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Tribute to single mothers
Dr. Roberto Miranda
(Audio: Spanish)
SUMMARY:
Dr. Roberto Miranda delivered a sermon on Mother's Day, addressing the challenges faced by single mothers in the Latino community. He acknowledged their bravery, hard work, and persistence in the face of overwhelming challenges, and recognized them as valuable resources for the church when provided with the necessary support and resources. He also called for education and counseling programs for youth, particularly young men, to prevent harmful behavior and promote healthy sexuality. Overall, he blessed and honored all mothers and recognized their important role in the church and community.
I was thinking this morning as we blessed the mothers, and even today when I saw that beautiful group of women come forward here, I thought about how the sisters bless our Church, bless our community, and I also thought about a sector of our church that It has been such a blessing to me over the years and it is these mothers that we sometimes call single mothers.
But they are not necessarily and only single mothers because many of them have been married and perhaps for one reason or another their marriage was fragmented, some are mothers who had their children at another stage of their lives and do not have a husband, a husband but that in any case they are those hard-working and courageous women of our church who are moms, dads, providers of their houses, tutors, sometimes they are warriors for their children and they say to the devil: "You are not going to pass". Sometimes they are warriors who fight with their children and tell them, "You're not going to get out of here." But whatever they are are women who bless us with their spiritual endowment and blessing.
In the book that I have just written I put something that I want to read, to bless those women who are such a blessing to our Church. Those "single mothers" -in quotes- who are not single at all, because they have a husband who is their Father, their heavenly God who loves them and who is their warrior. You are not alone, my sisters, and we bless you in the name of the Lord.
But I want as a way of pointing out what you are to our lives and also in recognition that our Churches need to know how to manage you. We need to learn as a Latino church in the United States, how to bless them.
I believe that the values that are exemplified here are for all the women of our Church, married, not married, mothers, not mothers, single or whatever, you are an example and you are exemplary women.
I say here: 'related to the challenge of youth, the Hispanic Church also confronts the challenge of single mothers who abound in our churches. Some of the most powerful leaders in our Church are precisely those hard-working and courageous women who every day have to play the role of mom and dad, providing materially for their children, serving as spiritual mentors, maintaining discipline over troubled teens, and often serving faithfully to their Congregations.
I admire her bravery, her fierce will to live gracefully without losing her good humor or zest for life. They are an eloquent example to me of faith and persistence in the midst of overwhelming challenges and trials, of incredible generosity and forgiveness, of fierce love that does not give in to ingratitude or thoughtlessness.
Often these exemplary women struggle with depression and discouragement, physical exhaustion or a sense of loneliness and helplessness. Sometimes they feel unable to defend their children from the harmful influence that emanates from the youth culture in which they move. They often despair when their sons enter that difficult age when they feel compelled to assert their masculinity and independence and do not know how to manage or advise them, how to balance tolerance with discipline.
Many of these women hold demanding and exhausting jobs, which leave them very little time to take care of themselves, to set aside a few hours of rest and recovery, or simply to talk with their children. They often wrestle with past wounds, memories of abandonment by their husbands or childhood sexual abuse.
They want a father figure for their sons or simply long for the warmth and companionship of a husband to fill their emotional lives.
Sometimes they struggle for a while with the temptation of a romantic relationship that they instinctively know will not be good for them or their children, but sometimes they end up succumbing to the powerful need to break with the loneliness and emptiness that haunts them so much. .
Many single mothers come to our Church and find there the much-needed refuge for themselves and their children. The spiritual renewal they experience and the finding of a community that provides support and advice in navigating the difficult situations they often face, give new meaning to their lives. Very soon, many of them grow and prosper like a little plant thirsty for water and light that was only waiting for the ideal conditions to reach its full potential.
They receive the Gospel with joy and eagerness and like the Samaritan woman, after meeting Jesus, very quickly become effective and contagious evangelists. These women bring with them a treasure trove of human and spiritual potentiality. When they receive the required nutrients, they often become valuable resources for their congregations. They are experts in giving and serving, their painful past experiences and the demands that life has placed on their shoulders have turned them into spiritually gifted beings, sensitive to the needs of others; You knew far beyond your intellectual capacity.
They show an exquisite sensitivity to things of the spirit and react easily to the teachings of the Gospel, as the Verea believers in the Book of Acts have received the Word with all request."
Sisters, in the name of the Lord we bless these strong and courageous women.
We will pray for you always.
And what I continue to talk about in the book is that our Hispanic churches in the United States need to find a way to administer to that segment, to that sector of our Congregations, how to help you and I think we could refer to all mothers, either way. Being a mother is not easy at this time, but helping them cope with these burdens, providing encouragement, emotional healing, counseling, help with their children, youth programs that provide healthy education for their children as well as programs that prevent future so many mothers who have to face life on their own.
I believe that we need to speak to our young men, many times, whose sexual insecurities due to not having model fathers at home sometimes leads them to seek to affirm their sexuality and masculinity in inappropriate ways. And sometimes there come situations that are harmful to our community.
Thank God, this program that we have here, which is called "It's worth waiting for" through COPANI and the Federal Government, these funds that we are using right now, a class that is receiving dozens of our young people began at one o'clock here in León de Judá in the area of sexuality.
Because? Because we need to educate our youth in all of those things and prepare them for this fierce world that is out there.
But meanwhile today, on Mother's Day, we greet you in the name of Jesus.
Mothers be blessed, and those single mothers, who I say are not single because they have their God with them, we bless you and recognize the extremely special work that you do. May that be our tribute to you on this day.
Sermon by
Dr. Roberto Miranda
recorded May 10, 2009 at León de Judá Congregation
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Other publications related to "Tribute to single mothers":
Dr. Miranda : At U.S. Congress Press Conference Sept 28, 2004
Dr. Roberto Miranda speaks at a press conference organized by the Alliance for Marriage at the U.S. Congress, expressing support for traditional marriage laws and the Alliance's marriage amendment to protect Latino community values.
Roberto Miranda : Liberty Sunday Presentation October 15, 2006
Dr. Roberto Miranda urges Christians to take a bold stance against same-sex marriage and embrace their prophetic call to proclaim the whole gospel without compromise.