Querida madre, eres una bendición – Dear mother, you are a blessing.

Your role as a mother, caretaker, homemaker, babysitter and more consists of an endless to-do list. Your work is never-ending, and it is tiring! Despite all, you are an inspiration because you always find a way to serve your daughter with love even through the stress and exhaustion.

In addition to all that you do, you are also your daughter’s primary catechist. You are a transmitter of the faith who passes down your beliefs through traditions and rituals. Through your actions and words, you have kept the memory of Jesus Christ, Mary and the Saints alive in the minds and hearts of those around you.

Every time you set up a home altar,

light a votive candle,

say a prayer,

pray the rosary,

place flowers in front of our mother, Mary,

tell a story of miracles granted,

and bless your daughter,

you are making the faith alive in her life.

Your devotion to God is a great bendición-blessing.

The faith that you pass on from generation to generation is a bendición-blessing.

You are a bendición-blessing from God, and you are a great bendición-blessing to your daughter and family!

Every day your daughter encounters a blessing when she is in your presence the same way Mary and Elizabeth experienced each other’s favor when they met, as noted in the Gospel of Luke.

“Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.’”

Luke 1:39-45

Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cries out to Mary and blesses her and her child by saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb…Blessed are you who believed what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Her faithfulness and attentiveness to the Spirit provide witness, and belief in Mary’s great blessing and her words uplift Mary when they are most needed.

During this encounter, both women praise God, and each other and their voices are filled with joy as they hear the Good News! Despite the difficulties that they each experienced, both women support and affirm each other as they grapple with the unexpected favors that God has given them.

Querida madre-Dear mother, your faith, like Elizabeth’s, helps your daughter recognize God and God’s blessings in her life. Your attentiveness to the Holy Spirit and belief in His blessings allows you to support, affirm, and bless those you love most.

The celebration of the Quince Años is not only a celebration and blessing for your daughter, but it is also a celebration and blessing of you and for you!

You have formed and shaped your daughter into who she is today.

She is a part of who you are.

For the past 15 years, you have prayed and cared for her and raised her to become a woman of God and a disciple of Christ.

¡Querida madre-Dear mother, gracias! Thank you for providing your daughter with an outpouring of God’s love.

Always remember that you too are bendecida-blessed by God and that you are a bendición-blessing to your daughter, family, friends, community and the world.

Querida madre, eres una bendición – Dear mother, you are a blessing.

Bendecida XV was a finalist in the 2021 OSV Challenge, a contest designed to accelerate project ideas that will make a profound impact on the Catholic Church and the world.

Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/Gc-dborpdj0