Even More, God Is Our Mother

I don’t really follow Pope Francis; however, as a Catholic I certainly regard the pope with the respect and honor due his position as successor to Peter.

What I do read about him, I tend to get from my friends. He seems to be loved or hated and certainly has made people sit up and take notice.

I also don’t watch the news in general or read much on the Internet—secular, Catholic or otherwise. I am not on Facebook and I don’t do Twitter. I’ve made a conscious effort in the past couple of years to purposely reduce the chaos of the world by limiting my exposure to it so that my own world now feels purer and a whole lot more peaceful.

Amidst that peace, I’ve recently begun researching “Sophia” for my third and final fiction book in a series that started with Elizabeth: A Holy Land Pilgrimage. I share this because my research about this seemingly elusive, somewhat mystical, and definitely female Sophia/Wisdom/Mother keeps crossing paths with what I’ve read about Pope Francis. Francis continues to enter into my quiet world in a calm, wise, even motherly sort of way.

Let me explain.

At her essence, Sophia is the wisdom that runs throughout Scripture—yet that small acknowledgement leaves so much to be desired. King Solomon sought her and was richly rewarded; Hildegard of Bingen sang her praises; Mother Julian of Norwich wrote about her when she said that God is both our Father and our Mother. Echoing this mystical sentiment, Sophia was given passing credit in 1978 by John Paul I when he made an astonishing reference to the idea of divine motherhood. In a Sunday St. Peter’s Square address he said, “God is our Father; even more God is our Mother.”

Even more, God is our Mother.

It was a profound, brave statement; one that did not get the attention it deserved. One that wasn’t unpacked and contemplated like it should have been.

As I research Sophia, I can’t help but see Pope Francis as the possible embodiment of her. I keep reflecting on what I am learning about Sophia and the prophetic words of John Paul I: …even more God is our Mother.

Lacking the language to flesh out the idea of “God is our Mother,” we can still begin to see how Pope Francis may well be the prophetic fulfillment. In Pope Francis we see the possibility that “God is our Mother” is a truth whose time has possibly come. Is Pope Francis ushering in the manifestation of Sophia—the groundwork that was laid by Christian mystics and more concretely captured when John Paul I said “even more God is our Mother?”

I even marvel at the pope’s name which is both masculine and feminine.

The words and actions of Pope Francis in light of the “God is our Mother”possibility make us contemplate important questions: What is a mother if not a healer of relationships and a pursuer of righteousness for all? Isn’t the ideal mother one who wishes all her children to be in harmony? Does a mother not run to those most in need? Will a loving mother not admonish her children to be kind and prudent in their words and in their deeds?

Is it not in a mother’s nature to create a home where the spirit of the law prevails? She doesn’t throw out the letter of the law but her heart always reflects the spirit of it.

Indeed, we know that a mother is more apt to speak from her heart instead of her head. When she does, her words are not diluted by too much reason for they erupt from the love she has for her children. Often, she is raw emotion responding to the meekest and most in need. She reaches out to all from the depths of her compassion; everything she says and does is wrapped in concern, passion and love.

Sophia, Wisdom, Mother—known by so many names—is one of them Pope Francis?

 

Cheryl Dickow

www.bezalelbooks.com

(picture © Hakan Ertan | Dreamstime.com)

God the Mother

If you are anywhere near my age (1976 high school graduation) and are a female, you may now be at a point where the aftertaste of radical feminism has started to disappear. You’ve also successfully waded through a culture that embraced new-age thinking and have now arrived at real truths.

Unfortunately, the result of the particular journey that many of us have been on is that we, in direct opposition to the false messages of radical feminism and the new age movement have really lost out on something that I have only recently discovered: God as Mother.

Sophia.

Years ago I wrote my first fiction book titled Elizabeth:A Holy Land Pilgrimage. In the book, Elizabeth’s daughter is named Sophia. At the time I knew no one with that name and it had no special meaning to me. I just knew that Sophia was supposed to be the name of the daughter in the book. The second fiction book I wrote is titled Miriam:Repentance and Redemption in Rome. Sophia, as Elizabeth’s daughter, is also part of the Miriam book. Again, clueless about the import of Sophia.

After I finished Miriam, I knew—instinctively—that the third and final book was going to be Sophia. Plain and simple. In fact, the story of Sophia has already made itself known to me. From beginning to end it has already taken place in my heart and in my head. Yet at that point the significance of Sophia was still unknown to me.

All that has since changed.

Sophia has now brought me front and center to the concept of Sophia as Wisdom. Sophia as a Mother, a Spirit, a Companion. A door opened, a word was spoken, and in an instant Sophia was revealed to me. A curtain was pulled back and I was invited to step inside.

Since that moment, I’ve discovered much about Sophia and Her works with God; Her desires to be found, to be welcomed. The more I learn about Sophia and welcome Her into my heart and into the book that is Hers, the more I see that the damages of radical feminism have made us push Her away lest we think we are entering some radical feminist frame of reference for God. Indeed, seeing Her in all Her glory may even feel a bit new-agey to us, so we’ve walked away. Using words such as “Goddess” makes us run; but Sophia isn’t “Goddess” as we would imagine some dark magic use of the word. Nor does Sophia invite us to an alternate spiritual world of new-age.

No, Sophia has been there all along in right relationship with the Father. Solomon sought Her and was handsomely rewarded for doing so; Christian mystic Hildegard of Bingen sang Her praises.

Unfortunately, it seems that in our day and age we no longer have the language with which to describe Her; thus we don’t seek Her or know Her. But there She is, throughout Scripture (Wisdom, Proverbs, Exodus, Corinthians, Romans). She seems to have been well-hidden and then further buried as a result of the fears we have to keep all things bad and “feminist” or “new age” at arm’s length.

And yet She is within each of us; She willingly accompanies us on our journeys.

Sophia is the wisdom of motherhood and sisterhood and womanhood; and while She may seem elusive—She is patiently waiting to be found.

She is the treasure for our age. A safe-haven for those who call out to Her and seek Her guidance. She is the Holy Wisdom that reveals to us the connections between Heaven and Earth; She is order in a chaotic world and light in darkness.

I am excited to write about Her; honored that She beckoned to me.

I invite you to know Her as well; accept the gifts of Holy Wisdom, of Sophia.

Cheryl Dickow
www.BezalelBooks.com
 

(picture copyright Paul-andré Belle-isle Dreamstime.com)