Sacred Feminine Conclusions

One of my New Year's resolutions is to produce a manuscript on the topics covered in this blog, using these writings as a springboard for a book. I have overloaded myself with the theology of the sacred feminine written by others. Now it is time for deep contemplation and a focus on personal experience. The time draws near for me to enter fully into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, and so will end this first phase of the journey. But it is far from over, I am sure.

What can I conclude for you at this point? Jesus revealed that we should call God our Abba, Father. And we should call Mary our Mother. The Word of God and the Church's Tradition also reveal a divine nature that is feminine, one in perfect union with the masculine nature of God with which Christians are most familiar. The Word (Logos) and Wisdom (Sophia in Greek) are one. Jesus is both Word and Wisdom. At the heart of the Trinity is Holy Wisdom, the feminine nature of God, held in the bosom of the Father.

 La Paloma by Holly Sierra

The Holy Spirit, in the "Cosmic Dance", is the Person who proceeds from the Father as eternal Bride and from the Son as eternal Mother in the mystical sense, though all members of the Trinity are the perfect union of masculine and feminine. And since Mary is the focus of our image of spiritual Motherhood, it is she who leads us to her Son, our Savior, and to the Divine Sophia. The Blessed Mother works in a unique union with the Holy Spirit of Wisdom to intercede for us, to be our Advocate and Mediatrix of All Grace; indeed, as Co-redemptrix. In my devotions, I call the Holy Spirit by the Hebrew names, Ruah Ha Kodesh and Ruah Elohim, and sometimes use the Greek appellation for Wisdom, Sophia, keeping in my heart the knowledge of the feminine nature united with the masculine in our Creator.

What is needed then, from my perspective, is a deep, sapiential Marian devotion. A Sophian Marian devotion takes us profoundly into the mystery that links the divine with all of creation. It is the ability to see God in all of nature and in the human soul. It is to value equally God's male and female images in humanity, and to fully embrace stewardship of our Earth. It does not deny the goodness of the body, but rather honors the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, exemplified and supremely manifested in the Virgin Mary. Under the protection of her mantle, we too may become holy--sacred vessels of the divine.

 Madre Natura by Holly Sierra

Thank you, dear readers, for following me on this journey to the heart of the sacred feminine. I may be back from time to time to update you on new developments and the progress of my book. In the meantime, go to Mass, pray the Rosary daily, and contemplate the meaning of what has been here revealed. To Jesus, Word and Wisdom, through our Holy Mary, Mother of God!!

My Marian Anniversary

It has been a year since I met the Mother of my Lord, the Virgin Mary. The anniversary was actually September 21, when in 2011 I followed her call to the Catholic Church in my town and discovered the Rosary Garden. The previous night I had been troubled with insomnia, particularly distraught over women's issues in society and my own personal struggles with my family of origin. I felt my essential role as a mother being attacked, and my heart was broken. Inexplicably, I prayed to Mary, for the first time in my life. In her garden I sat and talked to her. I cried and was comforted by her maternal, spiritual presence. Suddenly, I had hope. If I joined the Catholic Church, I could have Mary.

I started going to Mass shortly after this experience. I began to read books about Mary from the library and was like a starving person presented with a banquet and surrounded by roses. I didn't know how much I had needed a spiritual Mother, and the more I read, the more fascinated I became regarding all I did not know about the history of Christianity. I became interested enough to look into R.C.I.A., the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. But they were too far into the program at that point for me to jump in. Just this month I finally began the official process toward joining the Church, which I now love with all my heart.

I am still learning, and after a whole year, I am not any less enthusiastic about the Mother of God. She has continued to gently lead me back to her Son, who I had drifted from for so long. My daughter has been baptized in the Church and loves her weekly religious education classes. And I have been inspired in my writing in a way I hadn't been in years, through the awakening of passion and awe. So happy anniversary to me, and thank you Blessed Mother for enriching my life with your love, faith, beauty, and intercession. Hail, Holy Queen!