890- Is maternal love a virtue or is it an instinctive sentiment common to both humans and animals?
“It is both. Nature has endowed the mother with love towards her children in the interests of their preservation, but in the animal, this love is limited to the offsprings’ material needs and ceases when it is no longer needed. In humans, this love persists throughout life and consists in a devotedness and a self-denial that comprise true virtues. It even survives death itself, accompanying the child from beyond the grave. You can see that this sort of love contains something more than the love displayed in the animal.” (See nos. 205-385)
891- If maternal love is so natural, why are there mothers who hate their children – frequently from birth?
“It is sometimes a trial chosen by the spirit of the child, or it may be an expiation if the spirit itself had been a bad father, a bad mother or a bad child in another existence (see no. 392). In all such cases, a bad mother can only be animated by a little-evolved spirit who seeks to create difficulties for the child so that he or she will fail in his or her chosen trial. Such a violation of the laws of nature, however, will not remain unpunished, and the spirit of the child will be rewarded for the obstacles it has overcome.”
892- When parents have children who cause them grief, aren’t they excused for not feeling the tenderness for them that they would have felt otherwise?
“No, for it is regarded as a task that has been entrusted to them, and their mission is to make every effort to lead them to the good (see nos. 582, 583). Besides, such grief is almost always the consequence of the bad habits that the parents have allowed their children to follow from the cradle; thus, they reap what they have sown.”
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