Rectory Ramblings…

“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you who love her; rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her;
that you may feed and be satisfied with the consolation of her bosom, that you may drink deeply and be delighted
With the abundance of her glory.”. (Isaiah 66:10-11)

In a couple of Sundays time, it will be Mothering Sunday, or Mother’s Day, a time when greetings card manufacturers and flower shops can give their bank balances a much-needed springtime boost. But the journey to the 21^st century commercialised celebration of motherhood that we know today is a long story of evolution and merging of old traditions.

In the early Middle Ages, it was the custom of many Christians to return to their “Mother Church” that was the church in which they were baptised, on the anniversary of their baptism. Sometime around the 16th century this traditional visit home moved to coincide with a particular Sunday in Lent - the 4^th Sunday. The bible verses used as the introduction to Mass on that Sunday, from Isaiah chapter 66 and Psalm 122 are reproduced here in modern English rather than the old Latin, but they link the Temple in Jerusalem with motherhood, and formed the basis of linking a celebration of The Blessed Virgin Mary, seen as the Mother of the Church with the 4^th Sunday in Lent. So, on this particular Sunday, temporary relief from the bare austerity of Lenten church decoration was given by the bringing into church of spring flowers that marked the end of winter and the lengthening of days towards summer. In later years the annual pilgrimage home to the mother church was honoured in manors and wealthy houses by giving domestic servants a rare day off to return home, thus allowing the day to become a family celebration in which mothers might receive a gift of flowers or perhaps even a Simnel Cake,  

So is it “Mother’s Day” or “Mother Church Sunday”? The answer is Yes! – It is a mixture of both as it was one of the few Sundays in the year when families could gather, first to attend church, and then to celebrate, together.

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”.  (Psalm 122:1)                      

Revd Eddie