SEEKING GOD’S GIFT IN WOMAN
Christine Galea
(Text was also translated into Maltese by Fr Joe Galea Curmi)
This year holds much promise for women in our contemporary world. Twenty years ago, on the occasion of the Marian Year, our late Holy Father, John Paul II, wrote the extraordinary letter, Mulieris Dignitatem, “On the Dignity and Vocation of Women”. The Pontifical Council of the Laity is now encouraging the lay faithful worldwide to observe a celebration of this Apostolic Letter on the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, by reflecting on the meaning of the document given on 15th August 1988.
Our Archdiocese has taken up this invitation and together, we hope to create a greater awareness of the vocation particular to womanhood; as well as to encourage women in such vocation, to highlight the essential feminine genius that women provide to their families and the world, and to restore spiritual and physical motherhood to a culture that is quickly losing sight of the dignity of women and mothers.
We live in an era where debates involving women rage continually: the nature of marriage, the welfare of mothers – which is intrinsically linked to the issue of the unborn baby, the role of women in the church, the place of women in contemporary society and so many others. All these debates relay confusing messages to society in general, but particularly to women who live the reality of these situations. Indeed, Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter has enriched us with a profound, yet accessible, theological reflection on the true meaning of womanhood, motherhood and consecrated virginity, the vocation of women, the role of women in the church and society.
From the outset, we know that all of salvation history depended on the faithfulness of one young woman in Nazareth and her courageous ‘yes’ to the Lord. In Mulieris Dignitatem, the Pope declares in no uncertain terms that “the Church desires to give thanks to the Most Holy Trinity for the ‘mystery of woman’ and for every woman – for all that constitutes the eternal measure of her feminine dignity, for the ‘great works of God’, which throughout human history have been accomplished in and through her” (para 31). Our Church has held women throughout history with the deepest respect, despite what our world might have us believe. Furthermore, in his Letter toWomen, from the Vatican on 29th June 1995, the Supreme Pontiff speaks directlyto women, expressing the need to “reflect with her on the problems and prospects of what it means to be a woman in our time”.
The Introduction of Mulieris Dignitatem gives the exceptional prominence of women’s issues as the reason for writing the document. The works of Pius XII, John XXIII and Paul VI, with their efforts to enhance woman’s dignity and responsibility are referred to. John Paul II insists that any discussion about woman is necessarily a study of what it first means to be a human being and what the Incarnation signifies to our humanness. Our understanding of what the human person can come to be, may be gleaned by reflecting upon the Virgin Mary’s union with God, and the results of such union. The document teaches that Mary is indeed the fulfillment of the creation of the human person in the image and likeness of God.
It goes on to explain the first sin, the consequences of which – human brokenness – were felt for both men and women. The special character of human rejection of God, especially that of woman’s burden and brokenness, is answered in the human Mary and in her Son, Jesus, God-made-man.
Mary, as the mother of God’s son, is an exemplary model of motherhood. According to paragraphs18-19, motherhood, “as the fruit of the marriage union of aman and woman” is the first and primary dimension of woman’s vocation. Virginity, on the other hand, is a distinct form of motherhood; it is“for the sake of the Kingdom”; it is motherhood according to the Spirit (MD 20-21). We are also given several examples of Jesus’ relationship to women: Mulieris Dignatem describes Jesus, as the one who changed and healed women, restoring them to their dignity.
The Apostolic Letter also includes a reflection on the nature of the Church as the Bride of Christ, explaining the Church’s relationship with Christ. This relationship is a “greatmystery”, which MD 23, 27 describe as a gift of love. Hence woman – in herself and in what she represents to the Church – is described as an answer of love for the Church, the world and to God. A distinction must be drawn between the “universal priesthood” in which both men and women share, and the ministerial (ordained) priesthood to which only men may be called.
Pope John Paul II attempts to demonstrate the ideal woman through his depiction of Mary, an exemplary model to both women – and men, for that matter. She is the person whofreely cooperates in establishing Church through the most intimate possible union with God, out of the fullness of her own identity as a woman. Both woman and man are created with the power to love and to do so freely: Mary is the case in point and her life is a testimony of repeated examples of motherly love. Ultimately, to love – and to love freely – is what it means to be God’s image. Moreover, since ontologically, man “cannot fully find himself except through asincere gift of self” (GS24), it follows that“woman can only find herself by giving love to others” (MD 30).
As women living in the third millennium, we have a unique opportunity to reap the benefit of the graces poured onto us for achieving a clearer understanding of our dignity and vocation, as we reflect upon John Paul II’s affirmation of our femininity. Woman of our time “can do so much to aid humanity in not falling.” It is time to open our hearts to God’s message to us and act upon it, imbued with the spirit of the Gospel, spreading love, understanding and peace by our own ‘yes’ to God, who entrusted to us the human being in “a special way”, by reason of our femininity (MD 30).
While addressing participants during a recent congress on women, organized in February to commemorate this anniversary, Pope Benedict XVI remarked that authentic femininity will best flourish within the context of the male-female relationship, “with its respective specificity, reciprocity and complementarity”. In this respect, may we call upon men of goodwill to join us as we celebrate this observance throughout these coming months. It is our sincere wish that together, as men and women, we try to understand female dignity and vocation as revealed by Jesus Christ, through His bride, the Church. Through prayer and discussion, may we have the opportunity to reveal the feminine genius in such a way as to give glory to God, who delighted in the creation of woman in His own image.
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