the sacred feminine

From Sarah’s journal:

Yesterday, i became saturated with all that i was seeing, hearing, contemplating, etc.  Joe pointed out to me that not everyone is exhausted by journeying “back in time” to consider the ENORMITY of the shift from a pantheon to Christianity’s monotheism. Contemporary Catholics often are impressed by the 1000+ churches in Rome, but seem unaware that the plethora of Catholic churches is simply because the early Popes encouraged the people to cover up all the “pagan” temples and holy sites! Where one block used to hold 4 temples honoring 4 separate and distinct deities, now there are 4 identical “temples” (AKA Catholic churches!) to the same god! Rinse and repeat!

Over centuries, common people forgot about the ancient, original Pantheon of Gods and were genuinely surprised in the 1800s to discover “ruins” under their sacred spaces.

i was pleasantly surprised to tour the excavation under the Passionists’ Basilica. Maria was excited to share her knowledge with us, as she described the three known periods of use of the site.

After lunch, we plunged into the excavations at Chiesa Basilica di San Clemente al Laterano to see the (now) subterranean statue of Mithras in an ancient dining hall! Wow! Running water! Streets! Frescoes! Stories!

And being the “radical feminist” that i am, i was struck again by the ignorance (fear?) of catholic men who seek to suppress the role of women in the sacred…yet, without her, there would be no Christianity! Constantine’s wife and daughter converted to Christianity and thus the Emperor reluctantly altered the law to allow Christians (and others) to avoid persecution. He eventually converted.

A story in San Clemente’s “basement” (told in fresco): a converted Christian woman invites an early Pope to her home because her husband (non-Christian) has gone deaf, blind, and suffers from dementia. The Pope prays for healing and miraculously the husband is cured. But opening his eyes, he is not grateful for new health. He roars for his guards to seize the Pope and kill him!!! The guards, under the wife’s directions, fool the husband by pretending to “rope the Pope” and struggle with a column on the porch, giving the Pope a chance to escape. Later, the husband converts.

So…two stories of men’s conversions under influence of their (obedient? dutiful?) wives (AKA radical feminists!) Where did the message of love get corrupted? Why are America’s nuns being persecuted for their goodness?

Toward light and away from blame, i must set my course. i do not want to live bitter but rather in joy and light!