1. The Woman, Spouse and Mother in the Natural Order
a. Some Generalizations about Woman
The woman is a “creature
gifted with a subjectivity that is the source of a responsible autonomy in the
gestation of life itself. This subjectivity, far from isolating and confronting
peoples, is a source of constructive relationships which find their fulfillment
in love… For the woman, this subjectivity is the foundation of a specific mode
of being, a feminine being enriching and even indispensable for a harmonious
human coexistence, in the family as well
as in the other social and existential environments.”[1]
Natural law
demonstrates that in the complementary relationship between man and woman, the
human species reaches one of the ends to which it has been called: procreation.
In this manner, the sons of men are the sons of God in the divine plan of life.
In a special way,
the Pope says that “woman assumes almost a
‘foundational’ role with regard to society”[2] because “Parenthood
- even though it belongs to both - is realized much more fully in the woman,
especially in the prenatal period. It is the woman who ‘pays’ directly for this
shared generation, which literally absorbs the energies of her body and soul. It
is therefore necessary that the man be fully aware that in their shared
parenthood he owes a special debt to the woman.”[3]
The interchange
of gifts between the spouses and the mother and child, especially in the
prenatal phase, demonstrates the great importance of the subjectivity in the
feminine psychology. “Motherhood implies from the beginning a special openness
to the new person: and this is precisely the woman's ‘part.’ In this openness,
in conceiving and giving birth to a child, the woman ‘discovers herself through
a sincere gift of self.’”[4]
(Cont...)
(Cont...)
[1] John Paul II, Angelus, 18 June 1995.
[2] John Paul II, Angelus, 16 July 1995.
[3] Mulieris dignitatem, n. 18.
[4] Ibid.
Father Carlos Miguel Buela
