Patricia Lynn Reilly Quotes

In the beginning was the Mother.
On the first day, She gave birth to light and darkness.
They danced together.
On the second day, She gave birth to land and water. They touched.
On the third day, She gave birth to green growing things.
They rooted and took a deep breath.
On the fourth day, She gave birth to land, sea, and air creatures.
They walked and flew and swam.
On the fifth day, Her creation learned balance and cooperation.
She thanked her partner for coaching her labor.
On the sixth day, She celebrated the creativity of all living things.
On the seventh day, She left space for the unknown.

Our Mother, who art within us,
We celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come. Your will be done,
Unfolding from the depths within us.

Each day you give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits and we let go.
You support us in our power and we act with courage.

For you are the dwelling place within us,
the empowerment around us, and the celebration among us.
As it was in the very beginning, may it be now.

My thoughts are my own - I will not modify them to receive the approval of others. My feelings are my own - I will not silence them to make others comfortable. My life is my own - I will not shape it according to the expectations of others. I live in harmony with my natural cycles, deepest wisdom, and truest self. And so it is.

…the exclusive imagining of God as male has deeply wounded women. Our immersion in these images convinced us that we are excluded from the divine, that we are inferior to men, that we are in need of a male savior, and that to name and imagine God in any other way than he has always been known is blasphemy.

The dethronement of a male God was a crucial task on my journey. My imagination, intellect, and vision were freed of the shackles of a lifetime as his words and images were exorcised from my mind, heart and body.

There were no religious images in the churches or synagogues of our childhood that celebrated the birthing powers of women. According to religion's myths, the world was brought into being by a male God, and woman was created from man. This reversal of biological process went unchallenged. Most of us didn't even notice the absence of the mother. Although we may not have been consciously aware of her absence in bible stories and sermons, her absence was absorbed into our being. And its painful influence was intensified as we observed the design of our parents' relationship and the treatment of our mothers by our fathers and brothers. Our families mirrored the hierarchical reality of the heavens. In a society that worships a male God, the father's life is more valuable than the mother's. The activities of a man's life are more vital and necessary than the mother's intimate connections with the origins of life. The father is God.

Spirit-Filled One,
Your Grandma is God and so are your favorite star and rock.
God has many names and many faces.
God is Mother, Daughter, and Wise Old Crone.
She is found in your mothers, in your daughters, and in you.
God is the God of Sarah, and Hagar, of Leah and Rachel.
She is Mother of all Living, and blessed are Her daughters.
You are girl-woman made in Her image.
You can run fast, play hard, and climb trees.
You are Batwoman, firewoman, and Goddess.
The spirit of the universe pulsates through you.
Be full of yourself. You are good. You are very good.

Women are afraid of the intensity of feeling that may surface as their eyes are opened to the wider reality of a woman's life. A woman's intensity makes everyone uncomfortable, including herself. We were taught to be nice, not angry, even when our own lives and sanity are at stake.

Our search for a God who looks like us begins in our own lives. She will be found there.