December 19th, 2024
When I first became a mother, I was determined not to write about it. Yet, as I have navigated two pregnancies, two births, two postpartum periods, and being a stay at home mom to two young boys, it has become difficult to write about anything else. My projects over the past few years have included journalism about how the Church is supporting (or failing to support) mothers, poetry about a pregnant Church, prayers for my children, and reflections about Mary’s motherhood. It seems that the Holy Spirit had different plans for my writing.
I had been under the impression that motherhood was something not worth reflecting on or producing art about. There are cultural connotations about “mommy blogging” that devalue the storytelling of life as a mom. But as I grow in awe toward all mothers who have gone through this difficult journey before me, I am starting to see that those connotations are just another instance in a long history of women’s unpaid labor being undervalued and their voices being deemed unworthy of the public sphere.
Today’s readings include two mothers who also navigated the social pressures of their time – Elizabeth and the mother of Samson. Both women are introduced in relation to their husbands and are largely defined by their infertility. Some big details of their stories are lost – Samson’s mother is never given a name of her own, and Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy is announced to her husband, Zechariah, rather than to her (or, at least, we don't have the story of that message being delivered).
Yet, their voices mattered. The angel appeared to Samson’s mother to entrust the message of Samson’s birth and future vocation, and it was up to her to deliver this message to her husband. The story also tells us that it was she who named her son “Samson.”
As we see later in this chapter of Luke, naming was a significant task that usually fell to the authority of a man. Since Zechariah was mute at John the Baptist’s birth, it was up to Elizabeth to tell what his name would be. When those around her assumed that the baby would be named after his father, she had to tell them, “No. He will be called John” (Luke 1:60). They did not believe her until Zechariah confirmed this by writing on a tablet.
Samson’s mother and Elizabeth are two women who played a crucial role in God’s plan. Through all of the cultural noise, they learned to trust their experience of God and raise their voice to communicate it to those around them. As artists, we are called to do the same.
What is currently getting in the way of your ability to listen to where the Spirit is guiding you in your art? What stories are asking to be told that you need the courage to say “yes” to?
While I continue to learn to raise my own voice, I look to these women as examples. May they teach us to trust our experiences and produce honest art that helps us to see God’s work in the world.
Kelly Sankowski is a writer and editor based in Toledo, Ohio. Her writing focuses on women in the Church, bodily spirituality, and motherhood.
Find out more about her here.