ONE OF MY wonderful husband’s little foibles is that he never refers to his mother-in-law – my mother – by her Christian name. Neither does he give her the courtesy title of ‘Mum’, which is sometimes used for in-laws. In fact, he always refers to her as ‘Your mother’.

‘When are you next seeing your mother?’ he will ask. ‘Is your mother feeling better now?’ is another such example. Admittedly this may not seem particularly odd. However when my Mum is actually present and his method of address remains the same, I think you might appreciate how strange this can seem.

If we are sitting having a cup of tea and a chat, my husband will turn to me and say something like: ‘Ask your mother if her heating is fixed now’ or ‘Will your mother be coming round at the end of the week? This is not to say that he doesn’t talk to her and isn’t fond of her – of course he does and is - but if using her name is involved, he bizarrely always calls her ‘Your mother’ and addresses her through me.

Yet whatever title we choose to give them, mothers are such an integral and important part of our lives. They provide for us, nourish us and try to equip us for all that we may experience in life.

Mary, Our Blessed Lady, fully understands the true meaning of motherhood. Having been tasked with the greatest commission of all, she did not hesitate for a moment in saying ‘Yes’ to God and agreeing to become the mother of our Lord. And let us never forget that Mary’s journey was neither simple nor straightforward.

Betrothed at a very early age, probably terrified of what her fate would hold when she became pregnant