Mother Mary spent forty days at home (or rather, in the stable at Bethlehem) after Jesus’ birth, before returning to public life and worship with the presentation of Our Lord in the Temple (Luke 2:22).

Like Mary, we too are called to be portable tabernacles of Christ, carrying Him in our hearts to share with every person we meet. And we mothers are lifelong tabernacles of our children, granted the awesome mission to help them grow and flourish as the unique persons that God created them to be, souls formed in the image of Christ.

It was common in medieval times to portray Mother Mary breastfeeding; back then, before Victorian prudery, it was not such a sexualised sight, but simply a normal part of life – the nourishing of a child. This Marian devotion was popularised by the Cistercians. Mothering Sunday, also known as Laetare Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent. On this day, we traditionally visit and honour our mother church, where we were baptised and became a child of God.

People often mistake the Church for being a hierarchy with men at the top. Pope Francis has been shining a spotlight on the role of women in the Church. While ruling out the possibility of ordaining women as deacons (despite erroneous reports to the contrary in mainstream media).