Spirit Mother

 

When I was away from home in school I had a friend whose family some classmates and I liked being part of. It was the mother who made that family inviting, who made it clear that we were welcome. It was she who fed us.
To appreciate the role of the Holy Spirit it helps me to see the Spirit as the One who mothers us into the family life of the Holy Trinity, the One who draws us in and nourishes us in this new life.
I realize that God is neither male nor female, nor neuter for that matter. The Divine is beyond any of our human categories. I do, however, find it helpful sometimes to think of the Holy Spirit in feminine terms, like the mother who made us feel so much a part of that family.
Trinity helps us to understand that the life of God is dynamic, Father, Son, and Spirit knowing and loving each other, a Family of intense intimacy. The Father wants to share that intimate Love with all of us. So he sends the Son to be our Brother. The Son gives us his Spirit. In Romans St. Paul says, "The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." It is the Holy Spirit who mothers us into the eternal loving embrace of the Trinity.