Principles- I owe you, 26/3/2016

   In the path of life we witness many stories, the happy and the sad ones, the heroic and those about sacrifice. We meet role models that enlighten the world and draw steps for the following generations to retrace. Stories differ and vary, but all of them hold deep and unforgettable significance over the passing years. Mother’s role is engraved in our hearts. There is a Russian saying indicated that a mother makes the nation. It is also said that “If you want to teach a person, teach a young man. But if you want to teach a nation, then teach a woman“. Here are universal traits of women all over the world,

Unlimited giving:

   A mother is a flowing river of giving to her family and children. She is always busy taking care of them. She doesn’t give much care to herself or her needs. She always puts her children first. It was said about her that she is the only person who forgets to pray for herself as she is always busy praying for her children. Her love resembles a deep sea with no shore. Her love is great and knows no limits. Abraham Lincoln once said “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” The great writer and poet, Gibran Khalil Gibran, said “The mother is everything – she is our consolation in sorrow, our hope in misery, and our strength in weakness”

 Sacrifice to death:

   A mother is the only person that is ready and able to face any danger to protect her children and she would sacrifice anything for them, as all what she owns is incomparable to her children’s joy. There is a story about a mother who knelt down on her baby’s body to protect him during an earthquake, she died leaving him a love message in which she said, “If you are able to stay alive, please remember that I love you”. She saved her child’s life due to her love and sacrifice. There was another mother who donated her eye to her son when he lost it due to an accident. She lived only with one eye for her child’s sake.

Endless Patience:

   A mother is always the model of patience. She suffers patiently and spares no effort for the sake of her family and children. She accepts all sorts of psychological and physical burdens in order to make her children happier. She even put up with her children’s mistakes as she owns a forgiving heart. Many sons and daughters were harsh to their mothers and in return they found love and acceptance. I remember a story that one day a boy wanted to get rid of his old mother, so he took her to the forest to leave her there. While they were walking, she took leaves and branches of the trees and put them on the road. When he was leaving, she told him that she put them in the road least he miss his way. Hence, the son recognized that his mother’s treasure of love is more precious than any other worldly treasure and he came back for his mother. This is maybe a symbolic story yet it teaches us a lesson about mothers’ longsuffering toward their children’s cruelty.  

   On her day, I congratulate each and every mother who gives and suffers for her family and children that by doing so she also builds a prosperous society.

  Anba Ermiah,

General Bishop& President of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center