In Brazil, we celebrate the "Mother's Day" on the second Sunday of May; this year was on May 9th. The "Mother's Day" it is not only day of party and homenage to the mothers, but it must be also an occasion of reflection on the sublime mission of the mothers.

At a visit that I made to the big prison Carandiru, happily shut down, at São Paulo, I met a lady talking, with tenderness, with a prisoner. I asked if he had a child. Answered me the lady that she was visiting the murderer of her son that had lost his mother. I got emotionated with the feeling two times maternal of this lady.

The presence or absence of a mother at a person's life it is one of the greatest cause of or not of equilibrium of the human being. The man is, before everything, an emotional, feeling being. Wars, violence, drugs, alcoholism and sexual desequilibrium have, as one of its most profound causes, the presence of a mother, of a family at the people's life.

Scientists researched the causes of a detached equilibrium at people of an African tribe. They concluded that it was the fact that the women of this tribe work with the children physically linked to the mothers.

The mothers are the symbol of abnegation, sacrifice, altruism, renounce, gratitude, love and donation. Let we think about the mothers of prisoners, drug abusers, physical and mental deficients, at the poor mothers, at the single mothers, abandoned mothers, mothers that are the head of the family, mothers that are widows. They are true heroines at our society.

Pastoral da Criança works with mothers that are pregnant and with the mothers of children from zero to six years old. It is a pastoral eminently directed to the mothers. The mothers have as their first worry and ideal to take care of the welfare of the children, their lives, nutrition, health and education. These are the same worries of Pastoral da Criança community leaders.

The "Mother's Day" is a special day for Pastoral da Criança. Giving security to the mothers to better feed and raise their children, our pastoral contributes, efficiently to the develop the "self-esteem" of the mothers, increasing, also their security at the exercise of their motherhood.

At the Catholic Church and at our pastoral, we venerate, in a special way, Saint Mary, Mother of God and Mother of men. Our Lady is the great model of mother. She lived the 30 years of life of Jesus of Nazareth at her vocation of mother and wife.

I wish to all mothers of the children followed up by Pastoral da Criança a "Mother's Day" with a lot of happiness, reflection and hope.

Dom Aloysio José Leal Penna SJ.
Metropolitan Archbishop of Botucatu,
President of Director Council of
Pastoral da Criança.

More information with Clóvis Boufleur, Annalice Del Vechio de Lina, Lilian Cátia de Jesus
telephone: (+55041) 336-0250 or
E-mail: clovis@pastoraldacrianca.org.br, annalice@pastoraldacrianca.org.br e lilian@pastoraldacrianca.org.br

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