On this Octave of Christmas, when we celebrate the feast of Mary's Motherhood, we may reflect on what it means to be a mother. To be a mother means much more than simply giving birth or giving her kids everything they want, or forming them according to her own wishes and desires.

The first and foremost mission of a mother is to help her child to grow in the realization that he or she is deeply and unconditionally loved. Whether the child is not that intelligent, not that capable, not that sportive, not that wise, not that successful, not that beautiful, not that healthy, not that obedient, the mother still loves, accepts, embraces her child.

Mary's love for her son, Jesus, was unconditional and constant. She was not an obstacle to Jesus' mission as he left home to preach, to heal, to evangelize; she never left Jesus throughout his life. She was there at the wedding in Cana, at the foot of the cross. That is why, on the cross, Jesus gave her to us as our mother: she is the model of all mothers, the artist of mothering.