Jesus is my mother-a testimony

First, Benedict tackles the question of calling God "mother." In a nutshell, he affirms that God is beyond gender, and that Scripture often uses the image of a mother's womb to express the intimacy of God's love for humanity. Yet, he says, "mother" is not a title of God in the Bible, and hence the church is disqualified from using it.

Benedict notes that there were a number of mother-gods in the thus do we pray in the right way."religious traditions of the cultures surrounding the Israelites, and speculates that perhaps it was only by excluding that sort of language in the Bible that the sovereignty and the "otherness" of God could become clear. While the pope acknowledges that theory may not be completely satisfactory, he says we're nevertheless obliged to follow the Bible's lead.

"Even if we can't give absolutely cogent reasons, the language of the prayer of the entire Bible remains normative for us, in which, the great metaphors of maternal love notwithstanding, 'mother' is not a title of God, and is not an appellation with which one may address God. We must pray as Jesus, on the basis of the Holy Scripture, has taught us to pray, not as it might strike us or please us. Only thus do we pray in the right way."-Pope's new book addresses key concerns for this pontificate: Christ is key (John L. Allen)

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BAFRIEND said:

kts will never know her mother's voice in her lifetime. Forget what you called being coddled- your entire post is what it is- CRUEL.

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Davidnic said:

Sigh.

No. When did I say that? I said that her theology has a proper and orthodox expression. I did not advocate one that goes against the teachings of the Church.

It must be viewed in the language of mystics and the context of private revelation. It must be subjected to what the Church teaches as true. I never said otherwise.

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ShannonMcCatholic said:

Whatever BA- there are bad things that can happen from having a mother with mental illness alive your whole life to abuse and brutalise you. There are many ways to lose a parent. Some people would prefer to never hear their mother's voice ever again, but are subjected to it's torment for decades. People who have parents who have died don't have a corner on the childhood-suffering market. Suffering is a part of life- it comes in many forms. Do we continuously define ourselves by that loss, seeking only comfort? Or do we forge on into adulthood and quit living trapped in our wounded childhood? Jesus provides the grace, but we have to do the work.

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thereselittleflower said:

The issue is the use of the title "Jesus our Mother", today, is not condoned by the Church. Just because a mystic 700 years ago used such language doesn't mean we can glibly use it today for reasons already mentioned in this thread. To say it is theologically correct to excuse its use is problematic at best.

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Viribus Unitis said:

Could it be some misunderstanding here?

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kisstheson said:

Well folks... upon returning to this thread I'm on the verge of tears. I only just glanced over the replies as I'm in a hurry to do some errands. Thanks to all those who offered words of comfort and support. I'll be back later for a more thorough reading.

This is the crux of the thread...

"Some of you may not know that when I was a little baby I lost my mom most likely due to suicide. Having three children under the age of five and a son who only lived twenty four hours, she had post pardum depression and was found floating dead in the creek outside my garndmother's house at the age of twenty seven. I was told when I was a child that it was most likely suicide and not an accidental slip that cuased her death. Over the years my aunts have argued as to whether or not her death was a suicide but in any case I didn't have a mom growing up. My dad was an absentee father. he worked on the tugs in NYC and when he was home he would drink a lot.

I share this so you will understand how I came to discover a very important aspect about Christ. When I decided that I wanted to know the Lord in a more personal way one of the things I began to experience is the "mothering" of Christ. I had always denied the imporatnce of having a mother. I concluded I didn't miss what I never had. I didn't understand the importance of bonding, touch and affection that a mother gives to her child."

I am only sharing about how Jesus was like a mother to me and healed some deep emotional needs in me. I can't believe that some people could read the different posts on this subject that I have written and be upset with my sharing. All I wanted to do is talk about Jesus...

While Mary certainly is our Mother Jesus is the greater Mother as he feeds and nourishes our souls with His very own Body and Blood.

This is all too sad...Can't we just talk about Jesus and how He heals the motherless and fatherless? Why make a big issue out of this just because I didn't include Mary in my topic? Can't you see the true heart of the matter? Wouldn't it be better if you are offended that you just moved on instead of debating a very sensitive issue? Please permit those of us who have experienced Christ in this way the freedom of expressing what has been our healing and may possibibly be healing for others.

"I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you." (Christ-The gospel of John.)

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BAFRIEND said:

Imagine that, someone so weak as to use Christ as a crutch- someone who would allow themselves to suffer deeply over the loss of a parent or to let it affect their emotions, relationships, or life.

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thereselittleflower said:

The issue is the use of the title "Jesus our Mother", today, is not condoned by the Church. Just because a mystic 700 years ago used such language doesn't mean we can glibly use it today for reasons already mentioned in this thread. To say it is theologically correct to excuse its use is problematic at best.

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MyLordIsMyLife said:

I wouldn't say Christ is a crutch- I'd say He's a helper- He is our "ever-present help" and our "rock". He helps us get out of suffering! He is there for us, so I wouldn't call going to Him for help weakness.

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Davidnic said:

And feel free to give me the page of your quote there so I can read it in the context of the chapter. And you know that his book is not a Magisterial work, but a personal reflection. I am not saying I disagree...I actually agree with that quote on several levels. But it is not a Magisterial document...although it should be given great weight and held to be true. I am simple making the accurate distinction.

Let me be clear, I am not advocating using the term mother to refer to God. I did, earlier in this thread, caution kisstheson on such language.

But I am drawing some distinctions necessary for when we read mystical works in understanding the language.

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MyLordIsMyLife said:

I wouldn't say Christ is a crutch- I'd say He's a helper- He is our "ever-present help" and our "rock". He helps us get out of suffering! He is there for us, so I wouldn't call going to Him for help weakness.

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thereselittleflower said:

I agree. To say that Christ is a "crutch" implies that He can be discarded like a crutch.

Christ is not a crutch.

He is God.

It is very demeaning to call God a crutch and is not anything like what Christianity teaches.

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Viribus Unitis said:

Let me share something,

When I entered in the seminary, I had to pass a psychiatric examination, which is the standard procedure. Anyway, after some extensive testing and interviews the doctor who was also a jesuit priest specialized in Religious Psychology made a report.

Anyway, in the report, it said that in my psychology I tended to view God more as feminine than in the masculine attributes. And nobody had any problem with that.

That, of course, does not mean that I believe women should be priests. Or that God is feminine or anything else.

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benedictaoo said:

TLF argument is not with that.. it's with calling jesus our mother... He is not our mother. he is our Lord and our God and he can heal what ever we lack but He is not *a* mother.

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