Long a favorite of mine is this short prayer. Today I carried a rosary in my pocket for protection from darkness. St. Francis had a special devotion to Our Lady. The mother of Jesus holds a special place in the Roman Catholic Church. It’s the missing element in fundamental Protestantism. Why this mystical element is removed is puzzling. Women are central to creation. The Jewish Ruach Hakodesh is a feminine spirit. The Jews fully appreciated the mystical significance of women in the creation. Women are relegated to lesser roles in many of the world’s religions despite the fact that if we didn’t have women we wouldn’t have any children. Men aren’t made to bear or even to raise children. Women are the nurturers. There are feminine elements in men as there are masculine elements in all women, but women excel at nurture.
Mary was the ultimate woman having born the Christ who came into the world not so much to save as to demonstrate how we were and are to live in relationship with each other. The world killed Christ as it did Gandhi, Martin Luther King, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, and others who chose to model and follow the example of Christ. Sarah Brightman does a splendid rendition of the Ave Maria. The monks at Abbey of the Genesee end their compline prayer with a special prayer to Mary.
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Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum
