motherin' daddy

for the most part, i tend to believe in traditional orthodox Christian theology. i really do believe the God is our Heavenly Father, that through Him and His Spirit the Universe is actively animated and comes to life; but that is not to say that i deny that He also has mothering aspects, cares and concerns that are necessarily a part of the whole Creation process. and, that is, I think, what the Catholic Church has always taught, or at least most certain teaches today. the maternal aspects of God tend to be somewhat neglected in our traditional address.

it is also important to remember that we do have a Heavenly Mother as well, that principal incarnated in Mary, the Mother of Jesus. She is constantly intercedng for us with the Father through the Son. I do not think it entirely inappropriate to address her with our deepest concerns.

if this seems hopelessly sexist, i really cannot offer much else in the way of apology. while i do believe that we are all equal in the signt of God, i do not necessarily believe that we are all the same. differing humans almost always have differing gifts. it seems to me somewhat misguided to ignore our differences. a man cannot give birth to a child. a woman cannot conceive without some element of male participation. those are just facts of life. they do not justify discrimination in areas where we can work together in full equality, but some respect for our differences is also called for.

i only state these matters by way of clarification. they might be better left unsaid. but in a climate of radical and raging and virulent attack, i think some sort of statment is justified. please forgive me if i seem to offend.

i myself had a very maternal father whose loving concern for my happiness and well-being i never seriously doubted. i am very grateful and indebted to that care. i ascribe that same virtue to the God I worship and love. i believe that such a love which transcends all conceptions of male and female is an essential part of His eternal character. i have no good reason to doubt that either.