Idea for a new religion - Chapter 36 - Praise and Prayer For Mother and Child & Life Continuing and Life Surviving

PRAISE AND PRAYER FOR MOTHER AND CHILD 1) Praise to the expectant mother - Good mother, we adore you and place the crown of our blessings upon your head, for you are the living body of our eternal mother, who is the womb and bosom of all creation; who, like every sun that rises and every moon that grows full, brightens our world with the light of new life. We give to you all our hopes and good wishes and place these gifts before you in gratitude for the blessed gift which you shall bear. 2) Praise and prayer for the newborn child - No weight of wealth exceeds the worth of life; no ruby is more precious than a rose and every infant is like an infinite sum of gold. God, we praise this child and raise it up, like a piece of the heavens, to be adored. Mother, who is mortal, treasure that which you cradle and, everyday, be thankful ; mother, who is eternal, keep safe this infant until its hair is grey. God, protect and preserve this and every child, forever and, forever, we shall be your faithful sons and daughters.

LIFE CONTINUING AND LIFE SURVIVING 1) Menopause: Wise woman, look around you and see that your body is a mirror of all nature, which is God; that your life is a part of her immortality. No single light or song can last forever but those who can no longer sing or shine can find another part to play and, while they are searching, hear the music and see the stars which surround them and be happy that they have been such a wonderous part of such a wonderous thing. If you are sad it is because you and your neighbour have swallowed the lie that life is nothing but unending and unfriendly competition. Never loathe yourself or any other; weave, together with all other women, a great web of sisterhood. 2) Mourning - Be active in your mourning; seek out an answer to your questions and a remedy to your grief. Grief is a wound that must be healed before it can deepen and become fatal to the soul. Demons gather wherever grief occurs and if we feed them, then they will never leave. Do not offer yourself to the hole of grief; offer yourself to the whole of life. Let yourself, and those who are departed, go free. Let them be reborn and let yourself return to living. Do not turn one death into two. If you have children, take comfort and happiness in them and try to heal the wound of grief that they are also feeling. If you have lost a child, then try to help and protect other children. All who die young go straight to heaven.