Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. A blessed and grateful and joyful Mother’s Day to all mothers and grandmothers—the literal ones and the mothering principle in all of us!
Julian of Norwich talks about motherhood this way— A mother’s service is nearest, readiest and surest…. Compassion belongs to the motherhood in tender grace and it protects, increases our sensitivity, gives life and heals….The working of compassion keeps us in love.
It is interesting that this past week in our DMs we have been meditating on the youth—young adults protesting the violence of war in Gaza and calling us to wake up our sense of moral outrage. Such a call to collective morality is a compliment to mothers everywhere who have taught their children worthy values. And it is a challenge to institutions—educational, governmental, judicial, economic–that are currently failing us.
One thing that makes Mother’s Day special to our Daily Meditations is that our publication was launched on Mother’s Day five years and 1825 DMs ago!
We chose this day deliberately, as we are very aware of the sacredness of Mother Earth and the danger she finds herself in these days. How matricide, the killing of Mother Earth as we know her is a reality staring us in the face.
Obviously, that term “Mother Earth” is integral to creation spirituality, for one of creation’s amazing achievements over the past 13.8 billion years is to have birthed this very special planet we call “Earth” and all its marvelous beings, humans included. As Hildegard of Bingen put it over 800 years ago, “the earth must not be injured, the earth must not be destroyed.”
Because today represents the fifth anniversary of the DM, we want to turn to you, our readers, to learn more about what the DM means to you and how we can better serve your needs while we honor our own limits.
Thus, we offer you a Survey and hope you will all take part in it and give us your honest feedback. As we enter our sixth year, we are eager to know how we can improve.
You can find the survey HERE. As an expression of our appreciation for your time, we’re giving a 25% discount on any purchase from Matthew’s store upon completion of the survey.
A shout out to the current team that makes the DM happen including: Phila Hoopes, Ellen Kennedy, Cynthia Greb, Rosanna Tufts, Drake Moore and Dennis Edwards. The DM is a team effort and we are grateful for the gifts and generosity of these co-workers.
Gratefully,
Matthew Fox and the DM team
Adapted from Matthew Fox, Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic—and Beyond, p. 103.
See also Fox, Hildegard of Bingen, A Saint for Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century.
Banner Image: March of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, an organization of Argentine women who have fought since 1977 for justice for their children who were “disappeared” by agents of the dictator Jorge Rafael Videla. Photo by Andrew on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
Please take the survey and consider it a deeper reflection on our time together over the years!
Recommended Reading
Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic–and Beyond
Julian of Norwich lived through the dreadful bubonic plague that killed close to 50% of Europeans. Being an anchoress, she ‘sheltered in place’ and developed a deep wisdom that she shared in her book, Showings, which was the first book in English by a woman. A theologian way ahead of her time, Julian develops a feminist understanding of God as mother at the heart of nature’s goodness. Fox shares her teachings in this powerful and timely and inspiring book.
“What an utterly magnificent book. The work of Julian of Norwich, lovingly supported by the genius of Matthew Fox, is a roadmap into the heart of the eco-spiritual truth that all life breathes together.” –Caroline Myss
Now also available as an audiobook HERE.
Hildegard of Bingen, A Saint for Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century
Matthew Fox writes in Hildegard of Bingen about this amazing woman and what we can learn from her.
In an era when women were marginalized, Hildegard was an outspoken, controversial figure. Yet so visionary was her insight that she was sought out by kings, popes, abbots, and bishops for advice.
“This book gives strong, sterling, and unvarnished evidence that everything – everything – we ourselves become will affect what women after us may also become….This is a truly marvelous, useful, profound, and creative book.” ~~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism.
4 thoughts on “Mother’s Day 2024 & a Survey on Our 5th Anniversary”
This is the first Mothers Day for me, since my Mothers passing on April 1st. Last night I layed on my deck, wrapped in a blanket, gazing up into the heavenly night sky, watching the red and green colors of the Northern Lights dance. In that moment I remembered her and I sensed the embrace of a Mother’s eternal love! This dancing, pulsating light reflected the Many that make up the One Mother of eternal love embracing all, the freely dancing Spirit that is rooted and grounded within the hearts of all souls, continuously transforming all from within.
Today you write: “One thing that makes Mother’s Day special to our Daily Meditations is that our publication was launched on Mother’s Day five years and 1825 DMs ago!”–and I was a part of it for the first few years, and count it an honor to have been a part of this project which now has a life of its own. God bless you Matthew, and congratualtions on this gift which you have given of yourself, to those “who have ears to hear!”
Thanks for making this MOTHER EARTH day! I would also like to ask for help in trying to influence the public conversation about the right to have a safe and legal abortion, to include medical care access for all women and children. Let us make our argument about POSITIVE Support; to help parents, to build healthy families, for family planning, medical care, and access to care! Community support becomes even more important in crisis pregnancies, when her family cannot meet the woman’s real needs. We need universal healthcare, for women and for children, as part of community regard and responsibility for the health of the children of the future, and to build a healthy society. The best reason for getting pregnant is love. This cannot be legislated, but should be the great goal of society, to build love and courage into young people, in the work of creating strong and loving families. All the ways that women are used and abused should carry legal penalties. Human trafficking, rape and incest, domestic violence, and bullying– which includes criminalization of women who feel they cannot take on the burden of this pregnancy, are all ways of destroying the civil rights, as well as hurting the souls of women. Let us work toward the COMMON GOOD, making universal healthcare happen, for mothers, fathers and children.
Happy Mother’s Day and Blessings for All our beautiful and compassionate Mothers around the world, including our Beautiful and Sacred Mother Earth and all Her living creatures and graceful abundance! ????????????????