Isn’t it just fitting how the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) National Family and Life Week (NFLW) — May 10-17 — starts on Mother’s Day?

CCCB director of communications Pomeline Martinoski, answering on behalf of the bishops, expressed that very conviction in an email to The Catholic Register.

“What better day to begin National Family and Life Week than on Mother’s Day! As we celebrate mothers, we remember her profound role in joining with God to bring forth the miracle of new life, as well as the love, tenderness, patience and support she offers her children through life’s journey.

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“Mothers model the self-gift of loving sacrifice for their children and remind us that every child growing within the mother’s womb is part of the eternal loving plan of God. Let us all celebrate our mothers, those in our presence and those in our memory, in ways that show how cherished they are in our lives,” wrote Martinoski.

The 2026 NSLW theme is “I am with you always” from Matthew 28:20, the words Jesus spoke to His disciples before He ascended to Heaven.

“We hope families — children, young people, parents, grandparents, elders and extended family — will take to heart Christ’s promise that, through the Holy Spirit, He remains with us always,” stated Martinoski. “It’s an invitation to remember that Christ is close in moments of need and in times of joy, across generations — and to trust that He walks with us through life’s trials and triumphs.”

The CCCB Standing Committee for Family and Life, chaired by Montreal Archbishop Christian Lepine, has devised a thematically-centred pastoral toolkit for this commemorative week.

There are age-appropriate activities for toddlers and preschoolers (colouring, matching, Jesus-themed hide and seek, etc.), children aged 5-8 (artistic activities and role-playing) and for youth aged 9-12 such as writing and reflection exercises, along with Bible charades. Parents are encouraged to engage in these activities with their children.

After-Mass socials, activities fairs, family movie afternoons/nights, intercultural family potlucks, formation days and launching family support groups are a few of the parish NFLW activities recommended by the CCCB.

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One standout initiative is a Mom’s group, “weekly or bi-weekly morning playgroups where parents, especially mothers, bring young children to play while parents have coffee and conversation.” The benefit of this type of group is that it “builds relationships among families with children of the same age for mutual support and introduces young families to parish life.”

Ideally, NFLW can serve as a catalyst — planting seeds that grow into strong parent networks, as well as parish-based programs for crisis support, bereavement care and spiritual accompaniment. And the visible strength of these networks and programs can potentially inspire couples to pursue starting a family.

Martinoski wrote that there is a need to inspire the creation of more families in society.

“Choosing love’s journey through marriage and family life is good news,” she wrote. “We also recognize that family life is demanding, complex and can bring any number of uncertainties. Yet the family is vital in society and in God’s design. The Church has a responsibility to walk with families — across generations — to accompany them in times of joy and suffering, and to encourage them to know they are never alone.”

And to honour the esteemed role as “beacons of faith and hope," Martinoski shared sentiments that Pope Francis expressed during his general audience on May 7, 2015, that remind us “of their profound and fundamental role in the world.”

Pope Francis said on that day: “A society without mothers would be a dehumanized society, for mothers are always, even in the worst moments, witnesses of tenderness, dedication and moral strength. Without mothers, not only would there be no new faithful, but the faith would lose a good part of its simple and profound warmth.”

The late pontiff also saluted future mothers in his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia following the 2014-15 Synod of Bishops on the Family: “Keep happy and let nothing rob you of the interior joy of motherhood. Your child deserves your happiness. Don’t let fears, worries, other people’s comments or problems lessen your joy at being God’s means of bringing a new life to the world.”

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The NSLW is a CCCB tradition that dates back to 1943. This year marks the first NSLW under the leadership of Bishop Pierre Goudreault, who shepherds the Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière diocese.

Goudreault encouraged the faithful in a letter that “as we celebrate National Family and Life Week, may we model ourselves on the Holy Family, finding consolation and hope through prayer and the Sacraments, remembering that we are never truly alone, for God is with us always ‘to the end of the age.’ ”