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A woman by her very nature is maternal – for every woman, whether married or unmarried, is called upon to be a biological, psychological, or spiritual mother — she knows intuitively that to give, to nurture, to care for others, to suffer with and for them — for maternity implies suffering — is infinitely more valuable in God’s sight than to conquer nations and fly to the moon.
~ Alice Von Hildebrand

Some women are called to biological maternity, but all women are called to live out in an authentic way to live out their baptism as Christians, to become a public and powerful witness of Christ and to serve the people of God with great love.

The essence of femininity is to become a spiritual mother, especially to the most neglected and spiritually abandoned children. It is imperative, especially during this turbulent time of such upheaval in our society, that women become spiritual mothers by reaching out to children to protect and preserve their pure, little hearts.

As the most innocent in our society, it is the children who are harmed by the culture; one that exists in a seemingly post-Christian world. The innocence of the pure in heart is threatened by a culture that aims to destroy Christian morals and values.

As women we are all called to be spiritual mothers, whether we have our own biological children or not, because it is guaranteed there are children in all of our lives that desperately need a mother. When I was a teacher in a public school, there was no doubt in my mind that the children placed in my classroom were sent to me by God.

I knew that they were put into my life for a reason, and I was being called at that time to be a physical presence for them, usually by means of a listening ear, and always an open heart. They would come find me during our lunch period to sit with me in the classroom to share about their day, both the good and the not so good parts, because they trusted me and knew that I was there for them with great love.

“When we show love to others, God’s presence is with us.”
~ Linda Evans Shepherd

The Internet, which is a major part of our culture, can be dangerous for children because they are especially vulnerable. Many of our youth come home to empty houses, where they have limitless access to unsupervised technology time surfing the Internet. They are exposed to cyber-predators and inappropriate social media posts that can cause them much harm later on in their lives when the words and images come back to haunt them over and over again.

Our children are searching for love, and at the same time they are yearning to be loved, and do not realise that true, real, and authentic love cannot come from a screen.

When I taught religious education to sixth graders, it broke my heart to see how many of the children questioned the existence of God, and rarely stepped foot within a Church. It is through the child that our Christian faith can help to transform entire families. It is the innocence and purity of children that can help lead family members back to Christ and back to the faith.

Children need to be taught the faith at a young age in a way that becomes meaningful to them, and sets their hearts on fire with a flame that burns brightly with the love of God. They need to know how much God loves them; that they have a Father in Heaven Who cares very much about them, and that He gave His only Begotten Son to save us all from our sins because of how much He loves us. Children need to know that there is nothing that they can do that will make the Father not love them.

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
~ 1 John 3:1

How can children as they grow up and become adults, give something that they do not have? It is very often that the faith is not being taught in the home, and the only way to protect these children from the evils of this world is to help them to keep their faith and to never forget the love of God.

Christianity is not simply a religion, but a relationship. When children are taught the Ten Commandments, they need to be taught that we follow the law of the Lord because we love God. If we love our Heavenly Father Who has infinite love for us, then it is because of this love that we want to please the Father.

Many children, especially in inner cities, live in broken homes, in a single parent household, and go home to an empty house each day after school because their parent(s) have to work. They are in great need of a spiritual mother to love them, nurture them, and teach them their faith, so that they can grow up to become who God meant them to be in this world. Children need to be shown what love means, so that they learn how to love and to be loved by others.

We need to pray that these precious little ones in our society, the most neglected and spiritually abandoned souls, keep their innocence and purity of heart. As women, by authentically living out our lives as witnesses of Christ in the world, we can help these children to remain steadfast in their Christian faith, and to have the strength and courage to rebel against the culture.

If they are taught what it means to be loved by God, and have a deep and meaningful relationship with their Heavenly Father, then during the difficult times in their lives they will turn to Him instead of the things of this world. They will not search for love in all of the wrong places, because they will know that God is always with them, and that He will be waiting for them, and offer them only mercy and forgiveness.