have also chosen to use one text found in 1 Enoch. Perhaps this extra-canonical book is more familiar to Christians. The New Testament epistle known as Jude contains a direct quote from it and mentions Enoch by name. This book forms part of the canonical Scriptures of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. First Enoch was also used at Qumran and is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Besides Jude 14–15 being a quotation from 1 Enoch 1:6, verses 6 and 16 of Jude are also influenced by it. Understandably, many early Church Fathers considered 1 Enoch inspired and meditated upon it, for example, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian.5 First Enoch, as well as other biblical books not found in the Tanak but used by Christians throughout the world and throughout the centuries (i.e., Apocrypha), are employed as sources for passages in both Morning and Evening Prayer.
A regular part of the Liturgy of the Hours is a time for meditation upon a passage written by some spiritual authority. The question of authority can be a sticky issue. I have chosen to quote in the Liturgy of the Hours only passages taken from the Fathers of the Church and saints recognized by the Catholic Church. A word of explanation is in order. In 1 Corinthians 11:1 the Apostle Paul exhorts, “Take me for your model, as I take Christ.” Elsewhere Paul states, “Take as your models everybody who is already doing this and study them as you used to study us” (Phil 3:17). Christians are to emulate other Christians who have more fully conformed their lives to Christ than we have (see also 1 Thess 1:6–7; 2 Thess 3:7–9; Heb 6:12 and 13:7). Eventually, the issue arose of deciding who ought to be held up publicly as a model of Christian virtue and teaching. The Roman Catholic Church, of all the catholic apostolic churches, over time devised a method and system for deciding who is worthy of such a widespread status. Every Christian is called to be a saint, but in certain people the splendor of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit more brightly shine. I have chosen to use writings from those Christians who have been sanctioned by the Catholic Church. There are three ascending levels of Catholic sainthood: Venerable (Ven.), Blessed (Bl.), and Saint (St.). The names of the men and women quoted herein will be preceded by their recognized Catholic title and position.
However, a few saints will also be quoted who are not formally recognized as such by the Roman Catholic Church. Originally there was one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. This body of Christians became divided in the fifth century into two major camps: the “new” Oriental Orthodox Churches and the original Catholic Orthodox Churches. Eventually there was another split, a schism between East and West in the eleventh century, resulting in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Over the centuries, various non-Roman Christians sought communion with the Church of Rome; these have formed what are known as the Eastern Catholic Churches. The Roman Church is only one of more than eighteen Catholic Churches in communion with the bishop of Rome, who is known as the pope. Because all the Catholic Churches in communion with the bishop of Rome recognize the various Orthodox Churches as fully apostolic and preserving the catholic faith, men and women who are regarded as saints in these particular churches will also be quoted. One such illustrious (Greek) Orthodox saint is Gregory Palamas. His spiritual authority and learning in Orthodoxy is comparable to that of St. Thomas Aquinas in the West.
Vatican II has this to say regarding the teachings of the Orthodox Church: “In the study of revealed truth, East and West have used different methods and approaches in understanding and confessing divine things. It is hardly surprising, then, if one tradition has come nearer to a full appreciation of some aspects of a mystery of revelation than the other, or has expressed them better.”6
Because of the length of this book, quotes from non-canonized Christians—whether they are Catholic or Orthodox, as well as Protestant—will be found in a forthcoming book. Many would expect to find excerpts from Dame Julian of Norwich in this volume; however, she has never been canonized by the Catholic or Orthodox Churches and thus her texts are not included in this book. Reformers such as Luther, Calvin, and Zinzendorff, not to mention other Protestant renowns, also used feminine metaphors when speaking about God. As should be evident by now, and as will become strikingly clear later, Christians throughout every century and belonging to every church affiliation have celebrated the feminine aspects of God. Meditational passages in this book have been drawn from eight non-canonized but officially recognized Fathers of the Church, thirteen authoritative church documents (five of which are from Ecumenical Councils), and seventy-five Catholic and Orthodox saints speaking almost every language, and spanning every century. In Appendix A you will find a complete chronological list of these Fathers, documents, and Catholic/Orthodox saints.
One further point needs to be made. Saints are noted for conforming their lives to Christ under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God Almighty. The Catholic Church also accords various extra titles to certain saints for their teaching authority. Listed according to importance, we have Apostolic Fathers (those who lived and taught from AD 70–125), Post-Apostolic Fathers (AD 125–175), Fathers of the Church (AD 175–787), and Doctors of the Church, who are outstanding teachers acclaimed as authorities. Some Fathers of the Church are also Doctors, thus possessing the highest honor. But one need not live before 787 to be a Doctor of the Church, nor must one be a man; there are three female Doctors of the Church: Sts. Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, and Thérèse of Lisieux. In the Catholic Church there are thirty-three Doctors.7 Every single one of them utilized feminine imagery to express a facet of God’s infinite love.
Finally, there is the peculiar case regarding St. Gregory of Nyssa, who was highly influential during the Second Ecumenical Council, known as Constantinople I. For some reason, he is not yet acclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church as a Doctor of the Church, even though he is a weighty and brilliant authority whom the Seventh Ecumenical Council hailed as the “Father of the Fathers.” Two Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome acknowledge Gregory of Nyssa as a “Doctor of the Church”: the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and the Chaldean Catholic Church. Because the Seventh Ecumenical Council, recognized by Rome, as well as two Eastern Catholic Churches, accord Gregory of Nyssa the title of Doctor of the Church, I have likewise, thus raising the number by my reckoning to thirty-four Doctors.
I have used authors sanctioned by the Catholic Churches as well as Orthodox to demonstrate that speaking about God in feminine terms is not contrary to the Catholic Church’s Tradition. In fact, it is part and parcel of the Apostolic Tradition as demonstrated by several authors included herein. Authors will be followed by the date of their death so that one can appreciate the persistency and continuity of this tradition.
About the Translations
One of the most difficult jobs is to translate accurately from one language into another. All translations are my own and are based on the most critical text available, unless noted otherwise. While I am concerned with the authenticity of the text in question and the historical meaning the author most probably had in mind, I am more intent upon presenting the possible historical perception that the Christian community had when pondering these texts. This is especially true for the Psalms, which were prayed in a christological context. I have striven to be faithful to the actual wording and to maintain any vagueness that might have permitted an alternate understanding of the text. For example, the Hebrew version of Isaiah 46:3 is polyvalent, that is to say, open to various interpretations. It reads:
Listen to me, O House of Jacob,
and all the remnant of the House of Israel,
whom I have borne since your conception,
whom I have carried since you were born.
The Hebrew does not make it explicit if God “carried” Israel internally or externally. Because the passage is open to a feminine interpretation—God carrying us within God’s own womb—I have used this passage. It could legitimately be heard in this fashion. Such a contention is verified by the Vulgate. When Jerome translated this text he explicitly
