Edgar licks my cheek.

Yes, Edgar is my service dog, so its OK that he lays a big, wet tongue on me, but oh, what a sensation! Here I am, sitting on the couch reading about important spiritual matters for my all important blog, when all of a sudden he heaves his 63 pound frame on top of me and slurps up my face. 

I throw my hands up. "Edgar!" I cry out. 

He wags his tail and slurps me again in happy response.

There was a time I might have jumped to my feet irritated, and maybe even scolded. I might have thought, "I don't have time for this!" or "Gross!" 

But not today.

Today, I know better then to waste my time resisting this precious moment, this precious, precious face and tongue that wants to leave its dog-brand of joy all over me. I reach for Edgar's big, square face, and plant a gorgeous kiss right back on him.

My friends, how is the universe trying to kiss you today?

Hail! Queen of Heaven,

Hail! Lady of the Angels:

Salutations Thee, root and portal,

Whence the Light of the world has arisen.

The deepest mystical root of the Christian tradition is one that celebrates the Sacred Feminine. It is Mary, Queen of Heaven, to whom the feminine face of the divine has been transferred. Historically, we see that when Christianity rose as the predominate religion in the west, the entreaties that were once spoken to goddesses were transferred into prayers to Mary. As modern day mystic, Andrew Harvey points out in his book, The Divine Feminine, the quote above echos the greeting to the Goddesses that were honored before Christianity. Inanna, Ishtar and Isis have all been known as the Queen of Heaven! These goddess, like Mother Mary have been personified by the morning star as well as by the moon. A crescent moon is often shown beneath Mary’s feet.

Abbot Lot came to Abbot Joseph and said: “Father, to the limit of my ability, I keep my little rule, my little fast, my prayer, meditation and contemplative silence; and to the limit of my ability, I work to cleanse my heart of thoughts; what more should I do?” The elder rose up in reply, and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He said: “Why not be utterly changed into fire?”

—Saying of the Desert Fathers

"Somebody asked Antony, 'What shall I do in order to please God?' He replied, 'Do what I tell you, which is this: wherever you go, keep God in mind; whatever you do, follow the example of Holy Scripture; wherever you are, stay there and do not move away in a hurry. If you keep to these guide-lines, you will be saved.'"

--Sayings of the Desert Fathers

“Amma Syncletica said, "There are many who live in the mountains and behave as if they were in the town; they are wasting their time. It is possible to be a solitary in one's mind while living in a crowd; and it is possible for those who are solitaries to live in the crowd of their own thoughts."

--Chryssavgis 2008, p.30

Christianity has a long and sacred tradition of mysticism. One of the earliest christian groups to form was made of ascetics and hermits, who created a community in the desert regions of the Scetes desert of Egypt in the third century CE. These groups were referred to as  Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers (Abba and Amma).  One of their most famous leaders was Anthony the Great, who became known as both the father and founder of desert monasticism. He had thousands of monks and nuns who came together in informal gatherings for prayer, which influenced the development of early Christianity. The commandment to LOVE was the primary guide for the Desert Fathers and Mothers: Love all creatures and be transformed by God’s love.

Hesychasm (Greek for stillness, rest, and silence) is a mystical tradition and movement that the Desert Fathers and Mothers used as the center of their practice of prayer. Hesychasm is the practice of interior silence and continual prayer. The wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers can be found in the written records of their sayings.

Mary, Star of the Sea

“O you, whoever you are…if you do not want to founder in the tempest, do not avert your eyes from the brightness of this star…In dangers, in hardships, in every doubt, think of Mary, call out to Mary. Keep her in your mouth, keep her in your heart.”
— Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

These inspiring words honoring the strength and comfort of Christianity’s sacred feminine tell us to direct our mind, our thoughts, our words and actions on all that Mary, mother of heaven, represents and teaches us. This passage from Bernard of Clairvaux, a French abbot and the founder of the Cistercian order, reveals this mystic’s union with the sacred feminine. Bernard preached an immediate faith, in which the intercessor was the Virgin Mary.