Ever since Jesus entrusted his beloved disciple to Our Lady, telling him to see her as his own mother (Jn 19:27), Christ’s followers have recognized Mary as a mother to us all. Her loving care for all Christians is the model par excellence of the spiritual motherhood in which all women can participate.
What is spiritual motherhood?
“Spiritual motherhood means nurturing the spiritual, moral, emotional, and cultural life in others,” one writer explains, and it’s a “universal vocation” for women. The concept is more commonly talked about today, but discussions about it are often vague. It can be hard to nail down what spiritual motherhood looks like in practice.
A new and stunningly beautiful book, Theology of Home II: The Spiritual Art of Homemaking, offers an insightful perspective. The authors encourage women to understand spiritual motherhood as a kind of interior fruitfulness: “Despite what the culture may tell us, all women, no matter our vocation, have been hardwired for a kind of fruitfulness, with a unique calling afforded to each of us.” (14)