Some of the women’s groups have been hosting online gatherings of the female plenary delegates. In the second of these, I was invited to present a 3 minute reflection on the question: In the context of the plenary council, what does women’s equality and dignity mean to me?
Thankfully, it was the feast of Edith Stein the day before and a half dozen quotes gave me a good foundation. I share it below. etc
WATAC August event 2021
In the context of the plenary council, what does women’s equality and dignity mean to me?
On Monday we celebrated the feast of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Born in Germany in 1891 into a Jewish family, Edith Stein became an atheist in her teenage years. She converted to Catholicism and entered the Carmelites as the Nazi party was gaining power, dying in the gas chambers of Auschwitz in 1942.
She was an academic and she wrote extensively about the ‘feminine genius’ and was a major influence on St Pope John Paul who was a vocal advocate for the dignity of women throughout his life. He was the first I think to use the term – feminine genius – and this is really a Catholic feminist manifesto – one that honours the unique feminine aspects as complementary to masculinity, and importantly has an integrated approach – intellectual, physical, psycho-emotional, spiritual, – a truly human approach.
I would like to share with you some of her writings and my reflections on them as it relates to my role as a woman and delegate to the Plenary Council. It’s a personal reflection, but I hope you may also find it relevant.
“The world doesn’t need what women have, it needs what women are.”
What does it mean to be a woman? We cannot possibly consider this question without also considering that which differentiates us from men. Biological differences are self-evident in our genitalia even without the benefit of modern science that allows us to study human biology at the level of genes, chemistry, hormones, neurological pathways.
In 2017, some Israeli scientists discovered there were 6,500 differences in the expression of genes between men and women. These genes related to almost every organ in the body including the heart, skin, muscle, and liver, for example. Moreover, the genes where on every chromosome, not just the sex chromosomes.
But the differences between us are not just physical – they are also pyscho-emotional and spiritual.
In the words of Edith Stein: “Women comprehend not merely with the intellect but also with the heart.”
We know that female and male brains have structural differences such that women have an advantage in integrating the emotional life with their language centres enabling us to articulate our emotional experience more readily. Men have strengths in other areas – that’s for discussion at another time – but we shouldn’t seek to diminish the dignity or value of men because we have strengths and advantages that they don’t. Surely, we can celebrate the gifts and strengths of both men and women, without seeking to denigrate the other.
Edith Stein again: “The woman’s soul is fashioned as a shelter in which other souls may unfold.” And, “Woman naturally seeks to embrace that which is living, personal, and whole. To cherish, guard, protect, nourish and advance growth is her natural, maternal yearning.”
This is clearly a fertility metaphor, but Edith is not speaking of biological motherhood here. She is pointing to spiritual motherhood – the call of every woman, regardless of our vocational call, to be spiritual mothers. To nurture life, to nourish souls.
Our unique biological reality (as distinct from the male reality)– our wombs, our breasts, our hormonal profiles that induce fluctuating emotional moods, our brain structure, – all these things point to a spiritual nature that is uniquely feminine.
This led Edith to declare: “The destiny of every woman is to be a bride and mother.” I would add to that, ‘daughter’, bride and mother. By our baptism, we are beloved daughters of the Father. By the one flesh union of the Eucharist, we become the cherished bride of Christ, our bridegroom. By our confirmation, the Holy Spirit empowers us to give life to the world through our spiritual motherhood.
Daughter, bride, mother. This is our identity, our destiny as women of God. The most important thing about me, is not my academic qualifications, my achievements or my occupation, or even my vocation. The most important thing about me is my identity – I am the beloved daughter of the Father, the cherished bride of Christ, a spiritual mother.
As a delegate, I feel so unworthy of the privilege and so inadequate in terms of my qualifications. I know that if I were male, I would never have been considered for this role (I have to say I am supremely uncomfortable with being a quota representative!). But, if I am here primarily because I am a woman, I am resolved to ensure that I do all I can to manifest the feminine genius through my contribution. To avoid the temptation of trying to justify my presence by clever argument or professional experience or representation – though I have plenty of all those.
This next quote from Edith is like a job description for women at the PC: “The soul of woman must be expansive and open to all human beings, it must be quiet so that no small weak flame will be extinguished by stormy winds; warm so as not to benumb fragile buds … empty of itself, in order that extraneous life may have room in it; finally, mistress of itself and also of its body, so that the entire person is readily at the disposal of every call.”
Let me unpack that line by line.
- To be expansive and open to all – that calls me to put aside my prejudices and ideology, my assumptions about different groups or people. To not take sides but extend mercy and respect to all, even if we disagree, even if I truly believe that their judgement is flawed.
- To be quiet so that a weak flame will not extinguished – this calls me to advocate for the weak but not in a way that forces or subjugates others. So much of modern feminism promotes vocal protest and seeks to silence objections or alternative viewpoints. This is not the feminine genius – this is toxic femininity. If we are to listen to the what the Holy Spirit is saying – we have to stop talking, transmitting our ideas and be quiet and allow space in the silence for the ‘weak flame’ that is the Spirit’s voice to be heard.
- Warm so as not to benumb fragile buds – A common weapon of secular feminism is anger – it is often cold, and militant, striving for dominance. It celebrates the strong, and pits men against women. It turns every discussion about female empowerment into an ideological power struggle. Yet can we not craft a way forward that honours the dignity and contribution of both sexes? In our contemporary world, this idea is indeed a fragile bud.
- Empty of itself, that extraneous life might have room in it (a metaphor of the womb). Yesterday, I cared for my infant granddaughters, which I do one day every week. The 2.5 year old has chronic constipation and goes into meltdown when she needs to do a bowel movement. She screams sometimes for over an hour. As I cradled her little body in my arms, my ears ringing from her screeching, really helpless – for there is nothing that can be done except to stay present to her in her distress. To accompany her. Pope Francis calls us to accompany each other but what does it mean? I wonder if a working definition might be entering into the pain and suffering of another. It’s not about problem-solving or editing the suffering – but about bearing it with them, like a midwife who accompanies the birthing mother. The feminine genius has a special capacity for accompaniment, for being present (empathetic) to another’s pain. (Image of the Mary’s at the foot of the cross – they stayed present)
- Mistress of itself & body – to be readily at the disposal of every call. – This call to self-mastery so that I can serve is very confronting – to deny myself, to put my needs and desires second to my call to love. If my marriage has taught me anything, it is this – that effective communication is absolutely dependent on self-restraint. Unregulated self-expression – and I’ve been guilty of this many times – is a killer. It kills trust, it smothers freedom, it isolates and alienates. If I am to be available to serve, I must be mistress of myself and my urge to spray my listeners with angry opinions.
Finally, and this the real clanger from Edith – the one that calls me to radical trust in the Lord’s providence. “Let go of your plans.” I must let the Lord lead in this plenary journey. This is not my opportunity to advance my particular agenda or desire for the Church. This process belongs to the Lord. Let us all, let go of our plans, and let the Lord have his way.
References
Edith Stein quotes: https://letterstowomenpodcast.com/blog/edith/stein-feminine-genius
Sex Differences – Genetic expression study. https://weizmann.org.au/2017/05/6500-genes-expressed-differently-in-men-and-women/