Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
After reading the first reading, it was hard for me to turn the page and read the gospel. I love the reading from Hosea. The long prologue really sets up the and final lines quoted above. I just wanted to savor the moment and ponder them. These lines and those of Mary spoken at the Annunciation, be it done unto me according to your word are some of my favorite of the Old Testament. They touch the maternal instincts in me deeply. This is how I know God, how I experience His love. Nothing more needs to be said.
I too love this first reading. As a new mother I read it through a very different lens this time around. I have always cherished the image of God as female or mother. It has always been a comforting model for me to believe in. I think the last line: I will never forget you is so powerful. After giving birth and going through the first year of parenthood there is no doubt in my mind that this is a promise every mother can make to their child. It is only now, a year out that I finally feel like my body is fully healed and my own, even with nursing in the morning and night, at least during the day my energy and my focus are my own. I like the idea of a God that labors for us in the way a mother labors for her child (children). It is a selfless and act of total acceptance and love.
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