Sunday, August 16, 2009

Circle them O Lord

Yesterday was the feast day of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the woman whose womb contained the Holy One.

This photo of an Afghan woman and her child is yet another incarnation of Mary - maybe it's the blueness of her burqa that touches me, or it could be the regal way she carries herself and her child. Let us pray for our Afghan sisters who do not share the freedoms that we take for granted. Let us pray for all Human Rights workers who strive to ease the suffering caused by regressive regimes, who are intent on stripping away all Afghan women's rights. Pray for their upcoming elections.

These are our sisters, holy ones created in God's image. Circle them O Lord. Keep despair out, and hope alive
.

2 comments:

Brad said...

Roberta, I love the picture, which may resemble what Mary wore more closely than some later artistic renderings. As you know, the 15th in the Catholic Church is the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin, emphasizing the Catholic doctrine that Mary was received bodily into heaven. For the Orthodox it's the Dormition of the Christ-Bearer, emphasizing that she passed from earthly life - "went to sleep." I sort o favor the latter version.

I'm with you on praying for Afghan women, and for men and children too, plus for all those trying to sort out the situation there! By the way, yesterday was total chaos in Greece - it's the biggest religious holiday after Easter and hundreds of thousands of folks go to their home islands or villages and/or to certain "destination churches." Like many very holy things in Greece, it is unruly, noisy, exuberant, and a real family time. We could learn from this... Brad

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

Thank you for this reminder of the light of Afghan women.

I love the photo too.