On the 15th Anniversary of my first public Yes to God as an Augustinian sister. To you Theotokos, my dearest Mother, Sister and faithful Friend, the Woman I love, and the Woman I want to be.
Why I am against the priesthood of women
It seems totally out of place in 2013, for a woman in her thirties, to take such a position and totally weird to choose to express my opinion today – the anniversary of my first profession and the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady… Today I should be celebrating womanhood and voicing the rights of women!
Priesthood is not a right but a gift
Without being judgemental and without generalising, the feeling I get, is that women who want the priesthood for women, regard it as a right. If men have access to priesthood, then, on the grounds that men and women are equal, women should have access too. But priesthood is no one’s right, it is a gift. Perceiving it as a right to be grasped, already reveals, that the motivations behind this fight are not right at all. Yes, priesthood is indeed a great privilege, but it is one which is translated into everyday humble service and sacrifice.
The right for women to be women
But yes, women do have a right which is not being respected enough yet; that of being women in the Church. Sometimes I hear or read words of women who think that it is only if we are given the chance to be part of the hierarchy of the Church, that we will be listened to and respected. I think that what we really need is a space in the Church, simply to be women, to love as women do. Being part of the hierarchy does not guarantee this space. Men will still perceive us as weak and illogical if a real space is not opened for us to be able to express who we really are and to grow as integrated persons.
Femininity and masculinity – integrated
Unfortunately, as I see it, women today are reacting to the many abuses they had to suffer because of their womanhood. Men are also suffering, trying to cope with woman’s reactions, and striving to rediscover their male identity. Many things in today’s society point to this, but I will not discuss these here; it’s not the point. I believe that the suffering of woman is very much linked to what womanhood stands for. The feminine characteristics of love are receptivity, passivity, gentleness, tenderness… they are all characteristics which have to do with being vulnerable; with being wounded. The female body is an expression of this – it is woman who receives the “other” in her, who makes space for the other and it is the virgin who is wounded in her body, in the act of union between a man and a woman. Femininity stands for the vulnerable side of love. But a love without vulnerability is monstrous! Unfortunately women today are fed up of being vulnerable and being abused for it. They strive to strengthen what seems to them as being masculine characteristics, while not preserving feminine characteristics. Their war against receptivity has one of its worst expressions in the crime of abortion. They think that being masculine is to be violent, to be strong on the outside, to be an abuser. But masculine characteristics are everything but these. Masculinity is to be brave, courageous, and protective, to have a strong will, a strong sense of commitment – this is real masculine strength. This is the masculine side of love, without which, love cannot last, no matter how tender and gentle it may be.
Humanity in its fullness
If we really want to know what it means to be a real man and a real woman, we might want to look at the scene on Calvary. There we will see a “He” who is naked, wounded, vulnerable, and a “She” who stands erect like a strong warrior. Her will is one with his, and in her, the strength of his will finds the most beautiful expression. In him her woundedness finds its full expression. They are both naked, having poured out themselves completely, they are both wounded and at their most vulnerable moment. At the same time, the strength of their will, keeps him hanging on the Cross and her, standing upright beneath it. This is what it means to be human – this is love fully masculine, fully feminine. This is what I desire for every man and woman; every child of God.
