Jesus is my mother-a testimony

[kisstheson]

Jesus is not our mother.. Mary is our mother... Jesus loves us like a mother, but he also loves us more then any earthly mother can, He also loves us like a brother, a like father, like a friend, and like a spouse, IOW He loves us like our God would.

We need to see Jesus beyond this "our mother..." concept devotion. I don't think Julian's writting was to establish devotion to "Jesus our mother" but to let us know that God is not some abstract God and meanie only interested in justice.

God-Father,Son and Holy Spirit has both masculine and feminine atributes since God is a spirit. God made male AND female in His own image. That's right in the book of Genesis.

Therefore Jesus is all these things to the soul who loves Him. He is a Brother, Friend, Savior, Teacher, Bridegroom, Father and Mother. There is no greater example of Jesus being a Mother to the soul than Him nourishing us with His own body and blood in addition to Christ birthing the Church through blood and water from His side. This is not to say that Mary is not our Mother BUT Christ is the greater Mother and God taught Mary everything she knows. Julian meant exactly what she said when she said, " our good Mother Jesus."

“The human mother will suckle her child with her own milk, but our beloved Mother, Jesus, feeds us with himself, and with most tender courtesy, does it by means of the Blessed Sacrament, the precious food of all true life…. The human mother may put her child tenderly to her breast, but our tender Mother Jesus simply leads us into his blessed breast through his open side, and there gives us a glimpse of the Godhead and heavenly joy, the inner certainty of eternal bliss.” *

Therefore those of us who feel that Christ cannot feel our sorrows, pains, lonliness, fears sould realize we CAN approach Him with all confidence knowing that being close to him causes us to grow into spiritual maturity desiring the food that Jesus offers instead of the food that causes us harm. (wordly appetites etc.) Of course our appetites don't change over night but the more we drink of Christ the less desirable are harmful things.

 

[MyLordIsMyLife]

that is so true sis.

 

[kisstheson]

I haven't read through this thread yet and so if I repeat what has been said or if this is an old conversation, please disregard my post.

I actually read Juliana Norwich biography. I can't remember, but someone from here recommended her to me. I think she might have been Teshi, but I'm not sure. (senior moment).

With Catholics who know the faith and are strong in the Catholic faith and her teachings etc, reading Norwich will most likely not endanger them into believing anything contrary to the Church teachings. But when there is a person who is just learning about the Catholic faith and is struggling and perhaps still hurting and grieving over their loss, reading Norwich is probably not a good idea. One should learn the basic fundamentals of the Catholic faith and be strong in the Catholic faith before reading complex writings like Norwich.

I also believe that Norwich is not a father of the Church and of her writings and/or insights are not part of the deposit of faith. Catholics are not required to believe or even read what she writes. I believe some of her writings may lean towards private revelation and that is okay, but like you said, we need to lean towards the side of caution.

KisstheSon,

My heart goes out to you. It is never fair or right in losing a parent or a child. I'm glad that our Lord Jesus was able to nurture you, comfort you, bring you some hope and peace and embrace you in His loving arms when you needed Him the most. May He continue to do this in your life.

Your mom will continue to be in my prayers and you are very much in my prayers as you learn more and more about the Catholic faith. I believe in time, you will grow to understand how much Mary loves you too and how she can also be apart of mothering you in the right way.

When I lost my baby boy, it was Mary that I felt some kind of connection to. Not to compare my loss and suffering to hers, but it's like for the first time in my life, I could relate to her.

With all of my heart, I pray that you have peace and are surrounded by love in Christ and by Christ and Mary and all of the saints.

God's peace,

Debbie

Thanks debbie. I really appreciate that.

 

[kisstheson]

KTS~ I think Jesus does have alot of wonderful loving qualities a mother would have. We're very much blessed that He loves us so much and can provide us comfort and mercy in our times of need.

I was blessed to grow up with having both of my parents in a safe home. I did not have a close relationship with my Dad (though I know he loves me very much and has done all that he can to help me through out my almost 24 years of being alive) and would often be reminded by God that He is my heavenly Father. It was a promise of love that I know would never be taken away from me~ it was a huge comfort in my life. Now with my struggles with my Mom are taking over and while I know Jesus loves me very much, I find myself often running to the Virgin Mary~ for her qualities of being a loving Mother to the Church.

So yes, I understand~ I never went through the heart ache of what you did (btw, thank you so much for sharing, that is very brave of you ), but I understand the wonderful love and peace of God the Father and the blessing through Jesus Christ, that we have Mary as our Mother. I'm not comfortable with saying Jesus is like a mother~but he definitely has the qualities a good mother has. And I'm thankful unto Him for proving you comfort through your children and into adulthood

Thanks for sharing your story with me. Please know that means a lot to me.

 

[LivingWordUnity]

God-Father,Son and Holy Spirit has both masculine and feminine atributes since God is a spirit.

God the Son (Jesus) took on flesh and became a real man, not some kind of ghost. And the Blessed Virgin became His real mother. When Jesus ascended to the Father, He ascended with his male body. So He will forever have a male body. To describe Jesus as our mother, one would have to deny the fact that he has a male body and say that the Blessed Virgin Mary gave birth to her mother which would make no sense. God chose Mary to be His mother and for Jesus (God the Son) to be her child.
.

 

[kisstheson]

This will certainly bless any Catholic...

The symbolism of the mother pelican feeding her little baby pelicans is rooted in an ancient legend which preceded Christianity. The legend was that in time of famine, the mother pelican wounded herself, striking her breast with the beak to feed her young with her blood to prevent starvation. Another version of the legend was that the mother fed her dying young with her blood to revive them from death, but in turn lost her own life.

Given this tradition, one can easily see why the early Christians adapted it to symbolize our Lord, Jesus Christ. The pelican symbolizes Jesus our Redeemer who gave His life for our redemption and the atonement He made through His passion and death. We were dead to sin and have found new life through the Blood of Christ. Moreover, Jesus continues to feed us with His body and blood in the holy Eucharist.
This tradition and others is found in the Physiologus, an early Christian work which appeared in the second century in Alexandria, Egypt. Written by an anonymous author, the Physiologus recorded legends of animals and gave each an allegorical interpretation. For instance the phoenix, which burns itself to death and rises on the third day from the ashes, symbolizes Christ who died for our sins and rose on the third day to give us the promise of everlasting life. The unicorn which only allows itself to be captured in the lap of a pure virgin, symbolizes the incarnation. Here too the legend of the pelican feeding her young is described: "The little pelicans strike their parents, and the parents, striking back, kill them. But on the third day the mother pelican strikes and opens her side and pours blood over her dead young. In this way they are revivified and made well. So Our Lord Jesus Christ says also through the prophet Isaiah: ‘I have brought up children and exalted them, but they have despised me’ (Is 1:2). We struck God by serving the creature rather than the Creator. Therefore He deigned to ascend the cross, and when His side was pierced, blood and water gushed forth unto our salvation and eternal life." This work was noted by St. Epiphanius, St. Basil and St. Peter of Alexandria. It was also popular in the Middle Ages and was a source for the symbols used in the various stone carvings and other artwork of that period.
Clearly the pelican became a symbol of charity. Reference to the pelican and its Christian meaning are found in Renaissance literature: Dante (1321) in the "Paridiso" of his Divine Comedy refers to Christ as "our Pelican." John Lyly in his Euphues (1606) wrote, "Pelicane who striketh blood out of its owne bodye to do others good." Shakespeare (1616) in Hamlet wrote, "To his good friend thus wide, I’ll ope my arms / And, like the kind, life-rendering pelican / Repast them with my blood." John Skelton (1529) in his Armorie of Birds, wrote, "Then sayd the Pellycan: When my Byrdts be slayne / With my bloude I them revyve. Scripture doth record / The same dyd our Lord / And rose from deth to lyve."
The pelican also has been part of our liturgical tradition. As mentioned in the question posed by the reader, the image of the pelican feeding its baby pelicans was a popular artwork on an altar frontal. In early times, when tabernacles were sometimes suspended over the altar, they were shaped like pelicans: for example, Durham Cathedral, to which was attached a Benedictine monastery prior to the suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII 1538, had the Blessed Sacrament reserved in a tabernacle fashioned in silver like a pelican and suspended over the High Altar. In the hymn "Adoro te devote," the sixth verse (written by St. Thomas Aquinas and translated into English by Gerard Manley Hopkins) reads,

Like what tender tales tell of the Pelican
Bathe me, Jesus Lord, in what Thy Bosom ran
Blood that but one drop of has the pow’r to win
All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.
​

Therefore, the image of the pelican is a strong reminder of our Lord, who suffered and died for us to give us eternal life and who nourishes us on our pilgrim way with the Holy Eucharist. May that image move us to show the same charity and self-giving love toward all."
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0682.html

 

[kisstheson]

God the Son (Jesus) took on flesh and became a real man, not some kind of ghost. And the Blessed Virgin became His real mother. When Jesus ascended to the Father, He ascended with his male body. So He will forever have a male body. To describe Jesus as our mother, one would have to deny the fact that he has a male body and say that the Blessed Virgin Mary gave birth to her mother which would make no sense. God chose Mary to be His mother and for Jesus (God the Son) to be her child.
.

Jesus certainly has a male body in Heaven but He feeds us spiritaully His own body and blood much like a mother feeds her children breast milk. "How often I have long to gather you like a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings." -the gospel of luke.

here Jesus shows us His wounded bosom form which flows every good nutrient for our souls.

 

[LivingWordUnity]

The pelican symbolizes Jesus our Redeemer who gave His life for our redemption and the atonement He made through His passion and death. We were dead to sin and have found new life through the Blood of Christ. Moreover, Jesus continues to feed us with His body and blood in the holy Eucharist.

I know about the pelican comparison. Mother Angelica uses it, but I can assure you that she will never call Jesus her Mother. The point of pelican comparison is to teach us about the Eucharist, us being feed by His body and blood. It is not saying that Jesus is a mother.

Jesus has and always will have a male body. He isn't our mother any more than I am the mother of my kids. Like I said, if I make pancakes just like their mother does, it doesn't make me their mother.
.

 

[LivingWordUnity]

Jesus certainly has a male body in Heaven but He feeds us spiritaully His own body and blood much like a mother feeds her children breast milk.

Blood and breast milk are not the same thing. But Jesus was nurished by breast milk from His Mother.

.

 

[kisstheson]

He has been a Mother to me...I who had no mother have experienced His tender care and I have often drank from His bosom spiritually. It's okay if you don't see this but for those of us who may need to or do know Him in this way this thread is for encouragement.

 

[kisstheson]

Blood and breast milk are not the same thing. But Jesus was nurished by breast milk from His Mother.
The baby is Jesus.
.

Yes! Thank God for Mary! Beustiful picture BTW...one of my favorite artists. She is our Mother.

Jesus is the greater Mother to our souls. Mary doesn't nourish us the way that Jesus does.

 

[kisstheson]

that is so true sis.

Thanks Jonathan!

 

[LivingWordUnity]

He has been a Mother to me...I who had no mother have experienced His tender care and I have often drank from His bosom spiritually. It's okay if you don't see this but for those of us who may need to or do know Him in this way this thread is for encouragement.

I'm glad that He was able to fill that void in your life. Maybe you did feel a mothering presence. You probably felt the Blessed Virgin's mothering, but you just didn't know it. Have you ever considered that possibility?

My only point is that although a man can do something that a mother does, it doesn't make him an actual mother. Like if something happens to my wife, I can try my best to do all the things that she does with them. But because I am a man I will never be able to be a mother. Jesus was born a man but He gave us an actual woman for our spiritual mother, His own mother. But it's up to us whether or not we want to accept his gift.
.

 

[CaDan]

I know about the pelican comparison. Mother Angelica uses it, but I can assure you that she will never call Jesus her Mother. The point of pelican comparison is to teach us about the Eucharist, us being feed by His body and blood. It is not saying that Jesus is a mother.

Jesus has and always will have a male body. He isn't our mother any more than I am the mother of my kids. Like I said, if I make pancakes just like their mother does, it doesn't make me their mother.
.

Sex and gender are not necessarily the same thing.

KTS: Don't mind what the Sacred Congregation for the Bunching of Undies has chosen to bunch about this time.

 

[CaDan]

I'm glad that He was able to fill that void in your life. Maybe you did feel a mothering presence. You probably felt the Blessed Virgin's mothering, but you just didn't know it. Have you ever considered that possibility?

My only point is that although a man can do something that a mother does, it doesn't make him an actual mother. Like if something happens to my wife, I can try my best to do all the things that she does with them. But because I am a man I will never be able to be a mother. Jesus was born a man but He gave us an actual woman for our spiritual mother, His own mother. But it's up to us whether or not we want to accept his gift.
.

Just knock it off. Go make pancakes for your kids--in a completely male and not motherly at all way. Leave the lady alone.

 

[kisstheson]

I'm glad that He was able to fill that void in your life. Maybe you did feel a mothering presence. You probably felt the Blessed Virgin's mothering, but you just didn't know it. Have you ever considered that possibility?

My only point is that although a man can do something that a mother does, it doesn't make him an actual mother. Like if something happens to my wife, I can try my best to do all the things that she does with them. But because I am a man I will never be able to be a mother. Jesus was born a man but He gave us an actual woman for our spiritual mother, His own mother. But it's up to us whether or not we want to accept his gift.
.

I hear what your saying and I do appreciate Mary too.

But it was most certainly Jesus who was "mothering" me.

 

[kisstheson]

Just knock it off. Go make pancakes for your kids--in a completely male and not motherly at all way. Leave the lady alone.

Thanks CaDan...

I know the naysayers mean well. They are trying to help.

 

[LivingWordUnity]

Thanks CaDan...

I know the naysayers mean well. They are trying to help.

I am trying to help. I am only trying to present the Catholic point of view since Catholics have the Blessed Virgin as our mother. But I guess we will have to agree that we disagree on the how of it and just be glad that God helped you to overcome the loss of your mother. By the way, my mom, who raised me and my brother by herself, died about 1 year ago.
.

 

[kisstheson]

So sorry about your loss.

I appreciate your heart.

May God bless you.

 

[LivingWordUnity]

So sorry about your loss.

I appreciate your heart.

May God bless you.

May God bless you, too.