Is there anything only women can do in the Church?

[Oremoose]

I have a friend that I was discussing women priests with. She understands that the priesthood is for men only but it seems unfair as the ministry of the priest is so special (with celebrating the Mass, hearing confession, etc., which are one-of-a-kind duties). Is there anything within the Church that only women do?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Sure. Only women can be mothers, both in the physical and in the spiritual sense. Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, 20th-century primate of Poland, once wrote:

I must remember: Whenever a woman enters the room, always rise no matter how busy you are. Rise, whether it is the Mother Superior, or Sister Kleofasa, who tends the heater. Remember that she always reminds you of the Handmaid of the Lord, at the sound of whose name the Church also rises. Remember that in this way you pay a debt of respect to your Immaculate Mother, with whom this woman is more closely associated than you. In this way you pay a debt towards your own mother, who served you with her own flesh and blood. Rise without delay, and you will be the better for it.

For an exploration of spiritual motherhood, you might want to read the work of St. Edith Stein.

Granted, spiritual motherhood is not as “visible” as spiritual fatherhood because women don’t dispense sacraments or preside at Mass. But there are two things to remember: One, being is more important than doing. And, two, if all that someone is concerned with is “power” (which shouldn’t be the case, but many women who long for the priesthood think it boils down to “power” in the Church), then the recipient of honor and service usually is considered more “powerful” than the one who must give it. Of course, the Christian conception of service is that those who are powerful serve the rest and that hidden service is greater than visible deeds done in the sight of the many. If that is the case, then “power” in the Church is balanced equally between men and women.