On this Mother’s Day and any other day, I still remember my mother and all the things she did for me and my brothers and sisters. My siblings probably don’t recall the sacrifices she made for us because I left for the military when they were very young.

  My mother, Petra Reynosa Cortez was only 14 when I was born and we lived with my grandparents even though she had gotten married a few weeks before. After we moved in with my father, I was sent to Navarro Elementary School. I was never without clean clothes or new shoes and that’s because she believed in cleanliness even though we were poor. However, after school I took off my clothes and shoes and dress in my play clothes and went barefoot because where we lived in the barrio it was all dirt and mud if it had rained.

  As a child I didn’t know that she worked in a pecan shelling factory with very low pay. She was the breadwinner in the family and my dad worked in packing plant which also paid very little. So as far as finances, she controlled the pocketbook.  All decisions were made by her when it came to money and what activities I would participate at in school or at the community center.

She allowed me to join the Cub Scouts and the Boy Scouts later on so I could learn to be a better person rather than a street urchin. She bought my uniforms and all scout equipment with the meager pay she was receiving. Also, she paid and let me go to Summer Camp one year.

  There was an article in the newspaper that feature a cartoon character and we were supposed to draw it as a prize incentive. Well, I drew it and won a prize to Arthur Murray dance studio for free dance. I was 13 at that time and yearning to learn how to dance. My mother agreed to escort me to the studio, taking off from work. The dance instructor taught me a few basic dance steps and afterward ask if I wanted to learn advanced dance steps. My mother said “no” and we left. I was able to go to a dance later that year at Lanier and dance with some girls.

  When my dad was ill with Tuberculosis, he was sent away to Mission Texas for quarantine. My mother made a decision to move to the housing at Alazan Apache Courts. She was working as a seamstress and took in extra work from neighbors and family to supplement her income.

  When I entered high school, she was there supporting me in every endeavor with proper clothes, uniforms and footwear. I had to wear combat boots, which was hard to buy, with my ROTC uniform and a special headgear when I became a cadet officer. However, she never went to see me in a drill team competition or a parade I was in due to being at work.

  There was one time I was suspended for a school infraction and I was required to bring my mother to school for a conference with the vice principal. I felt ashamed that she had to lose time at work but she never scolds or punished me. It was like it never happened.

  From the start, she allowed me to work as a newspaper boy, a newspaper delivery boy a furniture repair person, a grocery delivery boy, a prescription delivery boy, a scoutmaster. All the time believing in me that I would do good at everything that I wanted t do.

What I am today is what my mother push me to be. For that, I am thankful.

We Catholics know the story of our Blessed Mother, Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. We also know that after Jesus was crucified, she became one of the leading disciple along with the twelve Apostles. It is the Catholic belief that she was taken body and soul to heaven. What we don’t know is what happened to her once she was in heaven.

This is the story everyone wants to hear, especially Catholics.

We supposed that she was granted a special place in heaven because after all, she did gave birth to our Savior through a miracle birth. The fact that she knew that He was the Messiah all the Jewish people were waiting for and also knew what was in His heart. It was heart breaking to realize for her to know that He would die on the cross. She knew and kept it in her heart.

So, this is what happened afterward in my opinion.

When Mary reached heaven God was there waiting for her. He immediately took her aside and said, “ I knew what a terrible time you had in your lifetime and I’m going to share the world with your son and I. Time is irrelevant here and there is a lot of my children who have gone astray again. There is no way I can intervene because I promise my son that all their sins will be forgiven if He sacrificed himself for them”. Mary listened very closely and wondered why God was saying all this.

He continued, “As I have said before, time is irrelevant because a second here is a century in the world and things are heading to a close. I need to remind my people that I love them without creating miracles as I have done with Moses”. He said, “However, you will be my miracle”.  Mary, as always, said “As I have done before, I will do your bidding. What is it that you want me to accomplish?” God said, “You will begin in the land of the natives of Mexico. They, because of their beliefs in other gods had turned to sacrificing their own people to satisfy the gods. This has got to stop”. Mary said, “Yes, I understand and how am I to change this?” “Well, it is fortunate that the Spaniards have destroyed their idols but now, the Indians, as the Spaniards call them, are now slaves. Now that their idols are gone they went back to their depravity and have lost their hope. You will go and appear to one of my most faithful servant and convinced him to believe in you”. “Why me Father?” She asked, He answered, “Because you are the mother of my Son and who else to bring back all the people back into the fold. You will be the intercessor for all people. Whoever comes to you and prays for whatever they want, I will hear them”.

Mary said, “you are omnipotent, Creator of the Universe and our loving father, it would be easy for you to change their habits and vice”. God said< “yes but, I gave mankind free will. It is up to them to accept what I give them. Because of that you will appear to them and claim to be the mother of mankind. Promise them that you will hear them out. I will give you powers to do whatever it takes to prove to them that you are the Mother of my Son, Jesus.  There will be more saints that will live thru the ages but, you will be the one with more influence because of your position in heaven.”

“I will do as you ordain”, Mary said,  “I will appear as one of them so I can be accepted and revered. Once that happens, I will ask them to build a church as a testament to you. Whatever happens from that point on will be a decision they will make. I will promise that if they come to me, I will listen to their problems. Their intentions will be my intentions which will be my requests to you as a loving father.

God said, “So be it”