#31 - St. JPII's Meditation on Mary

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today concludes Chap. 8 of Mulieris Dignitatem. God willing, tomorrow, we will post Chap. 9 which is the Conclusion. We need to keep in focus that Saint John Paul II is meditating on Mary as the “perfect woman” who is not divine but human, and as such is both Mother and Model for the entire Church, who is the Bride of Christ. It seems to me, while both men and women look to Mary, they can find in her femininity, God’s Plan to unite all of us to Himself. God has entrusted humanity to women in a unique way for us to see His Church, His Bride:

A woman is strong because of her awareness of this entrusting, strong because of the fact that God “entrusts the human being to her”, always and in every way, even in the situations of social discrimination in which she may find herself. This awareness and this fundamental vocation speak to women of the dignity which they receive from God himself, and this makes them “strong” and strengthens their vocation.

Thus the “perfect woman” (cf. Prov 31:10) becomes an irreplaceable support and source of spiritual strength for other people, who perceive the great energies of her spirit. These “perfect women” are owed much by their families, and sometimes by whole nations.

In our own time, the successes of science and technology make it possible to attain material well-being to a degree hitherto unknown. While this favours some, it pushes others to the edges of society. In this way, unilateral progress can also lead to a gradual loss of sensitivity for man, that is, for what is essentially human. In this sense, our time in particular awaits the manifestation of that “genius” which belongs to women, and which can ensure sensitivity for human beings in every circumstance: because they are human! - and because “the greatest of these is love” (cf. 1 Cor 13:13).

Thus a careful reading of the biblical exemplar of the Woman - from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation - confirms that which constitutes women’s dignity and vocation, as well as that which is unchangeable and ever relevant in them, because it has its “ultimate foundation in Christ, who is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever”.[61] If the human being is entrusted by God to women in a particular way, does not this mean that Christ looks to them for the accomplishment of the “royal priesthood” (1 Pt 2:9), which is the treasure he has given to every individual? Christ, as the supreme and only priest of the New and Eternal Covenant, and as the Bridegroom of the Church, does not cease to submit this same inheritance to the Father through the Spirit, so that God may be “everything to everyone” (1 Cor 15:28).[62]

Then the truth that “the greatest of these is love” (cf. 1 Cor 13:13) will have its definitive fulfillment.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful. Kindle in us the Fire of Your Love.