"Spiritual Motherhood..."

[DameAgnes]

http://aleteia.org/2015/12/15/spiritual-motherhood-a-reality-illuminated-in-advent/
"...every woman’s authentic womanhood is found in her intimate connection with the Source of all life. In Advent, to meditate upon the Infant Christ helps us to remember that spiritual motherhood can be an authentic gift and calling, and to connect with the reality that we may be mothers of one, or none, in flesh, yet mothers to many, in spirit. "

I was thinking about all the nuns and sisters I know who talk about "spiritual motherhood". This seemed right.

Edited December 15, 2015 by DameAgnes

[Nunsuch]

But not all sisters--much less all women--find this a helpful or a descriptive understanding. I have no problem with those women who find this inspiring, but it should not be assumed to be universal. Just as not all sisters see themselves as in a "spousal relationship" with Christ....  

[NadaTeTurbe]

But does every sister is a bride of Christ ? I know that the community I'm speaking with currently, have not spoken about it with me, and they don't wear a ring... 

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

20 hours ago, DameAgnes said:

http://aleteia.org/2015/12/15/spiritual-motherhood-a-reality-illuminated-in-advent/
"...every woman’s authentic womanhood is found in her intimate connection with the Source of all life. In Advent, to meditate upon the Infant Christ helps us to remember that spiritual motherhood can be an authentic gift and calling, and to connect with the reality that we may be mothers of one, or none, in flesh, yet mothers to many, in spirit. "

I was thinking about all the nuns and sisters I know who talk about "spiritual motherhood". This seemed right.

Since I was not (and am not) physically able to have children for medical reasons, my "authentic womanhood" (not even sure what that means) is not tied in any way to the fact that I once possessed a uterus. Nor am I a bride of Christ. This makes me no less a woman.

However, if read carefully, the quote says that "...spiritual motherhood CAN be an authentic gift...." which I agree with, but not that it is a gift that is necessarily given to ALL women. 

By the way, the extent to which a nun or Religious Sister considers herself a "bride of Christ" differs by Order, Community, and by individual. Wearing a ring or not has nothing to do with it, as far as I know. For example, the Nashville Dominicans don't wear a ring because the Sisters in the founding Community could not afford rings, and the Sisters have continued the tradition of not wearing a ring. It has no relationship (as far as I know) to whether a Sister considers herself a bride of Christ.

[katherineH]

"For at this time, after refining certain features of the personality, the gift of self is made to God more genuinely and with greater generosity; it extends to others with greater serenity and wisdom, as well as with greater simplicity and richness of grace. This is the gift and experience of spiritual fatherhood and motherhood" Vita Consecrata (70)

Can be interpreted multiple ways, but the phrase "spiritual motherhood" certainly is present in church documents. 

 

[MarysLittleFlower]

On 12/16/2015 6:19:18, NadaTeTurbe said:

But does every sister is a bride of Christ ? I know that the community I'm speaking with currently, have not spoken about it with me, and they don't wear a ring... 

Well there's a theological reality of some kind... Each soul is destined to be spiritually married to God in Heaven and earthly marriage is a sign of this, and consecrated souls live that more directly in a spiritual way on earth. Some may have an attraction to it and others not, but I believe there is a spiritual reality there. And CVs in particular have the title in a very explicit way as they symbolize the Church. 

[Nunsuch]

MLF, what you say may be meaningful to you, which is fine, but it isn't dogma and people don't need to believe it.  There are many, for example (and I confess to being one, as are many of the sisters I know), who find the understanding of "Jesus as brother" more meaningful, as we are all daughters and sons of God.  And the notion of CVs as "symbolizing the church" is not dogma, either. Again, all I wanted to say was that these metaphors (and that is what they are) may be meaningful to some, but they are not universal, or universally helpful. Obviously, I'm not trying to start a debate, just to note that there are many ways of understanding and expressing one's relationship with God, and with Jesus in particular, and that this is only one and not necessarily a widespread one in terms of acceptance.

[Sponsa-Christi]

3 hours ago, Nunsuch said:

MLF, what you say may be meaningful to you, which is fine, but it isn't dogma and people don't need to believe it.  There are many, for example (and I confess to being one, as are many of the sisters I know), who find the understanding of "Jesus as brother" more meaningful, as we are all daughters and sons of God.  And the notion of CVs as "symbolizing the church" is not dogma, either. Again, all I wanted to say was that these metaphors (and that is what they are) may be meaningful to some, but they are not universal, or universally helpful. Obviously, I'm not trying to start a debate, just to note that there are many ways of understanding and expressing one's relationship with God, and with Jesus in particular, and that this is only one and not necessarily a widespread one in terms of acceptance.

I'm also not trying to start a debate, but CVs symbolizing the Church---though it might not be dogma which has been defined with a special act of papal infallibility---is indeed what the Church teaches. There are numerous references to this in the writings of the Church Fathers, but more recently the Catechism has said this:

By this solemn rite (Consecratio Virginum), the virgin is ‘constituted…a sacred person, a transcendent sign of the Church’s love for Christ, and an eschatological image of this heavenly Bride of Christ and of the life to come.’  (CCC 923)

It is also Church teaching that some women, consecrated virgins especially, are called to related to Christ as a Spouse. Canon law describes CVs verbatim as "mystically betrothed to Christ."

I've written before that I don't think all consecrated/religious women are necessarily given the charism of a spousal relationship with Christ, so I can completely appreciate how some Sisters might truly be more comfortable relating to Jesus primarily as a brother or teacher. I certainly don't think such Sisters are somehow "wrong"---they're just relating to the Lord in the particular way that He's drawing them. 

Still, it is a reality that the Church does teach that at least some women are called to be brides of Christ in a way that goes beyond a mere metaphor. 

[Lilllabettt]

On 12/15/2015, 6:26:42, Nunsuch said:

But not all sisters--much less all women--find this a helpful or a descriptive understanding. I have no problem with those women who find this inspiring, but it should not be assumed to be universal. Just as not all sisters see themselves as in a "spousal relationship" with Christ....  

Spiritual motherhood is the calling of every woman who walks the earth, just as spiritual fatherhood is the calling of every man. Whether that concept as a metaphor "works" for you is another thing - different strokes for different folks. Beyond the metaphor is the reality. 

At the personal judgment, the Lord will show us our children. The people who were born to heaven because we said a prayer for them, gave them some advice, showed them forgiveness, sat with them at a lunch table, or smiled at them on the street. 

Woe to them that are found barren on that day.

 

 

 

[Era Might]

I agree that the common vocation we have in life is to be mothers and fathers, but I think it's less for reasons of biology, and more because we all have a mother and a father. It's the ultimate task we have in this world, to pass it on to the next generation. That's the essence of what it means to be a mother or a father. Not just to pass on genes, but to pass on a world in which others can live (and in which you lived).