Papal Intentions for March

This month, Pope Francis asks us to join him in praying for “those involved in scientific research," that they "may serve the well-being of the whole human person.”

The Holy Father also asks us to pray that, “the unique contribution of women to the life of the Church may be recognized always.”

Let us join the Pope, then, in praying for virtue among scientists and for the general recognition of all that women do for the Church.

Saint John Paul II, Pray for Us!

God Entrusts The Human Being To Woman

Next month, the Pontifical Council for the Laity will host a seminar for the 25^th anniversary of Blessed John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter, Mulieris dignitatem. The point of reflection will begin with a particular quote from the letter:

The moral and spiritual strength of a woman is joined to her awareness that God entrusts the human being to her in a special way. Of course, God entrusts every human being to each and every other human being. But this entrusting concerns women in a special way – precisely by reason of their femininity – and this in a particular way determines their vocation (30).

Is this how women see themselves today? If not, how can we affirm the feminine gift of life giving? Attendees of the seminar will discuss these questions and more as they celebrate the late Holy Father’s thought on the dignity and vocation of women. 

Blessed John Paul II and Women

In light of Pope Francis’s comments about a “Theology of Women” this summer, Pia De Solenni reflects on Blessed John Paul II’s theology of women and the impact it had on the Church:

As I progressed in my research, I realized just how visionary Pope John Paul II had been. He wasn’t offering a Catholic version of a fascist salute to motherhood. He was taking the concept of motherhood in a wholly different direction. After all, by the time he was writing, the developed world knew that women could match, and even surpass, men in most things. Instead of answering a question that had long sought an answer by defining women in terms of what men do, he focused on who a woman is, a much more elusive topic.

Check out her National Catholic Register column here. 

The Soul of a Woman

The soul of a 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;

clear,

so that no vermin will settle in dark corners and recesses;

self-contained,

so that no invasions from without can peril the inner life;

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.

-St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

St. Gianna, the woman who did it all

The role of women in the Catholic Church is something we’ve discussed here before. There have been a number of criticisms over the years, but Blessed John Paul II helped us to see that the Church truly needs and appreciates the contribution of women. 

There is still unrest among women, though, especially those who are called to the married life. Some worry about holding a career while raising children, while others wonder if the challenges of their vocation can be sanctified.

In Him, it is always Yes—a woman can hold career, can be a good mother, and can also be a saint! Just look to St. Gianna Molla, who died on this day in 1962.

St. Gianna is often remembered as the mother who gave up her life to save her child. When she was pregnant with her third daughter, doctors discovered that Gianna had developed a fibroma in her uterus. Before undergoing surgery, Gianna begged the surgeon to save her child’s life. After the surgery and throughout her pregnancy, she turned these pleadings to God. She insisted that He choose the child’s life over hers. And He did—Gianna Emanuela was born on the morning of April 21, and her mother died one week later, despite all efforts to save her. In the pain of death, St. Gianna repeated over and over, “Jesus, I love you.”

St. Gianna was 39 when she died, and she had been preparing for that moment of sacrifice her whole entire life.

The contribution of women

The general papal intention for March is: “That the whole world may recognise the contribution of women to the development of society.”

This intention is a powerful one, because through the centuries people have questioned the role of women in the Catholic Church. Are women worth less because they can’t be priests, people have asked, and are they born only to serve lesser roles in society?

Blessed John Paul II’s “Letter to Women” addresses these issues and makes it quite clear that the Catholic Church values women and what they give to the world.

Women have had their dignity questioned for centuries, Blessed John Paul II wrote, and this is a shame. If one simply looks back to the “attitude of Jesus Christ himself,” they will see that He transcended “the established norms of his own culture,” and “Jesus treated women with openness, respect, acceptance and tenderness.” This message should be heard and acted upon in Third Millennium, Blessed John Paul II said. Women deserve affirmation because they are children of God, he wrote, and society greatly benefits when they participate: