Birthing the Holy: The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine
with Christine Valters Paintner, PhD
December 4, 2021
9-12 Pacific
12-3 Eastern
5-8 pm Ireland/UK time
Hosted by Spirituality & Practice
Program Description
Join us for a 3-hour mini-retreat during the season of Advent to encounter the wisdom of Mary and the sacred feminine during this time of growing darkness. The journey of Advent is one where we each hear a call, gestate and wait, and then finally welcome the holy birth into our midst.
We will focus on three names or aspects of Mary which invite us into our own process of responding, incubating, and birthing our dreams.
We begin with Mary as Virgin and will explore the archetype of Virgin as one that has more to do with wholeness to ourselves than it does with physical intactness. Mary was given a call and had full agency to say yes or no to the divine. When we embrace the Virgin within, we are empowered to choose or not the direction our lives might take.
Once we hear a call that sparks our sacred yes, we enter into a period of waiting, gestating, incubating, allowing, and slow unfolding. When we rush the growth process we risk intervening before our dream can come into fullness. Mary of the Underworld companions us in this time and reminds us that this is a time of being more than doing, of resting into the darkness rather than reaching for the light.
Finally, when the moment of full ripeness is ready, we birth the holy. Medieval monks Meister Eckhart and Angelus Silesius saw the journey toward Christmas as intimate and archetypal. We are each called to bring our gifts in service to the world. Christmas only has meaning when we each participate in this holy birthing in our lives. Mary as Mystical Rose will midwife us through our labors until we hold our new creation, fully unfolded, in our arms.
Gather with us for this holy pause in a season filled with rushing and frenzy. Make a commitment to slow down and listen, to wait for the shape of what is ripening within you to emerge into fullness. We will engage in meditation, visio divina, song, gentle movement, writing explorations, and small and large group sharing to allow our bodies and hearts to speak with clarity around the season we are in. Mary will be our companion in her various guises, empowering us and summoning us to live into the fullness of who we are.
There will be a recording available for those unable to join the live session.
Your Guide for the Journey
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE
Christine is the director of AbbeyoftheArts.com, a virtual monastery exploring contemplative practice, creative expression, and ways to nourish an earth-cherishing consciousness. She is a spiritual director, teacher, pilgrimage guide, and author of numerous books on spirituality, the arts, and poetry including her forthcoming Birthing the Holy from Ave Maria Press in spring 2022.
Her deepest belief is that the earth is the original monastery–a wisdom guide and mentor in living a soulful and vibrant life. Visit the “About Christine” page for more information.
Registration
If you need a different payment plan or a greater scholarship to make this program accessible, please contact Spirituality & Practice directly via the contact information on their website.
