Our Father in heaven,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth
receives its name,
you describe your tender comfort
as being like a mother’s comfort.
We give thanks for mothers,
who comfort,
who teach,
who nurture,
who feed,
who love.
Continue to give them patience and strength.
Receive the cares they cast on you.
We pray for children;
open their eyes
to their mothers’ open arms,
to their mothers’ love,
to their mothers’ sacrifices
of time and effort.
We pray for those who weep
when they think of their mothers,
and mothers who weep
when they think of their children.
With your love
heal broken hearts,
and guide us with your love
to remove the walls we often build
between ourselves
and those who should be closest.
Fill the void of loss
with friends, family,
and with your own assurance
of your tender care;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
© 2017 Paul C. Stratman
A Prayer about Mothers by Paul C. Stratman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for any commercial usage.
“from whom…” is a reference to Ephesians 3:15.
“You describe…” is a reference to Isaiah 66:13
“Receive the cares…” is a reference to 1 Peter 5:7
The last section “We pray for those who weep…” is in part a reflection on Psalm 27:10.
See also “A Prayer about Fathers.”
The painting The Madonna of the Pinks, Raphael, probably before 1507 was chosen simply to be a depiction of a mother with a child.
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