The
New Woman[1]
…from the beginning of creation,
“God made them male and female...”
(Mk 10:6)
Pope John Paul
II, in his role as Vicar of Christ on earth, often speaks on the subject of
woman. He considers her distinct virtues with respect to society, the Church,
life, culture, family, marriage, and consecrated life. In addition, he takes into consideration the
feminine psychology, which gives his writings and discourses a great influence
and impact.
For me as a
“Servant of the Lord” it has been truly a revelation to read the words of the
Holy Father taken from the encyclicals Mulieris
Dignitatem and Evangelium vitae,
and the newspaper L’Osservatore Romano
from the year 1995. The United Nations declared that year as the “International
Year of the Woman,” whose principal event was the Fourth World Conference on
the Woman in Beijing. In various homilies, catechetical points and discourses
to religious and to the laity, Pope John Paul II developed the theme of the
role and, even more so, the integral dignity of women according to the
Christian Catholic faith.
In the present
text, which is a compilation of quotes organized according to different themes,
I wish to highlight the beautiful spectrum of the feminine vocation (be it lay
or religious) that the Holy Father paints for us with his words. The principal
end of this writing is to reach a greater understanding of the role of women in
the divine plan of salvation. The reason for all of this is to grow in love and
gratitude primarily to the Creator - gratitude for having received the gift of
life - and also to the Church and the Holy Father, because, through the sacred words
of Revelation and the teachings of the Church, we are guided through the paths
of this life, offering to humanity a model of life that indicates the love and
holiness needed in order to reach eternal life.
The motto of
Pope John Paul II is totus tuus.
With these words, he has willed to place his pontificate beneath the protective
mantle of the woman par excellence, the Holy Mother of God, wishing to be all
hers.[2]
In the Angelus
message on Sunday, June 25, 1995[3]
the Pope spoke thus: “One can
already perceive the immense dignity of women by the sole fact that God's
eternal Son chose, in the fullness of time, to be born of a woman, the Virgin
of Nazareth, the mirror and measure of femininity.”
Although the Most Holy Virgin is the sublime model for women,
the holy women of the Gospel also give light to their role and dignity.[4] They were women who followed and served Christ [5] and
later accompanied the Apostles.
The Pope observes that “[Christ] established a relationship with women which was distinguished by
great freedom and friendship. Even if he did not assign the Apostles' role to
them, he nevertheless made them the first witnesses of his Resurrection and
utilized them in proclaiming and spreading God's kingdom. In his teaching,
women truly find ‘their own subjectivity and dignity.’”[6]
In what does this
subjectivity and highly proclaimed dignity of women revealed by the Savior and
expressed for our times and our society by Pope John Paul II consist? The
present work develops these concepts in different parts in the following way:
the first part will see woman as spouse and mother in the natural order. The
second will be dedicated to the consecrated woman, followed by a vision of the
different tasks of woman in the third part. The fourth part will demonstrate
the supreme model that every woman finds in the Virgin Mary. To finish, I will
make a brief conclusion dedicated to the consecrated woman, the Sponsa Christi.
We pray, “May Mary herself help men and women to
perceive and to live the mystery dwelling within them, by mutually recognizing
one another without discrimination as living ‘images’ of God!”[7]
(Cont...)
[1] This chapter of Las Servidoras was written by Mother
Maria de Anima Christi. Only the first two parts are published. It was written
when St. John Paul II was Pope.
[2] Cf. Crossing the Threshold of Hope, “Totus tuus” Ed. Arnoldo Mondadori,
1994.
[3] John Paul II, Angelus 25 June 1995,
https://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP950625.htm
[4] Cf. Mk 15:40-41, Lk 8:2;
23:49-56; 24:1-11
[5] “Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women… who provided for them out of their resources” (Lk 8:1-3). “all his acquaintances stood at a distance,
including the women who had followed him from Galilee and saw these events”
(Lk 23:49). “The women who had come from Galilee with him
followed behind, and when they had seen the tomb and the way in which his body
was laid in it, they returned and prepared spices and
perfumed oils. Then they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment”
(Lk 23:55-56).
[6] John Paul II, Angelus 25 June 1995,
https://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP950625.htm
[7] Cf. Ibidem.
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