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Invoking the Goddess (the Catholic Way?)
Author William G. Gray, in his book Magical Ritual Methods (Weiser, 1981) cites the Liturgy of the Hours (or Divine Office) as a Catholic form of magickal invocation. The purpose of the Divine Office is to contact the Deity through praise and petition at certain hours on a daily basis (morning, noon, evening, night). Blessings are requested, along with beneficent guidance. Common phrases such as, "Come to me," appear often in the text. The psalms and prayers call the spiritual energies (God) into the participants, making it little different than an elaborate and oft-repeated group ritual.
Modern usage of the Divine Office has led to new translations of the psalms and biblical passages, to emphasize the "gender neutrality" of the Judeo-Christian Supreme Being. Taking it one step further than the "accepted" Church view: in many liberal Catholic female minds, "God" is also "Goddess", much to the chagrin of the majority of male believers.
The female branch of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists), for instance, follow the same format for the Divine Office as the monks, using instead an inclusive language translation of the psalms. Like many female Christians today, it helps them focus on the equality of all people before their God.
The Carmelites of Indianapolis found inclusive language to be a great concern not only in their own community, but for believers. This concern grew from their involvement with social justice issues. "We were aware that is it incongruous for a group of women to pray using masculine imagery," said Sr. Teresa M. Boersig, OCD. "Therefore, we began experimenting in the early eighties with different changes in language." Their original four-week psalter was expanded and developed over the years into the People's Companion to the Breviary, "which is a compilation of many of our other works, but also includes readings from the mystics and other spiritual writing. It is completely in inclusive language."
Sr. Jolise May, PHJC, Provincial Superior of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, felt her congregation's choice of the People's Companion to the Breviary "offered what best fit our needs. We are pleased with the two supplements: their format, the print, the content and the inclusive language." Again, though this breviary closely follows the format of the standard Liturgy of the Hours, the care put into the translation of the psalms, prayers and readings now sees it "used in all English-speaking countries of the world," Sr. Teresa remarked.
The popularity of the Carmelites' work notwithstanding, some religious communities still prefer to create their own version of the Divine Office. The Sisters of St. Benedict in Beech Grove, Indiana, received a grant from the Eli Lilly Foundation, which enabled them - among other projects - to develop a Psalter with a six-week cycle. Psalms and canticles were gathered from many sources, including the Carmelites. Gregorian chant tones are used for much of the Office, with modern feminist writings interspersed to keep the Sisters in touch with the current age.
"No one can say inclusive language doesn't matter anymore," pointed out Sr. Mary Luke Jones, OSB. "Even the Sisters in our community who never really paid attention to it before like the new Office."
Sr. Mary Margaret Funk, OSB, past prioress of the Sisters of St. Benedict and the woman who wrote the grant request for this project, concurs. "The superiors of the American Benedictine communities met to decide upon the norms that should be followed in revising the Office. One of them dealt with language." she explained. "We followed those norms when we adapted the Office to our needs."
The primary difficulty in using gender neutral language in Christian worship is the rising belief in a Deity both male and female, which goes against Church doctrines of only "one God". But, more and more over the past few decades, women serving the Church have stepped out and given a new twist to their faith practices, not just with the Divine Office, but in using the labyrinth, the Enneagram, and feminine-focused retreat themes, which blatantly contradict the patriarchal hierarchical structure of the Church.
It cannot be denied: women are far more active than men at the most influential levels (that is, among the practicing believers, not sequestered in high-rise office buildings or Vatican City-states). If the current translations and use of the Divine Office as magickal invocation is any indicator, it may not be long before invoking the Goddess (along with the God) becomes a fully accepted standard of Christian worship.
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