Eline Landon - Nine Months with God and Your Baby: Spiritual Preparation for Birth

line Landon
Translated by James Henri McMurtrie

Nin e Months
with
God and Your Baby

Spiritual Preparation for Birth

SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS

Manchester, New Hampshire

Copyright Artge ditions, Perpignan, June, 2013
11 rue du Bastion Saint Franois, 66000 Perpignan

www.editionsartege.fr

English translation Copyright 2019 by Sophia Institute Press

Nine Months with God and Your Baby is a translation of Prparation la naissance: 9 mois avec Dieu (Perpignan, France: Artge, 2013).

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Tianna Williams (www.ti-design.ca).

Cover Art: Mother of Life by artist Nellie Edwards, www.PaintedFaith.Net.

Unless noted otherwise, biblical references in this book are taken from the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1965, 1966 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Sophia Institute Press
Box 5284, Manchester, NH 03108
1-800-888-9344

www.SophiaInstitute.com

Sophia Institute Press is a registered trademark of Sophia Institute.

ePub ISBN 978-1-622826-292

To Philas, who was the first one
to allow me to be a mother.
To Thophane, who helped me enlarge my heart.
To Emonah, who opened up a peaceful path in me
and who allowed these meditations to come forth
by her presence in my womb.

Contents

First Month:

Second Month:

Third Month:

Fourth Month:

Fifth Month:

Sixth Month:

Seventh Month:

Eighth Month:

Ninth Month:

Preface

W h en I was expecting my first child, I was surprised by all that needed to be done to prepare for the birth. In preparing for childbirth, well-informed women who do not find what suits them are rare. In addition to the classic maternity preparations, we can choose haptonomy, prenatal yoga, sophrology, pool preparations, the Bonapace Method, and so many other things that the general public still does not know. There are many opportunities to prepare for the great moment of a babys arrival in the world. These opportunities allow each couple to find what they are looking for, enabling them to be fully ready to help their child to be born and assisting in alleviating labor pains.

Nonetheless, the spiritual welcoming of the child, which prepares us for the sacred presence of a new being in us, seems to be lacking. The word pregnancy would make us believe that what is going on in us is simply getting fat! How can we communicate about this state, which is so much more than that and completely overwhelms us?

By welcoming life in us, we participate in Gods work of creation. The birth of a new being is a sacred mystery, and it seems vital to me to prepare for it by meditating on biblical texts and praying.

While I was expecting my third child, the idea of this meditation grew in me, and this book gradually took form. Thus, I offer you these scriptural passages that relate to the conception of a child, his presence in his mothers body for nine months, and his arrival among us. In each chapter, you will find a pregnancy-related theme, a biblical text, a meditative commentary on that text, a suggestion for further reflection, and a prayer.

This book is to be read month after month; it is not intended to be read all at once. It is necessary to take the time to live this mystery fully and gradually.

We can schedule a time when we will not be disturbed as we read and pray. We can delve into the meditation throughout the month with complementary passages on the same subject before we go on to the next theme. Prayer is equally important. We can settle into a calm, pleasant place, light a candle, and put ourselves in Gods presence with the aid of a simple prayer, such as Here I am, Lord.

These proposals are starting points. Do not hesitate to let yourself be led by the Holy Spirit so that your own prayer can spring up.

This work is intended more for the woman who is carrying the child who will come into the world. Nonetheless, the man should not feel left out. The couples communication is basic, and these meditations can serve as a basis for exchanges between the couple. The father can find material that will supply his reflections and prayers about the coming of his child. Moreover, a prayer is offered for the father to say in the chapter The Reception of the Child.

Bringing a child into the world makes us the latest members of a group. In becoming mothers, we join a host of women with their joys and wounds. Our own history and our relationship with our mothers will affect our pregnancy, a period during which we are extremely sensitive. We are more receptive and more open to our emotions. Let us take our place in this new group and allow ourselves time to enter into it.

Month after month, let us ask the Lord to prepare us for welcoming the life that is soon to be or is already present in us.

The Desire for a Child

So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the L ord , she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?

After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the L ord . She was deeply distressed and prayed to the L ord , and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, O L ord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy maidservant, and remember me, and not forget thy maidservant, but wilt give to thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the L ord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.

As she continued praying before the L ord , Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard; therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, How long will you be drunken? Put away your wine from you. But Hannah answered, No, my lord, I am a woman sorely troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the L ord . Do not regard your maidservant as a base woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation. Then Eli answered, Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have made to him. And she said, Let your maidservant find favor in your eyes. Then the woman went her way and ate, and her countenance was no longer sad. (1 Sam. 1:718)

H a nnah is one of the women in the Bible who was not able to bear a child until she reached old age.

Each year, Hannah goes to the sanctuary to plead with the Lord. Because this desire for a child is not satisfied, her shame torments her. She is sorely troubled, deeply distressed, weeping bitterly, and her heart is sad. We can look at Hannahs despair and the powerlessness of her husband, who responds: Am I not more to you than ten sons? He also would like to satisfy her, but it is impossible because she is awaiting someone else, and the conjugal bond is not enough to fulfill her. Waiting for a child implies a couple a man and a woman. This desire lives in both the man and the woman, even if we do not know how to express it in the same way and at the same time. Seeing Hannahs sadness also afflicts her husband, who would very much like to make her happy.