Ascension : News From The Grotto - Thought Of The Week
Submitted by The Islander (Shari Parkhill) 23.08.2007 (Article Archived on 06.09.2007)

It’s good to be back on the island. I had a wonderful holiday, visiting relatives, celebrating weddings and researching my family histories.

It’s good to be back on the island.  I had a wonderful holiday, visiting relatives, celebrating weddings and researching my family histories.  I am calling it my “cemetery tour” holiday!!  But more about that later.

This week we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Mary, the mother of Jesus is probably one of the best known mothers in the world.  But all of us have mothers, and to us, they often mean the world.  This is a good time to reflect on what they mean to us, and how blessed we are to have them in our lives.

As some of you know, Bernard Peterson (Pete), lost his mother suddenly two weeks ago.  Mary Peterson was the mother of three, a very religious woman who had worked very hard for her family, her faith and her church.  She is sadly missed by her children, grand-children and great-grandchildren.  They were truly blessed to have her in their lives.

When I look at my own situation, I realize how lucky I have been.  I have been blessed with three mothers in my life.  My mother Frances,  is a strong woman who taught me to think for myself, cope with anything life sent my way, and to stand up for my beliefs.  She continues to be my support and my strength.  When my father married my step-mother Vivien over thirty years ago, I gained another mother.  She is a wonderful lady who brought joy to my father and cared for him to the end of his life.  Then, when I married, another wonderful woman entered my life.  Peggy loved me like her own daughter.  She was another strong woman who had a great influence on my life.

I myself am a mother, have been for almost thirty years, a fact that surprises me at times!  I only hope that I have been as good an influence on my children as the mothers I have been blessed with have been on my mine.  I’ve tried to teach them to be good people, and I truly think I have succeeded.  I truly believe that the two most important things to teach your children are respect and responsibility.  If one has respect for others, the rest falls into place, you won’t steal, mistreat, or deliberately hurt another person.  The other important lesson is to always take responsibility for your own actions.  These days it seems that there is too much temptation to blame our problems on others or difficult situations.  I always wanted to teach my children to stand tall, and accept responsibility. 

So, on this feast day, when we celebrate Mary, the mother of Jesus,  let us also celebrate the mothers in our lives, our mothers, step-mothers, mothers-in-laws, grandmothers, aunts and friends, who helped to shape our lives and make us who we are.  To all the mothers who came before us, for ourselves and for the mothers our daughters will become.  May we always be guided by our faith, and find strength in our beliefs and pass on our love to another generation.

May God Bless all the mothers, and especially at this time, Mary Peterson.  May her family find comfort in the knowledge that she is home with the God she so loved.