Reflection:
Our Divine Birth Mother
In this reflection we explore the image of our Divine Birth Mother, as an expression of God's profound compassion and tender mercy towards us.
Opening music:
Listen to the following as an opening prayer.
Lyrics:
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you.
Everything changes, I alone remain.
Hold patience, for nothing is wasted,
Presence in all things, I'm with you in all things.
Quiet Prayer:
Spend some time in quiet prayer, gently surrendering yourself to the quiet unknowing dark of being held in God's own Being, enwombed and nurtured in life-giving tenderness.
End the time of quiet prayer by listening to the following song:
Lyrics:
Come now child, lay it down,
Just breathe, just be
Come be cradled in the arms of love,
Just breathe, just be
For Further Reflection:
Below are quotes from the talk for you to take this theme further.
Psalm 102:13 “You will arise and have compassion [‘raham’] on your people”
Isaiah 49:15 – “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion [‘raham’] on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”
John 1:13 “children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision,... but born of God.”
John 3:3 “no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again … unless they are born of water and the Spirit”.
Isaiah 42:14: “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.”
Isaiah 66:9-16 “Do I open the womb and not deliver the baby? … You’ll nurse at her breasts, nestle in her bosom, and be bounced on her knees. … As a mother comforts her child, so I’ll comfort you.”
Elizabeth Johnson writes that Shekinah is "the female symbol of God’s indwelling, the weighty radiance that flashes out in unexpected ways in the midst of the broken world."
Jean-Yves Leloup: "God, the Uncreated beyond all images, is neither masculine nor feminine. But it is important to have a balance in the symbols we use in trying to speak of the Unnamable. This is why Sophia, who is Wisdom and also the Divine Mother, has such an important place."
Isaiah 30:15, 18: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength … The LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore God will rise up to show you compassion [rehem]. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.”
Bede Griffiths: “God is not simply in the light, in the intelligible world, in the rational order, but God is in the darkness, in the womb, in the Mother, in the chaos from which the order comes. So the chaos is in God. This is why the darkness is so important. We tend to reject it as evil and negative, but darkness is the womb of life.”
Ending prayer:
Beloved One, Shekinah,
Indwelling Feminine Presence,
Immanence, Embodiment, Mother-Heart,
Please come flowing into every open window in our souls right now,
as we call to you.
Infuse every cell of our bodies with your fierce and tender Mother-Wisdom.
Give us the strength to speak truth to power in these fractured times.
Give us the tenderness and humility to listen deeply
to those that we are conditioned to otherize.
And remind us again and again, when we forget, that we belong to each other,
and we belong to you.
Amen.
~ by Marabai Starr
Ending music:
Lyrics:
Darkness cover me
like a blanket of night
Oh, cover me lightly
Shadows gather around me
Deepening darkness,
Whispering softly
Holy Maker of Moonlight
Singing through starlight
Keeper of all life
Hidden Seed deep in the dark soil of the earth
Fertile Ground, Womb of the Night,
bring us new birth.
We would appreciate any donations so that we can continue making resources like this available at no cost.
Donate here...
A very warm thank you to all of you who have donated so generously.
To see a list of additional resources click here...
If you are not already on our mailing list you can subscribe here...
Sharon's book that was previously called "Contemplative Living" has been republished by AnamChara Books under the title "Deeper: Finding the Depth Dimension Beneath the Surface of Life". The Kindle version is available from Amazon, and the hard copy version can be ordered from loot.co.za or Takealot, or from your local bookshop through Ingram Distribution.