Like a Mother

 

Psalm 103 is the great Psalm of God’s tenderness. The concept of love is varied and multifaceted. Tenderness is one of the faces of love. Nevertheless, despite tenderness being within the general framework of love, it has such a variety of shades that it is transformed into something quite different and special, within the context of love.

Tenderness is, before all else, a movement of the whole being. It oscillates between compassion and self-giving. It is a movement full of warmth and closeness, with a special touch of kindness.

At the heart of tenderness is fragility; tenderness is born, sustained, and nourished by it. Indeed, infancy, disability, and illness invoke and provoke tenderness. Any type of weakness brings about and fosters the feeling of tenderness. That is why the great figure in the scenario of tenderness is a mother.

From the book “Psalms for Life” by Father Ignacio Larrañaga