The theme running through today’s readings is not Mothers or mothering but ‘consolation’. Today became associated with Mothers over the centuries because of the consolation that; ‘Holy Mother Church’ offers to the faithful. The Church was supposed to mimic Christ’s loving actions and to provide refuge, care and support for all God’s people. The Church was also supposed to be as welcoming to the familiar as it was the stranger just as Christ welcomed all those who came to him. And that takes us back once again to the idea of consolation. I relate consolation to Christ’s actions on the cross, where he gives John to his mother and his mother to John. Ensuring that love and consolation would grow between them because of his love for them both. 

The fourth Sunday in Lent is not just about Mothers, it is about all of us who offer love and consolation to others. It is also about Holy Mother Church who calls her people to ‘mother’ God’s people as Christ did with his love. If Christ is the head of the Church then we the church are his body and as such called to offer consolation and love to others. What this means is that we will always need to challenge ourselves to give  the best welcome we can to anyone, regardless of who they are. For if we challenge ourselves we will rise to that call to be mediators of Christ’s love and we will be able to offer his consolation to the world.