Hero: “A person of great courage, spirit, etc., especially one who has undergone great danger or difficulty.” That’s the first definition we find in the Webster Illustrated Contemporary Dictionary. To this definition I would add: “and whereby accomplished great good.” We admire heroes, and consider them “great people.” Often we wish we could imitate them, but most of us feel, deep down, that we do not have the courage to go through what they endured.

Then, some weeks ago, walking through the halls of a Catholic school, I noticed a display of students’ work.  The theme was “great women.” I stopped to look and, to may great dismay, I saw Oprah, Gloria Steinam (who campaigned for abortion rights disguised under “women’s rights”) and other modern idols. There wasn’t a mother among them; not a saint among them. True, all these women had accomplished a great deal of good… for themselves, and acquired great wealth and power in the meantime. That’s not the definition of “hero,” at least, not in my book!  What has happened to our culture? No disrespect intended to the most popular talk-show hostess in the world, and possibly the richest. But are power and wealth the Catholic Christian definition of heroism and greatness?

I remember when I decided I no longer wanted any part of TV. It was the day when another famous woman, actress Bea Arthur as the popular Maude, told her TV husband (and millions of Americans), that she had decided to have an abortion, “for the good of our marriage.” Say, what? Ms. Arthur was just one of many popular stars who turned the saddest decision a woman can ever make—taking the innocent life of her unborn child—into a “heroic” act. Why did we buy that lie? Isn’t it more heroic to choose to accept a child whose arrival may make our life more complex, maybe even more difficult? We have drunk the poison that certain powerful circles in society have sold us, which is: “children are a problem and a burden.” So more and more women decide that, “for the good of society” they will have no children. How sad!

Folks, let’s wake up! Today, we celebrate Mother’s Day. This is a great opportunity to dig into our Catholic treasure chest and take out some of our true heroines: holy mothers – starting with the mother of Jesus, Mary most holy, who watched her beloved Son die on the Cross to save us. Three hundred years later, we have St. Monica, a true prayer warrior in her determination to bring her son to our Lord: today we know him as St. Augustine.

Jumping ahead several hundred years, we find another hero: Blessed Zeline Martin, the mother of St.  Therese of Lisieux, “the little flower,” This beautiful, strong and holy woman bore nine children, of which only five daughters survived: but what daughters! All five entered religious life, and reading St. Therese’s Story of a Soul, we realize that Blessed Zeline’s love of God, and her life of prayer were the oxygen that nurtured the vocation to holiness of the entire family.  Can any woman boast a greater success story?

Moving on to the 20th Century, we encounter St.  Gianna Beretta-Molla – a wife, mother and doctor.  Suffering from cancer, she refused a radical surgery that might have saved her life but would have surely taken the life of the child she was carrying. Contrary to the sappy, silly statement made by Maude: “I am having an abortion for the good of our marriage,” St.  Gianna helped her devastated husband accept her decision to risk her life for the sake of their unborn child with the following sentence: “I know that you and our three young children need me. But I also know that the one I am carrying in my womb cannot live without me!” Now: doesn’t that fit the definition of “hero”?

Then there are the millions of mothers who still today accept, welcome and love the babies whom God entrusts to their care. In many quiet and hidden ways they are also heroes. Sure, everyone loves a baby, and everyone knows of the sleepless nights with a sick child. Watching a delightful baby or toddler learn the first words, take the first steps and discover the first… anything, is heartwarming.

But greater heroism is required to shape a child’s character, lovingly but firmly. I remember when one of my little ones, as I was talking with a friend, stepped firmly on my toes, and I yelped in pain. The friend told me: “That’s nothing: when they are little they step on your toes. When they grow up, they step on your heart.” How true! How many of us have heard the words: “You are the meanest mother in the world!” or “I hate you!” when we did not cave in to a tantrum?  How about “All my friends do it!” when we refuse to let them stay out past their curfew?

Today we celebrate Mother’s Day: we applaud all those generous women who said “yes” to life, especially when it required real sacrifice. All these mothers, know it or not, fit the definition of “hero.” And, to every mom who earned the honorable title of “meanest in the world” because she dared to protect the virtue of her child: “Way to go mom!  This day is for you: keep up the good work!”