Mother God?

[Mommyof02green]

I’m in the process of reading a book for a review that I’m doing. This book is apart of series that is being packaged as “Spirituality for Catholic Women”. That is why I thought my question would be best in this section.

The particular book that I’m reading/reviewing seems to have feminine undertone and at times a clear tone that is sending up red flags. It’s a concern to me because this book is being marketed as a book for “Catholic Women Spirituality”. This worries me because I worried about the messages it is sending…

In this book there is mention of woman being “co-creators with God” and at one point in the book there is a pray to “God Our Mother” and “Christ Our Mother”.

I’ve tried googling for the Church’s teachings on this matter, but I keep getting topics on Mary. 0f course this is not what I’m looking for. I also found one site that seems to be quoting Pope John II saying something about how we should pray to God our Mother, but when I tried to googling this more I came up empty handed.

Every site seems to be quoting the same person who in return is claiming to quote the Pope. So I’m certain that Pope John Paul II never said anything like that… Seeing I can’t find any other source. The only source is some John Doe claiming he said that.

Any insight on the Church’s Teaching on this matter will be a great help!

I’m looking for the Church’s Teachings regarding:

1. Women being “co-creators”
2. “God our Mother”; “Christ Our Mother”

and what if anything this has to do with woman spirituality? And further more what is orthodox Catholic Women Spirituality?

 

[JPayne]

I don’t know so much about the mother God and mother Christ part, but I have heard of women being co-creators with God. Not sure where i’m remembering this from. The creator bit deals with the womans ability to take part in the creation of a new soul in her child. With God’s grace, woman alone has been given the gift of bring forth human life and with that a new soul. It’s all pretty amazing to think about really. God chose for his own son to come forth from the womb of a woman. God being God, he could have chosen any supernatural way to manifest himself, but chose to humble himself and be born of a peasant girl. Again, pretty awsome when I think about it.

God bless,
Jesse

 

[Student09]

Julian of Norwich in her writings refers to Christ as our Mother, by which she did not mean to imply that He was female, but only that He loves us with a tender, motherly love - somewhere in the Gospels Jesus compares Himself to a mother hen wanting to gather her chickens. However, I think some feminists have seized on this concept, in the Bible and in writers like Julian, and exaggerated it. I would personally feel uncomfortable praying to Jesus as my “mother.”

Does the book have an imprimatur?

 

[Claire_from_DE]

Humans are, in a sense, co-creators with God in bringing children into the world. But this would be both men and women (or a man and a woman), it takes two!

God our mother??? God is spirit, no gender. However, all the characteristics of men and women reflect God, who is the source of them. Jesus told us to pray to the Father, not the mother. He has given us Mary as our mother (but not a goddess), the perfect woman and mother.

Christ as mother?? No way! When the eternal Son became human, He became a man.

It sounds like the book’s author is sincerely confused or may be trying to give women what he or she erroneously assumes they want. It couldn’t be that this was written in order to sell the series, could it?

Try the Catechism for info.

 

[grace_singh]

there is a trend within books on “women’s spirituality” to over-feminize God, Christian faith, and the Bible. in essence to take these things and re-package or imagine them within a feminist or new-age context.

so instead of encouraging the woman to read what the Bible has to say to her, she is encouraged to read the book’s ideas into and onto the Bible.

God is not a goddess. He is not our mother, and while God is described as being mother-like or comparable to a human mother within Scripture, God is refered to and understood in more neutral-to-masculine terms within His Word.

Christ teaches us to call His Father “Father”, and to understand that we are His children, servants, and creation. we are not on par with God, and that is good! true Christian theology states that God came down to our level through and as Christ His Son, through whom the world was made.

we didn’t make the world, or create Christ, and God did not become flesh as a woman. we all have Christ Himself, the historical and eternal Christ, to look to as to how we ought to live, pray, be, and give, male and female believers both. Christian women have Biblical examples of women like Hannah, Abigail, Mary the mother of Christ to look to as our examples.

this book sounds fairly new-agey and confused. any book which propegates the belief that we are on par with God in any way (we just need to realize it) is one to be avoided… Satan has been trying that one for a very long time, and it still snares a lot of people, within and outside of the Church (Genesis 3:1-5).

 

[Student09]

It’s strange how feminists complain about referring to God as male, but then they downplay the Blessed Mother.

 

[Mommyof02green]

Thank-you everyone for the (name removed by moderator)ut I appreciate it. Many of you have express the feeling I have been having about this book. The primary reason I’m reading it is because it’s for a review. I review books and other materials for a seller.

In direct question to the imprimatur the answer is NO. Yes, I understand the risk this posses, but I also know that there have been several items that I have come across that is orthodox that does not have an imprimatur. So in my opinion a lack of the imprimatur does not automatically dismiss the book or any other material. Also in discussing imprimatur it’s important to note that an imprimatur does mean the text is error free, nor is it a stamp saying this is official Church documentation/text. It just means that it does not contradict Church Dogma. Furthermore imprimaturs can be revoked.

I have a Catechism and I refer to it often along with other materials such as Catholicism for Dummies. However sometimes I need to seek help outside of the Catechism or other materials and that is why I posed these questions here. Of course I could just talk to Father and I just might do that, but I also know that sometimes I can seek opinions outside from my local cleric.

Thanks everyone for your (name removed by moderator)ut and insight. If anyone has anything more to offer please share.

 

[thistle]

I’m in the process of reading a book for a review that I’m doing. This book is apart of series that is being packaged as “Spirituality for Catholic Women”. That is why I thought my question would be best in this section.

The particular book that I’m reading/reviewing seems to have feminine undertone and at times a clear tone that is sending up red flags. It’s a concern to me because this book is being marketed as a book for “Catholic Women Spirituality”. This worries me because I worried about the messages it is sending…

In this book there is mention of woman being “co-creators with God” and at one point in the book there is a pray to “God Our Mother” and “Christ Our Mother”.

I’ve tried googling for the Church’s teachings on this matter, but I keep getting topics on Mary. 0f course this is not what I’m looking for. I also found one site that seems to be quoting Pope John II saying something about how we should pray to God our Mother, but when I tried to googling this more I came up empty handed.

Every site seems to be quoting the same person who in return is claiming to quote the Pope. So I’m certain that Pope John Paul II never said anything like that… Seeing I can’t find any other source. The only source is some John Doe claiming he said that.

Any insight on the Church’s Teaching on this matter will be a great help!

I’m looking for the Church’s Teachings regarding:

1. Women being “co-creators”
2. “God our Mother”; “Christ Our Mother”

and what if anything this has to do with woman spirituality? And further more what is orthodox Catholic Women Spirituality?

The Lord’s Prayer (which Jesus taught us) begins “Our Father”. As Jesus is God I go with his position on this matter.

 

[FCEGM]

Thank-you everyone for the (name removed by moderator)ut I appreciate it. Many of you have express the feeling I have been having about this book. The primary reason I’m reading it is because it’s for a review. I review books and other materials for a seller.

In direct question to the imprimatur the answer is NO. Yes, I understand the risk this posses, but I also know that there have been several items that I have come across that is orthodox that does not have an imprimatur. So in my opinion a lack of the imprimatur does not automatically dismiss the book or any other material. Also in discussing imprimatur it’s important to note that an imprimatur does mean the text is error free, nor is it a stamp saying this is official Church documentation/text. It just means that it does not contradict Church Dogma. Furthermore imprimaturs can be revoked.

I have a Catechism and I refer to it often along with other materials such as Catholicism for Dummies. However sometimes I need to seek help outside of the Catechism or other materials and that is why I posed these questions here. Of course I could just talk to Father and I just might do that, but I also know that sometimes I can seek opinions outside from my local cleric.

Thanks everyone for your (name removed by moderator)ut and insight. If anyone has anything more to offer please share.

Here are two articles that address the issue:

catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=8279&repos=1&subrepos=0&searchid=567206

catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=9&repos=6&subrepos=1&searchid=567206

 

[tassitus]

Julian of Norwich in her writings refers to Christ as our Mother, by which she did not mean to imply that He was female, but only that He loves us with a tender, motherly love - somewhere in the Gospels Jesus compares Himself to a mother hen wanting to gather her chickens. However, I think some feminists have seized on this concept, in the Bible and in writers like Julian, and exaggerated it. I would personally feel uncomfortable praying to Jesus as my “mother.”

Does the book have an imprimatur?

Here’s the link to the Vatican website with the Julian of Norwich quote:
vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20010807_giuliana-norwich_en.html
I’m still digesting this “God our mother” notion…

Peace all.