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MARY
SHEDS LIGHT ON ROLE OF WOMEN
General
Audience, December 6, 1995
Pope John
Paul II
1. As I have already explained
in the preceding catecheses, the role entrusted to Mary by the divine plan of salvation
sheds light on the vocation of woman in the life of the Church and society by defining its
difference in relation to man. The model represented by Mary clearly shows what is
specific to the feminine personality.
In recent times some trends in the feminist movement,
in order to advance women's emancipation, have sought to make her like man in every way.
However, the divine intention manifested in creation, though desiring woman to be man's
equal in dignity and worthy, at the same time clearly affirms her diversity and specific
features. Woman's identity cannot consist in being a copy of man, since she is endowed
with her own qualities and prerogatives, which give her a particular uniqueness that is
always to be fostered and encouraged.
These prerogatives and particular features of the
feminine personality attained their full development in Mary. The fullness of divine grace
actually fostered in her all the natural abilities typical of woman.
`Let it be done to me according to your word'
Mary's role in the work of salvation
is totally dependent on Christ's. It is a unique function, required by the fulfillment of
the mystery of the Incarnation: Mary's motherhood was necessary to give the world its
Saviour, the true Son of God, but also perfectly man.
The importance of woman's cooperation in the coming of
Christ is emphasized by the initiative of God, who, through the angel, communicates his
plan of salvation to the Virgin of Nazareth so that she can consciously and freely
cooperate by giving her own generous consent.
Here the loftiest model of woman's collaboration in the
Redemption of man--every man--is fulfilled; this model represents the transcendent
reference point for every affirmation of woman's role and function in history.
2. In carrying out this sublime form of cooperation,
Mary also shows the style in which woman must concretely express her mission.
With regard to the angel's message, the Virgin makes no
proud demands nor does she seek to satisfy personal ambitions. Luke presents her to us as
wanting only to offer her humble service with total and trusting acceptance of the divine
plan of salvation. This is the meaning of her response: "Behold, I am the handmaiden
of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38).
It is not a question of a purely passive acceptance,
since her consent is given only after she has expressed the difficulty that arose from her
intent to remain a virgin, inspired by her will to belong more completely to the Lord.
Having received the angel's response, Mary immediately
expresses her readiness, maintaining an attitude of humble service.
It is the humble, valuable service that so many women,
following Mary's example, have offered and continue to offer in the Church for the growth
of Christ's kingdom.
3. The figure of Mary reminds women today of the value
of motherhood. In the contemporary world the appropriate and balanced importance is not
always given to this value. In some cases, the need for women to work in order to provide
for the needs of their family and an erroneous concept of freedom, which sees child care
as a hindrance to woman's autonomy and opportunities, have obscured the significance of
motherhood for the development of the feminine personality. On the contrary, in other
cases the biological aspect of childbirth becomes so important as to overshadow the other
significant opportunities woman has for expressing her innate vocation to being a mother.
In Mary we have been given to understand the true
meaning of motherhood, which attains its loftiest dimension in the divine plan of
salvation. For her, being a mother not only endows her feminine personality, directed
towards the gift of life, with its full development, but also represents an answer of
faith to woman's own vocation, which assumes its truest value only in the light of God's
covenant (cf. *Mulieris dignitatem*, n. 19).
4. In looking attentively at Mary, we also discover in
her the model of virginity lived for the kingdom.
The Virgin *par excellence*, in her heart she grew in
her desire to live in this state in order to achieve an ever deeper intimacy with God. For
women called to virginal chastity, Mary reveals the lofty meaning of so special vocation
and thus draws attention to the spiritual fruitfulness which it produces in the divine
plan: a higher order of motherhood, a motherhood according to the Spirit (cf. *Mulieris
dignitatem*, n. 21).
Women sow the seeds of the civilization of love
Mary's maternal heart, open to all
human misfortune, also reminds women that the development of the feminine personality
calls for a commitment to charity. More sensitive to the values of the heart, woman shows
a high capacity for personal self-giving.
To all in our age who offer selfish models for
affirming the feminine personality, the luminous and holy figure of the Lord's Mother
shows how only by self-giving and self-forgetfulness towards others is it possible to
attain authentic fulfilment of the divine plan for one's own life.
Mary's presence therefore encourages sentiments of
mercy and solidarity in women for situations of human distress and arouses a desire to
alleviate the pain of those who suffer: the poor, the sick and all in need of help.
In virtue of her special bond with Mary, woman has
often in the course of history represented God's closeness to the expectations of goodness
and tenderness of a humanity wounded by hatred and sin, by sowing in the world seeds of a
civilization that can respond to violence with love.
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