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You are here: Home / Archives for Mother’s Day

Mother's Day

Uncover the Majesty of the Divine Feminine This Mother’s Day

Alissa Ellett 1 Comment

Celebrate Mother’s Day this year by uncovering the power and majesty of the Feminine Divine with your children.

mother's day

Perhaps this Mother’s Day you celebrate because you mother lots of children. Or perhaps you aren’t a mother of children, but of ideas. Maybe you don’t have a relationship with your mother or you speak with her every day. Or perhaps your mother is now gone.

No matter where you find yourself fitting or not fitting this Mother’s Day, there may be even more to celebrate than you’ve imagined.

On Mother’s Day, we celebrate God our Mother. God who loves and offers faithfully, who nurtures, advocates for, and believes in us, who stands, speaks, fights, and births so life can prevail.

And on Mother’s Day we celebrate women, those with and without children, who embody Mother God. The women in the fields feeding us, those caring for the living and the dying, those cheering us on, those birthing their inspiration and inviting us to do the same.

mother's day

We always love hearing from you. Share your thoughts on relating to Mother God this Mother’s Day in the comments below!

Finding God Our Mother in Scripture

Our sacred texts have so much to offer us on Mother’s Day. Look to these scriptures for reflection and prayer! I hope you find joy and appreciation for the feminine within us all as you do.

Mother Eagle – Deuteronomy 32:11-12

God guarded Jacob as an eagle stirs up its nest,
    and hovers over its young;
as it spreads its wings, takes them up,
    and bears them aloft on its pinions.

Birthing Mother – Isaiah 42:14

For a long time I have held my peace,
    I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor,
    I will gasp and pant.

Comforting Mother – Isaiah 66:13

As a mother comforts her child,
   so I will comfort you.

Mother Hen – Luke 13:34

How often have I desired to gather your children together [Jerusalem] as a hen gathers her brood under her wings…!

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Ways of Reflecting Upon the Scriptures This Mother’s Day

Paint or Draw

On Mother’s Day, read the scripture repeatedly aloud with your kids. Invite them to look for the words and images that stand out to them as they listen. Perhaps even colors will come to mind. Then, after paying attention to what comes to mind, bring pens or colors to paper and create.

Give your kids ten minutes to draw and color. Then, invite them to share their creations with each other. Close by reading the scripture once more together.

Practice Lectio Divina

On Mother’s Day, read the scripture aloud three times with your kids.

First, read the scripture slowly. Invite your kids to simply listen openly and to gather their focus to the present.

Second, read the scripture and encourage your kids to reflect on what God is giving to them, a word or image in the scripture perhaps.

Third, read the text and invite your kids to respond to God. This can be a time of sharing verbally together, silence, prayer, etc.

Fourth, invite your kids to rest and let go of their thoughts, listening deeply for whatever God brings to them.

mother's day

Breath Prayer

On Mother’s Day, read together one of the scriptures. Invite your children to choose, as you read, a word or phrase that they will speak in rhythm with their breath when you all pray. For example, from Isaiah 66:13, “I will comfort you.” On the inhale perhaps recite silently “I will” and on the exhale “comfort you.”

Consider bringing the group back together playing music or ringing a bell. Invite them to share with each other what the experience was like. Explain that they can use this kind of prayer with any phrase or scripture.

Blessings in Your Mother’s Day Celebration

I hope these scriptures help you connect to God, to women who do and have mothered you, and to the Sacred Feminine within you this Mother’s Day. And don’t forget to share your thoughts on relating to Mother God in the comments below!

mother's day

Further Resources for Mother’s Day Reflection

  • Swallow’s Nest: A Feminine Reading of the Psalms
  • God Our Mother, a poem by Allison Woodward.
  • “God Our Mother,” an episode on The Liturgists podcast
  • A Mother’s Day Prayer, by Rev. Marci Glass
  • An open letter to pastors {a non-mom speaks on Father’s Day}
  • Two prayers by Rev. Ashley-Anne Masters: Prayer for Parents & Those Who Want to Be and Prayer for Children of All Ages

3 Ways of Celebrating the Sacred Feminine This Mother’s Day

Alissa Ellett Leave a Comment

May you, this Mother’s Day, find a rich and deep celebration of the Sacred Feminine that is held within all of our bodies and around us, even in the air we breathe.

mother's day

Sharing Our Gratitude on Mother’s Day

Perhaps you aren’t a mother. Perhaps you don’t have a fantastic relationship with your own mother. Or perhaps you are without your mother.

No matter where you find yourself fitting or not fitting, there may be even more to celebrate than you’ve imagined before.

On Mother’s Day, we celebrate our own mothers. We thank them for their love and for the ways they so faithfully offer themselves to us.

And we celebrate women with whom we may share no family ties at all. We offer our gratitude to the women who nurture us, advocate for us and believe in us. For, they too are our mothers.

Mother's Day

We give thanks for the women who stand, speak and fight. We celebrate those, both living and gone, who toil to make possible the world in which we get to make our life. For, they too are our mothers.

We offer our admiration and gratitude for the women who bring life to the world. The women with dirt under their nails from working in the fields and in their gardens, the women who birth ideas in their writing, those who sit with the hurting and care for the dying. For, they too are our mothers.

Also, on Mother’s Day, we celebrate God our Mother. God who loves and offers faithfully, who nurtures, advocates for and believes in us, who stands, speaks, fights, births for life to prevail.

mother's day

Celebrating God As Our Heavenly Mother

God is far beyond anything we can hope for or imagine. We use our language to hint at what we can’t quite fathom. So, how is the Divine like the mother for whom we all long?

God is strength, safety, tenderness, provision, compassion, forgiveness, unconditional love, guidance, comfort, creative power, presence, intimacy, joy, peace, open acceptance, wisdom…

And we, being made in God’s image, both men and women, share these qualities with Her.

So, I hope that you will notice the fingerprints of God, the imago dei, in the women you hold dear and celebrate this Mother’s Day. And I hope you will notice Her in you, also.

As a way of reflecting and connecting with God in this way, we’ve put together a list of just a few scriptures and ways of engaging them. We’d also love to hear how you’ll be celebrating the Sacred Feminine this year in the comments below.

As you enter into prayer around Mother’s Day, may you find joy and appreciation for the feminine within us all.

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Celebrating God as Mother through Scripture

Mother Eagle – Deuteronomy 32:11-12

God guarded Jacob as an eagle stirs up its nest,
    and hovers over its young;
as it spreads its wings, takes them up,
    and bears them aloft on its pinions.

Birthing Mother – Isaiah 42:14

For a long time I have held my peace,
    I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor,
    I will gasp and pant.

Comforting Mother – Isaiah 66:13

As a mother comforts her child,
    so I will comfort you;
    you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

Mother Hen – Luke 13:34

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

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Ways of Reflecting Upon the Scriptures

Paint or draw them. First, read the scripture repeatedly aloud or silently. Wait for the words and images that stand out to you. Perhaps colors will come to mind. Pay attention and then bring onto paper what you see.

Practice lectio divina with them. Read the scripture three times. First, read the scripture slowly. Second, read the scripture and reflect on what God is giving to you, a word or image perhaps. Third, read it and respond to God in heart and/or verbally. Fourth, rest and let go of your thoughts and listen deeply.

Use them for breath prayer. Choose, as you read, a word or phrase that you will speak in rhythm with your breath. For example, from Isaiah 66:13, “I will comfort you.” On the inhale perhaps recite silently “I will” and on the exhale “comfort you.” It may be helpful to set a timer. Then, you can be present in your practice not concerned about time.

mother's day 105

Blessings in Your Celebration

We hope these scriptures offer you a pathway on the journey of connecting to God, to women who do and have mothered you and to the Sacred Feminine within you this Mother’s Day. And don’t forget to share the ways you’ll be celebrating Mother’s Day this year in the comments below! 

Further Resources for Mother’s Day Reflection

  • Swallow’s Nest: A Feminine Reading of the Psalms
  • God Our Mother, a poem by Allison Woodward.
  • “God Our Mother,” an episode on The Liturgists podcast.

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