Thank you, women who are mothers! You have sheltered human beings within yourselves in a unique experience of joy and travail. This experience makes you become God’s own smile upon the newborn child, the one who guides your child’s first steps, who helps it to grow, and who is the anchor as the child makes its way along the journey of life.
— St. John Paul II
Mother’s Day- May 11, 2025
As we approach Mother’s Day, we pause to give thanks for all those who nurture life with tenderness, resilience and love. While this holiday often honors biological mothers, we know caregiving comes in many forms—grandmothers raising grandchildren, aunts and neighbors offering steady presence, teachers forming young hearts and caregivers who quietly attend to the sick and elderly.
At the heart of caregiving is a sacred act: to affirm the dignity of another person with our time, our labor and our love. We recognize this as holy work—and also as work that too often goes unnoticed, unsupported or undervalued by our society. Women—especially women of color and immigrant women—shoulder the vast majority of unpaid and underpaid caregiving labor. According to the National Domestic Workers Alliance, domestic workers and home health aides face low wages, lack of benefits and little legal protection. Their essential work keeps families and communities going, yet it is rarely treated with the respect or resources it deserves.
This Mother’s Day, let us honor all who mother—not just with flowers and cards, but with a renewed commitment to justice. We are called to advocate for:
- Paid family and medical leave, so no one must choose between income and caring for a loved one. Learn more and take action at Paid Leave for All.
- Accessible, equitable maternal health care, especially for Black, Indigenous and rural communities.
- Living wages and protections for caregivers, including domestic and home health workers.
These are not simply policy issues—they are matters of human dignity, rooted in our faith. Catholic social teaching affirms the rights of workers, the option for the poor and vulnerable, and the call to support family life in all its forms.
Did you know?
Mother’s Day began as a peace movement. In 1870, following the staggering loss of life during the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War, activist and abolitionist Julia Ward Howe—best known for writing The Battle Hymn of the Republic—issued what she called a Mother’s Day Proclamation. In it, she implored women, especially mothers, to rise up and demand an end to all war. She envisioned a day for women to gather, not to celebrate sentimentality, but to advocate for healing, reconciliation and the protection of life. The call to be peacemakers echoes Christ’s own teaching: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).
You may find the IHM Justice, Peace and Sustainability Office’s web materials useful for your committee work, presentations, mission units, ministry and other educational purposes. Be sure to check out our regularly updated online resources HERE.