Sixth Sunday of Easter (Mothers Day) 2026
I came across a story this week written by a mother about her 6-year-old daughter who was being bullied at school.
Some other kids told her, “We don’t like you.”
And instead of getting upset… or trying to argue back… she responded in a way that honestly caught her mom completely off guard.
She said, very calmly,
“That’s okay. My family thinks I’m kind and wonderful… and I know who I am.”
Six years old… and already that grounded.
She didn’t need their approval.
She didn’t need to fight back.
She didn’t fall apart.
Because she already knew something deep down:
she was loved… and that love told her who she was.
And that’s really at the heart of what Jesus is talking about in the Gospel today.
He says to his disciples, “I will not leave you orphans.”
In other words: You are not alone. You are not forgotten. You are not without love.
And then He promises something extraordinary—He says the Father will send “another Advocate”… the Holy Spirit… who will remain with us and be in us.
That means the love of God is not something distant.
It’s not something we have to go searching for.
It’s something placed within us.
And when that love is real—when it takes root—it changes the way we live.
That little girl in the story didn’t just memorize something nice her parents told her.
She believed it.
It became part of her identity.
And because of that, when she faced something difficult, she didn’t crumble—she stood firm.
That’s exactly what St. Peter is talking about in the second reading:
“Always be ready to give a reason for your hope… but do it with gentleness and reverence.”
Notice—he doesn’t say, “win the argument.”
He doesn’t say, “prove people wrong.”
He says: live in such a way that people see something different in you…
and when they ask why… you can point to the hope you have.
That little girl did that—without even realizing it.
No anger.
No insults.
Just quiet confidence.
“I know who I am.”
That’s what the Holy Spirit does in us.
The Spirit reminds us who we are—
not based on what others say…
not based on success or failure…
but based on the simple truth that we are loved by God.
And once you know that… really know that…
you don’t need the world’s approval in the same way.
You can love without needing something back.
You can stay steady when things get difficult.
You can respond with gentleness instead of anger.
And that brings us to something important today—because this weekend we also celebrate Mother’s Day.
For many of us, the first place we ever experienced that kind of love… was through a mother.
Long before we understood anything about theology…
we learned what love looks like:
in the sacrifices that were made
in the patience that was shown
in the encouragement we received
in the quiet ways someone made sure we were okay
A good mother does exactly what Jesus promises—she makes sure her children are not alone.
She gives them a sense of who they are.
And that matters more than we often realize.
Because a child who knows they are loved…
grows into an adult who can stand firm… who can love others… who can live with hope.
Today, we give thanks for that gift.
We give thanks for our mothers—living and deceased…
for grandmothers, godmothers, and all the women who have shown us that kind of love.
And we also recognize that for some, today is not easy—
those who have lost their mothers…
those whose relationships were complicated…
those who longed to be mothers.
But the promise of the Gospel is for all of us:
“I will not leave you orphans.”
God’s love reaches into every one of those places.
And through the gift of the Holy Spirit, that love remains with us… and within us.
So maybe the question we take with us today is a simple one:
Do we know who we are?
Not just in our heads—but in our hearts.
Do we know that we are loved by God?
Because when we do…
it changes everything.
It gives us the kind of quiet strength that a 6-year-old girl somehow already had.
The kind of strength that doesn’t need to prove anything…
because it already knows the truth:
“I know who I am… because I am loved.”
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment