"This spiritual reality of motherhood is the call, or vocation, of every woman, whether or not she bears children in her own body. Each woman, by virtue of being the type of human who is the place of welcome for others (whether or not she does or can actualize this potentiality in the context of a fallen world), is called to spiritual motherhood. It is not limited to those who are nuns or offered as a “consolation prize” for those who cannot have children: It is the primary way that a woman lives her womanhood. Metaphysically, a woman is a place of welcome for others, whether or not she physically does or even can do so." - These words of yours here remind me of St. Edith Stein's: " A woman's soul is fashioned to be a shelter in which other souls may unfold."
And though I don't entirely disagree with this statement of yours*, isn't the (main) goal of every human person to love and be loved? (As St. John of the Cross says, "In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.")
*"To be a virtuous human is the goal of every person, man or woman."
(Maybe this is me just overthinking...)
I enjoyed this essay of yours. I think defining womanhood is much more broad than biological alone. And I'm just sickened over men who, when they dress up like women, think they can claim to be women. It's as unlike a woman as is Puzzle the donkey when he is urged by Shift to wear a lion's skin in C.S. Lewis' The Final Battle.
Puzzle! I just re-read The Last Battle (for the umpteenth time) - what an interesting analogy.
I completely agree that the main goal for all of us - man or woman - is to love and be loved, and I guess JPII (and the tradition) would say that we do that in and through our bodies by which we do moral acts, and in and through becoming virtuous, which is another way of saying, becoming conformed to Christ. The "beatus vir" of Psalm 1 in the tradition is seen as Christ. Certainly there are virtues that the pagans can have, but when we are baptized into Christ, the Holy Spirit is poured into our hearts with the gifts (theological virtues) of faith, hope, and charity - of which only charity will remain in heaven. The one virtue that lasts into eternity is love :)
Thanks for this clarifying comment, Melisa, and thanks for reading!
Okay - got it. Thank you for clarifying. I just can’t get that image of Puzzle in a lion’s skin pretending to be Aslan out of my mind whenever I see a man (who is clearly a man in a dress and makeup) claiming to be a woman. Both are just parodies and mockeries of the real thing, and neither even begins to touch the depths.
"This spiritual reality of motherhood is the call, or vocation, of every woman, whether or not she bears children in her own body. Each woman, by virtue of being the type of human who is the place of welcome for others (whether or not she does or can actualize this potentiality in the context of a fallen world), is called to spiritual motherhood. It is not limited to those who are nuns or offered as a “consolation prize” for those who cannot have children: It is the primary way that a woman lives her womanhood. Metaphysically, a woman is a place of welcome for others, whether or not she physically does or even can do so." - These words of yours here remind me of St. Edith Stein's: " A woman's soul is fashioned to be a shelter in which other souls may unfold."
And though I don't entirely disagree with this statement of yours*, isn't the (main) goal of every human person to love and be loved? (As St. John of the Cross says, "In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.")
*"To be a virtuous human is the goal of every person, man or woman."
(Maybe this is me just overthinking...)
I enjoyed this essay of yours. I think defining womanhood is much more broad than biological alone. And I'm just sickened over men who, when they dress up like women, think they can claim to be women. It's as unlike a woman as is Puzzle the donkey when he is urged by Shift to wear a lion's skin in C.S. Lewis' The Final Battle.
Puzzle! I just re-read The Last Battle (for the umpteenth time) - what an interesting analogy.
I completely agree that the main goal for all of us - man or woman - is to love and be loved, and I guess JPII (and the tradition) would say that we do that in and through our bodies by which we do moral acts, and in and through becoming virtuous, which is another way of saying, becoming conformed to Christ. The "beatus vir" of Psalm 1 in the tradition is seen as Christ. Certainly there are virtues that the pagans can have, but when we are baptized into Christ, the Holy Spirit is poured into our hearts with the gifts (theological virtues) of faith, hope, and charity - of which only charity will remain in heaven. The one virtue that lasts into eternity is love :)
Thanks for this clarifying comment, Melisa, and thanks for reading!
Okay - got it. Thank you for clarifying. I just can’t get that image of Puzzle in a lion’s skin pretending to be Aslan out of my mind whenever I see a man (who is clearly a man in a dress and makeup) claiming to be a woman. Both are just parodies and mockeries of the real thing, and neither even begins to touch the depths.