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Jane Korvemaker considers the ways our Catholic tradition shows the connection between motherhood and God.

I’ve had the humbling experience of studying the Trinity for the past several weeks. One of the insights I’ve gained is how complex language is when we want to make any explanation of the reality of God.

Terms in our creed that we take for granted were hotly debated and disagreed about. We say that Son is consubstantial with the Father, but how is substance different than essence? Why is it better? Why isn’t being used?

And I wonder: would we consider these questions if they hadn’t been brought to our attention?

It is with the idea that we don’t think of some things unless they are brought to our attention that I turn to motherhood. Before I go further, know that the names and meanings behind "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" are not being debated. These have primacy of place for more reasons that I’m sure I could currently pronounce, but these are not the only references we have to understanding God’s nature. In fact, when these terms are used in a literalist or exclusivist way, they can harm our perception of God.

 

Am I A Heretic?

The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) stated, “For between Creator and creature no similitude can be expressed without implying a greater dissimiltude.” (Council proceedings can be read in The Christian Faith by J. Neuner, SJ and J. Dupuis SJ). This means that no matter what we say of God (and yes, even Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), it can never encapsulate all of God. But each and every metaphor, analogy, and concept we have of understanding God deepens our understanding of God.

Are there heresies? Yes, there are, but heresies are primarily declared against those who profess them obstinately and with full knowledge. The risk is relatively low for most of us who want to deepen our love for God.

 

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Where to Find God and Motherhood

Motherhood. Is God ever compared to women or mothers? I hope it is not too surprising that the answer is a definite YES! Both Biblically and in theological reflections from the patristic era and medieval period we can find a reflection of the concept of God through these examples:

As a woman giving birth: Isaiah 42:14,16; Deuteronomy 32:18; John 38:28-30 (as mother of creation); Numbers 11:11-15

As a nursing mother: Isaiah 46:3-4, 49:15; Numbers 11:12-13; Hosea 11:1-4; Psalm 131:4

Doing maternal activities: Gen 3:21 (making clothes for Adam and Eve); Job 10:11; Isaiah 66:13-14 (in comforting)

As midwife: Isaiah 66:9; Psalm 22:9-10

As female homemaker: Psalm 123:2; Luke 15:8; Proverbs 31 (Wisdom is a woman)

As a bakerwoman: Matthew 13:33

As a mother bear: Hosea 13:8

As a mother eagle: Deuteronomy 32:11-12; Exodus 19:4

As a mother hen: Matthew 23:27; Luke 13:34; Psalm 17:8-9, 57:1, 61:4, 91:4.

Perhaps the most pervading overarching analogy in Scripture is the presentation of Lady Wisdom. In the Old Testament she is as the right hand to God, a perfect emanation of God; she is present at creation and involved in all the salvific events of Israel (Wisdom 7:22-8:1 & Sirach 24: 8-11). And St. Paul names Jesus as God’s wisdom (1 Cor 1:24) and the author of Hebrews draws a close parallel between the Son of God and God’s Wisdom in his description in 1:1-4 of Jesus.

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Reclaiming motherhood in God reminds us that everything good comes from God and is a reflection of God’s love for us. #catholicmom

Wisdom is mother to all humanity and has been made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth. I am continually astounded at the depth the Old Testament brings to our understanding of the Trinity revealed in Jesus!

Later Julian of Norwich, a well-known and loved mystic and theologian from the mid-fourteenth century would say, “As truly as God is our father, so truly is God our mother” (Revelations of Divine Love chapter 59) and St. Anselm looks at the crucifixion and contemplates the pain of Christ giving birth to his children there (from “Prayer to Saint Paul,” found in Prayers and Meditations of St. Anselm).

 

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Our own motherhood is enveloped in God. In truth our motherhood is found in God. It is found in Jesus. It is in the Holy Spirit. Indeed if God is not mother to us, how can we expect to even be mothers at all? Scripture and our theological heritage testify to the maternal imagery of God. What richness can we find in using more than one image for God to more fully understand who God is for us!

Reclaiming motherhood in God requires us to acknowledge our inability to ever know the fullness of God. It reminds us that everything good, such as motherhood, comes from God and is a reflection of God’s love for us.

Of all analogies for God that you know, is there one that has a special place in your heart?


Copyright 2021 Jane Korvemaker
Images (from top): Anna Hecker (2019), Unsplash; Sharon Santema (2020), Unsplash