the living room.  I was from a large family (the oldest of six children) and we could be rambunctious. 

There were times when we would fight, use unkind words, or be belligerent and would experience a very different kind of discipline.  I clearly remember moments when, rather than raising her voice, mom would simply go over and open the Word where we were.  It was almost impossible to keep carrying on the way we had been if we really thought about what had happened.

Now that I am grown and live physically far away from my own mother (although I dearly miss her) I regularly recall her loving and wise reminders of the Way which she would give when we were lost or struggling.  To help us remember, to encourage us.  To lift us up.  To let us know how much she loved us and believed in who we were capable of becoming.

When you think about it, isn’t this the role of the Word and of the church in our spiritual lives?

The Word is everywhere spiritual, although natural in the sense of the letter. To be spiritually nourished is to be instructed and imbued, consequently it is to know, to understand, and to become wise.  (Swedenborg, Revelation Explained # 617)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!