May 10, 2026, 12:00 PM
This past weekend Fr Fidelis sent us a photo of his parish in Nigeria. It was Father’s Day—and a group of dads were gathered in front of the altar. This led, as you might imagine, to a conversation between Fr Dias and me about Father’s Day. For us, it’s the third Sunday of June. Just like Mother’s Day is the second Sunday of May. But, that conversation—prompted by a picture from the other side of the world, got me thinking about the origins of these days. Are they really church things? Or are they the quintessential “Hallmark Holiday”?
A little research came with a typically scholarly answer: On the one hand, yes, but on the other hand, no!
There are really old traditions for honoring mothers. The churchiest of them all is Britain’s Mothering Sunday. It happens on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, when Mass begins with the words “Laetare, Jerusalem,” Rejoice, O Jerusalem. That’s the Holy City, often referred to in scripture as Mother Jerusalem. Mid-Lent, when flowers might start to blossom, offered an opportunity for a celebration honoring other mothers.
Our Mother’s Day has rather more modern origins, but churchly ones. Ann Jarvis, in the early 20th century, convinced her Methodist Church to set aside this May Sunday to honor and pray for mothers. She wasn’t always excited about the growing popularity of the holiday. She was a suffragist and she certainly knew how to protest! She urged boycotts of card sellers, organized marches around candy companies. She definitely wanted this day back in church.
Now, the Catholic question: What does it have to do with Mary? Really very little. May devotions— crowning a statue in the church, gathering for the rosary—had a much longer history. The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote verses called “May Magnificat” where he asks the question “Why?” (Now, remember, he was English, so his Mother’s Day was still in Lent!) Was it just the easy availability of spring flowers? In the end, he answers by pointing to the abundance of life in so many forms in the spring. Above all, the resurrection of Jesus points to the extravagant gift of life that we see mirrored in Mary’s life—as mother and disciple, as filled with the Spirit and raised to eternal life in glory.
Fr. McCreary
