In a Pray-Study-Act e-bulletin prepared a few years ago for Mother's Day, Pax Christi USA National Organizer Phyllis Jepson wrote: "Having become so distraught by the death and carnage of the Civil War, Julia Ward Howe called on mothers to come together and protest what she saw as the futility of their sons killing the sons of other mothers. She believed that women have the power to promote life over death, peace over war and love over hate, so it is in this spirit that we ask Pax Christi members and friends to respond to the violence that confronts us day in and day out. Let us arise and honor all of humanity by praying and working for an end to war."

   My own commitment to the work of peace and justice has been shaped by various "mothers" throughout my life: be it the first lessons taught to me as a child by my mom about sharing and compassion or the dozens of other "mothers," women like Phyllis, who took me under their wings and taught me by their instruction and witness what it means to work for a world without war.

   May this coming weekend be a time of celebration and peace for all of the mothers of our world. To all of the moms in our Pax Christi USA family, Happy Mother's Day!