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This litany is based entirely on the account in Luke 1 of the angel Gabriel’s visitation to young Mary. Mary gives consent to the action of the spirit of God upon her body, to bear the image of God out into the world, and to allow her plans and her life to be utterly disrupted by this work.
There is a moment
When the spinning of the earth
And the twinkling of stars
And the rushing of winds
And all movement
And all buzzing
And all frenzy
Stops….
I had trouble keeping this litany as brief as it is. There's so much wisdom and depth in the story of the Mother. In the way human salvation from humanity's misperceptions and misdeeds, this great Correction of Our Understanding, came from within a human body. The wisdom came from within. The Divinity came from within. From a place that might have been overlooked or forgotten: the belly of a girl with no power, no influence, no streams of income, no security.
And yet, her "soul rejoices in God her savior." And her song in Luke 1 gives us a grand poetic account of her transformed (saved) understanding. Within her gut Wisdom grows; Word is made flesh; Love gains body. And she BIRTHS it out into the world! Human salvation (by this I mean: setting a-right, justice, redemption from oppression and power hierarchy - not some measly personal salvation from after-life "hell" we usually hear about) begins in the belly of divinely touched humanity!!
Gosh, I could go on and on. I hope it's enough.
God, we are not satisfied*
Not with the way things are,
Not with the direction things are headed,
Not with the status quo…
Hello friends,
If you’re looking for liturgy for Mother’s Day (May 12), I have a few offerings that suit a Divine Feminine theme well.*
The first is one of my favorite litanies I’ve ever written, “Litany for the Midwives.”
Another is “Litany for God Our Mother”
And we can’t forget “Litany for the Divine Feminine”
And finally, for my lovely Patreon subscribers, I’ve written something new: “Litany for Mother.”
Whatever liturgy you decide to use, I would encourage and hope that it is sensitive. Mother’s Day is tough for many people - some who wish to be mothers but aren’t, some who’ve lost mothers, some who’ve lost children, some who never had good mothering, some whose mothers were harmful. Mother’s Day can be triggering and painful for a wide variety of people. Passing out flowers to moms in your congregation is not sensitive to that wide variety of experiences.
Good liturgy can be sensitive and empathetic. One way we have found to avoid some of the pitfalls of Mother’s Day, is to use it as an excuse to lean in to God’s Divine Feminine aspect. We like to incorporate feminine imagery and energy, in homage to God’s gender-full nature.
I love to hear stories from your churches. What are my readers doing? How do you incorporate the Divine Feminine into your liturgical year?
love,
f
*Although, Mother's Day isn’t the only day it’s appropriate to explore and expose your congregations to the Divine Feminine aspect of GOD. You can do this any old day. Or half the Sundays. Or just AT. SOME. POINT. Because most churchy people get no exposure whatsoever and that is a shame and a travesty and we need to teach our people to have a more robust understanding of the Divine.
From a reading of Luke 2, the Lectionary gospel for Christmas, Year C.
God, we can’t help but feel a bit scandalized
About the way the Son of God was born to earth:
There was no room
There was no bed
There was no midwife
And no fine baby blankets
And when the Mother had finished her work
She wrapped her babe -
The hope of nations -
In strips of homespun cloth,
And laid him to sleep in a manger,
The humblest of corners.
But still, whenever we think about that night
We sigh with relief;
Because we know that for you,
We don’t have to put on a show,
We don’t have to fake anything,
We don’t have to hide the truth of ourselves,
We don’t have to have everything spotless and together,
Before you come in our door.
The most monumental works are done in the smallest increments.
The most glorious hymns are sung by the croakiest voices.
The most brilliant cathedrals are built by the roughest hands.
The most fervent prayers are prayed by the gentlest souls.
Even as the tiniest baby,
The Christ was telling the glory of God.
The highest heights are made low for you.
You level the roughest terrain (1).
Amen
1) Isaiah 40:4
Today I’m offering my patreon subscribers an extra-special Christmas litany. If you’d like to get extra content from me, you can join the fun on Patreon for less than the price of a latte!
And if you haven’t ordered yourself (or your pastor, priest, worship leader, small group leader, or bestie) a copy of THE BOOK, there’s still time to get it before Christmas.
cheers y’all,
Fran
I wrote this litany to accompany my sermon entitled "Beautiful Heretics: Three Mary's." The texts are from the Gospel of Luke: 1:45-55; 10:38-42: 16:9-11.
God, you’ve shown us that you work in ways we don’t expect
Ways we don’t imagine.
You use the least
To show us your best.
You use the weak
To teach us about strength.
In scripture you used women
Whom the world considered powerless
To redeem the narrative
And re-imagine power.
Help us to be like Mary of Bethany
Listening at your feet.
Help us to be like Mary the mother of Christ
Consenting to your work.
Help us to be like Mary Magdalene,
Present for whatever you’re doing.
These were friends of Christ
Whom he loved and regarded.
Through these relationships, Christ taught the world
What friendship looks like,
What equality looks like,
What respect looks like,
What reciprocity looks like,
What cooperation looks like.
Because they cooperated with Christ,
We see a wider, brighter future for all people.
May we live to see that future alive on earth,
Alive in our community.
Amen