Annette Jantzen believes that "it is not enough to turn 'Mr' into 'Ma'am'" "God is also our Mother": A theologian's struggle to feminize the language of the liturgy by José Lorenzo

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Annette Jantzen believes that "it is not enough to turn 'Mr' into 'Ma'am'" "God is also our Mother": A theologian's struggle to feminize the language of the liturgy
by José Lorenzo
Religion Digital | 02 March 2023

Theologian Annette Janzen

Annette Jantzen wants to feminize the language of the liturgy. She considers that it is too patriarchal, which is why this German theologian, married and mother of three children, who works in the Bishopric of Aachen and accompanies women in vulnerable situations, offers texts and prayers on her blog for women to enter into that another dimension that has been obscured for centuries, as she shares in an interview with Katho.de.

"At mass I notice again and again how one-sidedly masculine and patriarchal the language in the liturgy is. God is spoken of as Lord, as Ruler and Almighty. Many women find it difficult to pray with images of that language and my task is to allow that women celebrate services in such a way that they can find their way to prayer," she says.

A language to rule

Jantzen considers that "liturgical or theological language is used too often to govern others. Because when I speak of God as sovereign, king and all-powerful, this clearly conveys an image of God who knows everything and no longer questions anything." And behind those words and images, she adds, "there are patriarchal ideas of power and omnipotence."

These texts, according to the expert, "emphasize not only authoritarian, but also violent conceptions of God," for which she wonders how to imagine from there, "the work and intervention of God." "Isn't he also like a loving and protective father or a caring mother?" he wonders.

"Most of God is Lost"

"All images of God are always more unlike God than similar. So they always show only a small part of God. They miss most of God," adds Jantzen, who immediately states that "the more I limit myself to a few few, always the same images of God, the more I miss God".

Therefore, it has been proposed to "enlarge the images of God", because "the few images of God that we currently use in the Church shape our faith, and a shaped faith is good and valuable. But they are not everything, they are not God It's not enough to turn 'Mr' into 'Ma'am'. You miss out on the opportunity to discover other sides of God."

Although she acknowledges that she receives many positive comments "from women who have long yearned for a more feminine prayer language," she acknowledges that there are also priests who "get nervous." But she stresses that "my texts are an offer to reconsider and reformulate your own prayer and thought. Because I am convinced that the language of the liturgy can also be an important key to greater gender justice in the Church"

In this sense, she considers that "if the men who are leaders in the Church openly say that it hurts them personally that women are excluded from the offices, who knows, maybe things will change", and she believes that a more "feminine" language in the liturgy can help change the perception that exists in the Church on this matter. Because "as long as God is not for us more than Lord and Father, we will hardly find a genuine community."