Not too long ago we went to the parish here in town. It is a small town parish and every so often when plans make it difficult for us to go to the parish we belong to we will go to Mass here. That day were fortunate to witness a baptism. Being a smaller parish they have their baptisms during Sunday Mass.
It was for the fourth child (third son) of a lovely young couple. They stood in front of the congregation and they were beaming. As Fr. T. poured the water over their infant son’s head tears welled up in both his parents eyes--- their joy was obvious. They were truly present--- it was easy to see this wasn’t just a ceremony to them---it wasn’t a routine milestone along the road--- like baby’s first portrait--- or his one month check up--- it wasn’t just a party either. I could not only see but I could feel the depth of their commitment as Christian parents. The love of Christ radiated from this young family--- I am not exaggerating when I say I was deeply moved and honored to be able to witness and participate in their special day.
I have though a lot about it since then---not only did it renew in me a sense of hope and awe--- it has provided me with some profound insights as to why the great spiritual battle of our day is being waged in the arena of human sexuality.
Contraception, abortion, divorce, homosexual "marriage", reproductive and embryonic research and technology, genetic engineering--- Satan will try anything to disrupt or diminish what I witnessed at mass Sunday--- What I witnessed was Satan’s worst nightmare and our greatest hope. Many times I have heard comments about how the Church is just a bunch of repressed, celibate men “obsessed” with sex who are trying to impose their archaic and “unhealthy” ideas on others. I would suggest that if it seems that the Church is “obsessed” with sex it has little to do with the fact that the Church hierarchy is made up of celibate men and more to do with the fact that from the beginning---even when they may not have had depth of understanding or the ability to always articulate this truth well--- through the Holy Spirit they have nonetheless always understood that sex is something holy--- and not just between human beings but something intimately bound up in our relationship to God as well as one another--- it is deeply related to creation and revelation. Our bodies and our sexuality reveal sacred truths about God, about human nature and about our relationship to God. It is through our bodies that we fulfill God’s commands--- the first to Adam and Eve being---“be fruitful and multiply.” This isn’t just a quaint explanation of why the earth is populated with so many people--- it is a divine command and the primary purpose, for which we were created, second only to loving and obeying God.
If it seems the Church is obsessed with human sexuality it is only because it is so central to our being that it is a primary path that can lead to either our redemption or our destruction. Our sexuality can either lead us on a path of holiness to God or it can be our damnation. We have the witness of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Greeks, the Romans--- cultures lost--- which were rife with sexual deviation--- their history tells us that sexual deviancy leads to corrupt societies--- Acceptance of sexual deviation is the signal sign of a failing culture.
I am fascinated by how the Holy Spirit will throw seemingly unrelated things at us in a way that precipitates an awakening or understanding of some deeper wisdom. Such has happened to me recently. A while ago I read John Paul the Great’s Letter on the Dignity and Vocation of Women --- it is there that I found this statement that he took from the Closing Message of the Second Vatican Council:
"The hour is coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of women is being acknowledged in its fullness, the hour in which women acquire in the world an influence, an effect and a power never hitherto achieved. That is why, at this moment when the human race is undergoing so deep a transformation, women imbued with a spirit of the Gospel can do so much to aid humanity in not falling."
When I first read it--- it stopped me in my tracks--- It sounded so urgent and powerful but I was at a complete loss as to how we women were to accomplish such an important and daunting task. I wasn’t even sure of what exactly it meant--- but somehow I knew in the very depths of my heart it was profoundly important and pertinent to our times. Understanding it and acting on it has become some what of an obsession for me.
This is how I began plumbing the depths of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, Love and Responsibility and then after reading references by John Paul to her works I began reading the writing of St. Edith Stein. In one essay St. Edith, being born a Jewess spoke of how she was raised understanding that all the women of Israel saw their vocation as bringing forth children who would see the day of salvation. Through this understanding a link was made between the Fall and Redemption. As woman was the first to be tempted so did God’s message of grace come first to a woman. St. Edith then said something that struck me deeply--- speaking of this connection she said that “each time woman’s assent determined the destiny of humanity as a whole.” Wow! Stop and reread that a few times--- let it sink in. The assent was acted out through maternity--- bringing forth those who would “see” the day of salvation--- it was this link of one generation to the next in Israel that culminated in the our Lady’s fiat, that as God promised, brought salvation to earth through the birth of His Son Jesus Christ. It is through woman’s innate vocation to motherhood that the destiny of humanity was and continues to be determined. This vocation to determine the destiny of humanity through the “assent” of woman did not terminate with the birth of our Lord. For if woman does not assent to that which she was designed in God’s plan--- The Body of Christ on earth will wither--- the Church will die--- without the Church how is salvation mediated to future generations? The image of Revelation chapter 12 --- the Serpent who waits before the Woman to devour her child seems relevant to our culture--- the Woman especially in this particular instance has been has traditionally been identified with both the Church as well as Mary --- a contracepting Church (supposedly ¾ of American Catholics contracept) is a Church that is dying.
Just recently I happened to hear a hymn that I had never heard before. I fell in love with it. It is based on the Magnificat and it is called “The Canticle of the Turning”. One verse tied all this together for me. It goes:
“Though I am small my God, my All you work great things in me. And your mercy will last from the depths of the past to the end of the age to be”
God’s Mercy came to earth through Mary--- it continues on Earth til the end of this age through the Body of Christ--- the Church--- children born and raised in the faith (woman’s primary vocation) keep the Body of Christ alive on earth in each generation---- extending salvation to all people in all times. The refrain of the song goes like this:
“My heart shall sing of the day you’ll bring, let the fires of your justice burn. Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near and the world is about to turn.”
How will our world turn? Back to those comments from the Second Vatican Council where women are implored to live their vocation and with it achieve their true power. It is this feminine power which the world desperately needs and that the council is calling forth. The Council Fathers through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is imploring women to help save a failing humanity. Every woman is called to motherhood---whether physical or spiritual--- it is the nature of our being--- the foundation of our vocation. Reality is that the ultimate responsibility for changing our current “culture of death” rests squarely on each individual woman’s decision to either embrace life or reject it--- to accept the power given to her by God --- or to trade it for the power given by the world. It is each individual woman’s choices that have the power to restore families ----and so in restoring families renewing the Church--- it is the domestic church that generates vocations and passes on the faith--- it is faith in Christ that determines the destiny of humanity. The family--- the domestic church--- is the unique realm of feminine influence and power--- it is not surprising then that it is here that Satan has waged his spiritual battle.
So---- that woman that stood before the congregation with her husband and children---despite what we may perceive with our “worldly vision”--- her meek appearance and quiet demeanor is imbued with tremendous power--- through her ascent and God’s grace she is determining the destiny of humanity.
