It is the vocation of every Christian, not only of a few elect, to belong to God in love’s free surrender and to serve Him. Whether man or woman, whether consecrated or not, each one is called to the imitation of Christ. The further the individual continues on this path, the more Christlike he will become. Christ embodies the ideal of human perfection: in Him all bias and defects are removed, and the masculine and feminine virtues are united and their weaknesses redeemed; therefore, His true followers will be progressively exalted over their natural limitations. That is why we see in holy men a womanly tenderness and a truly maternal solicitude for the souls entrusted to them while in holy women there is manly boldness, proficiency, and determination…We are thus led through the imitation of Christ to the development of our original human vocation which is to present God’s image in ourselves: the Lord of creation, as one protects, preserves and advances all creatures in one’s own circle; the Father, as one begets and educates children for the kingdom of God through spiritual paternity and maternity. Transcendence over natural limitations is the highest effect of grace; however, this can never be attained by an arbitrary battle against nature and by denial of natural limitations but only through humble submission to the God-given order.
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God has given each human being a threefold destiny: to grow into the likeness of God through the development of his faculties, to procreate descendants, and to hold dominion over the earth. In addition, it is promised that a life of faith and personal union with the Redeemer will be rewarded by eternal contemplation of God…
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The complete surrender of her entire life and being is to live and work with Christ; but that means also to suffer and die with Him–that fruitful death from which springs the life of grace for all humanity.