Equal in Faith
Prayer Developed by Interfaith Leaders of Equal In Faith
To pursue human becoming to its divine fulfillment, such seems the spiritual task most adapted to our age. Not simply to submit to already established truths, dogmas and rites, but to search for the way of a human flourishing still to come. And to do this beyond enclosure within a single tradition that ends up making God the property of a religious community.
How have women and men, here or elsewhere, yesterday or today, pursued their spiritual growth? Are the means that have marked out and propped up this growth still valid, now that we are discovering a panoramic view of the whole of humanity and its history? With what may we replace the religious practices of the past? And how have these practices shaped us, even without our knowing?
May the words of Luce Irigaray help to open the doors of our religious practices and traditions so that we can find a transformative space to reflect -- empowered and unencumbered-- at who we are in relation to our own faith traditions, and who we are called to be. As we discern our sources of spiritual strength, we trust that faith can be a source of liberation for women, and also for religious practices that have been manipulated to deny women’s full equality. As the sun sets on this day of prayer, may Holy Wisdom guide us to a new day, on our way to a more just and gracious world in which the gifts of all people are recognized, embraced, and celebrated for the benefit of all creation. Let us befriend one another in solidarity today and every day, and advocate in a chorus of voices for the equality of women everywhere.
(Religion in French Feminist Thought: Critical Perspectives, p.1f, Edited by Mornay Joy, Kathleen O’Grady, and Judith L. Poxon with an introduction by Luce Irigaray, 2003, London: Routledge)
