Holy Women, Wisdom, and Prayer
Compassion and Prayer
Reflection By Robbin Brent
Holy Spirit, giving life to all life, moving all creatures, root of all things, washing them clean, wiping out their mistakes, healing their wounds, you are our true life, luminous, wonderful, awakening the heart from its ancient sleep. Amen.
- St. Hildegard von Bingen
I created a small space in my home years ago where I could pause to pray each day. Just recently I found myself looking at and truly seeing my prayer space, as if for the first time. I’ve placed many treasured items here over the years to remind me of God’s goodness, compassion, and love—an unusual shell, a drawing my grandson made for me, a smooth stone found at an important crossroads in my life, icons of all sorts, flowers, candles, a singing bowl. But what struck me on this particular morning was all of the women who had joined me in the space: Icons of Mary, mother of Jesus; three of Mary Magdalene; Hildegard of Bingen; three women of color modeled on the Rublev Trinity; and a small statue of Kuan Yin, the Tibetan deity of compassion and mercy given to me by my son.
While each is imbued with particular gifts, all serve as models of compassionate devotion, service, faithfulness, love, and healing. All model profound ways of sharing love in the world. Through their steadfast compassionate presence, I have more deeply experienced the fullness of the heart of God.
I want to be more like them. I want to embrace and embody gifts from each in my own life and spiritual journey. While I might not have always seen these holy women with my eyes, I have been blessed by their loving, wise, compassionate companionship every day as I pray.
Making it Personal: I often like to pray using the prayers of holy women, like the one above from Hildegard. Do you have particular prayers you turn to when you pray? Who or what inspires you as you pray? If you have a prayer space, what do you see when you look closely? Who or what might you choose to remind you of God’s compassionate love?