prayes at the feet of the black madonna in dublin
i had not planned to meet the black madonna on this journey to ireland, yet what became clear to me upon my meeting her was her plan for me. while on pilgrimage with my irish wisdom school in kinvara, two week prior, one of my teachers asked, “have you been to the black madonna in dublin?” i admitted to alison that i had not and she could tell immediately, before i asked where exactly in dublin she could be found, that the black mother and i would meet.
i was born catholic and had my first communion in a church with a stature of the mary, the mother of jesus’, in the santuray. she was a white mary drapped in blue and white cloth with her arms nurturingly extended and a forlorn gaze in her eyes. in my late twenties i learned about the black madonna, the black mary, virgin mother of jesus. i was immediately struck by this black divine feminine- she—dark skinned like me and the earth that we all come from and, one day, will return.
our lady of dublin : the black madonna and child in whitefriar street carmelite church in dublin ireland
i met this black madonna my second day after returning from england. i was tired both physically and emotionally. it was a tuesday when i took the dart from my friends house to the city center. i was going to take the bus from the train station but a kind local man encouraged me to walk, saying it would no time. the sun was shinning as it had been since my arrival in late april and i thought for sure i could use the light and warmth of the sun to move through this fatigue i had been experiencing.
when i came to the church i could feel my heart space expand and pause. for just a moment, i questioned what i was doing back at a catholic church, a place i only go when i have the strength and vigor to pierce through it imperial structure so that i can experience the soul and spirit of christ consciousness there. and yet i was certain that i needed to be here, on this day, the eve of closing the 3 month grief rituals with the grandfathers. i had come for the blessings of the black mother.
as i approached the black mother, i gathered my change to put in the donation can. i took out some bills instead as it came to me that i needed to light seven candles, one for each of my homecoming circles. i have been practicing lama rod owens seven homecomings practice since 2020 when he published “love and rage”. (read more about lama rod owens’ seven homecomings practice). i have been practicing this in the way he has intended the practice, as “an invitation to explore the depths of self-love and communal care in support of our liberation.” and it has been a great benefit to me and those i am in community with to practice it this way. and here i was as the foot of the black mother on the eve of closing the grief ritual of the grandfathers, weary in ways and wanting to bring blessings to each of my homecoming circles who have and continue to bless me with the ways i go deep into the love of myself and the care i give and receive in community.
so i lit the seven candels, one for each of my homecoming circles and offered i this prayer and blessing:
- i a deeply grateful and full of thanksgiving for each one of my guides, my teachers, my mentors, and my elders. may they have continued abundant blessings in their lives and essence.
- i a deeply grateful and full of thanksgiving for each one of wisdom texts, wisdom images, wisdom song/music, wisdom performances. may they have continued abundant blessings in their lives and essence.
- i a deeply grateful and full of thanksgiving for each one of my my communities, my families, my relatives. may they have continued abundant blessings in their lives and essence.
- i a deeply grateful and full of thanksgiving for each one of my ancestors and my lineages. may they have continued abundant blessings in their lives and essence.
- i a deeply grateful and full of thanksgiving our earth, these lands, and the water. may they have continued abundant blessings in their lives and essence.
- i a deeply grateful and full of thanksgiving for silence, the stillness, the space. may they have continued abundant blessings in their lives and essence.
- i a deeply grateful and full of thanksgiving for myself- me, who i was, who i am will be. may i have continued abundant blessings in their lives and essence.
and when each candle was lit i walked to the bench at the foot of the black mother and prayed. i brought these blessings, my weary body and heart to her feet and let her hear and hold me like the black child in her arms.
