Advent 2023 Week Three
Mother of Celestial Joy & a Gift
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Joy.
Joy to the World.
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy
~Isaac Watts, 1719
We light the third Advent candle on our wreath tonight.
Mary's Candle, the candle of joy.
Raised nominally Protestant in a non-church-going family with a non-practicing Catholic mother, deprived of Mary, the Blessed Virgin Mother, growing up, I had no concept of the Feminine as part of the divine.
It has taken me many decades to find a relationship with Her. It is just now, this year, in 2023, that I am beginning to feel close to her after pursuing her for many years.
I have a lovely book that is now out of print called In Praise of Mary. It is a collection of ancient prayers to her from the first millennium. I like ancient prayers and sacred writings because they are free from the distortions of 17th-century Puritanical fire and brimstone, 18th-century self-satisfied piety, the saccharine coating of the 19th century, the secularization of the 20th century and the dumpster fire that is 21st-century religion. Getting back to the roots of our ancestors’ spiritual practices sheds an entirely new light on our spiritual inheritance.
These ancient prayers to Mary contain echoes of the memory of The Great Mother, the goddess known to our distant ancestors in the fertile crescent and around the Mediterranean basin in neolithic times before Judaism and Christianity.
It is with great joy I share one prayer and two illustrations from the book with you. I will be reciting this as I light my Mary Candle tonight. Perhaps you will do the same.
Hail Mother of Celestial Joy
Hail, Mother of celestial joy
Hail, you who nourish in us a joy sublime.
Hail, seat of redeeming joy,
Hail, you who offer us perennial joy,
Hail, O mystical abode of ineffable joy,
Hail, O, most worthy place of indescribable joy.
Hail, O blessed spring of infinite joy,
Hail, O divine treasure of endless joy,
Hail, O shady tree of life-giving joy,
Hail, O Mother of God, unwedded bride,
Hail, O Virgin unblemished after giving birth,
Hail O wondrous vision,
far above any other marvel.
Who could describe your splendor?
Who could tell of your mystery?
Who could know how to proclaim your grandeur?
You have embellished human nature,
You have surpassed the angelic legions...
you have surpassed all creatures...
we acclaim you: Hail, full of grace!
~ Sophronius of Jerusalem, 560AD - 638AD
The great joy is that the Divine took root within humanity through the Feminine and created a way for us to hold within ourselves a Divine spark that would ultimately transform us into something more—spiritual evolution at work. In addition, this descent of the Divine into the world of matter would change the entire earth and all of nature, lifting it out of its state of "red in tooth and claw" and transforming it into the Peaceable Kingdom.
The language may be Christian, but the longing is universal, the desire for spiritual enlightenment and the possibility of a peaceful relationship with nature. The assertion that this is possible is a matter of great joy.
A Gift
As we draw near to Christmas, an ancient spiritual practice called the O Antiphons of Advent begins today, Sunday, December 17th, 2023. If you would like to deepen your journey into mystical Christmas and discover the symbolic and celestial aspects of the celebration in the context of the Christian Christmas story, I offer you this O Antiphones Guide, ancient preparations for Christmas, which you can download and explore.
Where are you finding great joy right now? What is your experience of the divine as feminine? Who is Mary to You?
The comments section is a safe and welcoming space to share your insights and experiences.
Comments and conversation are always appreciated and enjoyed, so feel free to let your voice be heard. I read them all and try to respond to each one.
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PS
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Growing up Protestant in the 50s, I saw my Catholic friends who had Mary, where I had no Divine Feminine (except for my sweet female horses). I envied them their opportunities to show devotion to her. Many years later, in my Mexico travels, I found her again in the churches where she had the “center of attention” above the altar. Now I find her again in the many representations of the Great Goddess, not to be worshiped as a substitute for God, but to be experienced in the faces of loved ones and in Nature. Earth is Her body, the Air her Breath, and the waters her Blood. Her statue sits in my altar and candle burns in gratitude for her gifts. Thank you for your wisdom and for sharing Mary.
Thank you for the beautiful download