Share views re St. Thérèse's vocation to the priesthood

[njlisa]

@Saxum: I want to refer you to my earlier post.

Oh now I remember why I posted this question. Benedictine Sister Ruth Schönenberger of Germany was using the St. Thérèse quote to bolster her argument for ordination of women.

Thank goodness I remember the context.

You seem quite angry about my comment. My statement is based on the fact there is a movement to pressure the Vatican to allow so-called women priests. These activists wrongly use St Thérèse to bolster their agenda.

I’m sorry if anything I’ve said has come across as combative. I wanted to learn from other people so that I could better understand the sister’s position. Again, I’m sorry if I seemed combative.

 

[Saxum]

Again, I’m sorry if I seemed combative

No need to apologise. My comments were about nunsuch who took offence at my first post on this thread.

 

[jack63]

Thanks for posting an interesting thread. It is interesting to read about St. Therese’s thoughts about her vocation. Here are my thoughts…take them or leave them . I’m a Catholic convert. I won’t publically tell from which version of Christianity, but they did have female priests. I saw female priests as divisive, and often it was not usually a good experience for the woman who played that role. Most of these women really were good, holy, and devout women. However, their role as a “priest” became a serious distraction from what might have brought them significant satisfaction and joy.

So when I look at St. Therese, if she where a priest and played that role, I don’t think she would have been a Doctor of the Church, wouldn’t have had much of an impact, wouldn’t be remembered, and she would have just had tragic and forgettable death.

Why I do see the necessity of a men as priests?..because they need to sometimes play a very unpleasant role. They set boundaries. They upset people. They get themselves martyred. They fight…I mean they take a whip, use it, and overturn tables like Jesus did, and they are good at it. This is as much a priest’s role as anything. I just don’t see St. Therese playing this role.

 

[njlisa]

@jack63

I appreciate the insight. The ordination of women isn’t a hobby horse for me. I just don’t see it ever happening.

Women should be respected and honored for what we do. And I would say we are in the Catholic Church.

If you look at the R.C. Church, laywomen and religious fill vital roles. They are professors, hospital administrators, college presidents, and theologians. They are contemplatives, offering much-needed prayers for the Church. They lead lay ministries at parishes.

In the church I grew up in, women aren’t allowed to speak or lead prayer in the church. Female Sunday school teachers are not allowed to teach boys 12 and older. (A woman can’t have authority over a man.)

The apostle Paul said we are all one in Christ Jesus – male or female, slave or free, Jew or Greek. No matter what we do, we are all equally important in the eyes of God.