Her Mystical Body of Grace

Abstract

In Mary the cosmological body of grace is merged with the bountiful female body. Grace — in a cosmological rather than a denominational sense — is our conscious experience of the unity in which we are embedded. It is our perception of the larger reality, the sacred whole, infused with the divine creativity called God, Goddess, or the Great Holy. We can speak of the cosmological body of grace because the cosmos constitutes a unity, unfurling the curve of space/time within the gravitational embrace. As for the bountiful female body, it too has always been a source of elemental mystery. Its blood tides flow in rhythm with the moon, then pause when it swells as round as a full moon and grows people from its flesh, keeping the newborns alive with food it has transformed into milk. Even in the age of science, mysterious paradox survives within this body. How could the tenderness of belly and breast accomplish such tough feats? The female body, both vulnerable and hugely resilient, has always attracted a charged reaction from culture, especially from the deepest pool of cultural response: religion. Honored or feared, the female is the matrix, the life force, the incomparable sanctuary.