Strength for the Week

Strength for the Week

May is the month to celebrate two of the most important women in our lives: on Mothers’ Day, we give thanks in a special way for the gift of our mothers, and throughout the month we celebrate Mary as our heavenly Mother, Teacher, and Queen.
In his writings, St. John Paul II linked the unique gifts of women (what he called “the feminine genius”) with how Mary lived her vocation as the Mother of Jesus. A woman of faith, a woman fully receptive to the Spirit to nurture new life, a woman who generously cooperates with God’s salvific plan, a woman who tirelessly serves others, a faithful woman who stands steadfast by her Son through misunderstanding, suffering, and death—in other words, a woman for whom love is everything.
Don’t all of us know women who share a degree of these characteristics with Mary?
We may joke about the differences between men and women when it comes to cleaning or driving (directions, anyone?), approaching relationships, or perspectives on problem-solving. But the truth is that our differences enrich us. Most of us have been forever changed by at least one significant woman in our life. Perhaps this Mothers’ Day we can celebrate our mothers and the wonderful women God has placed in our lives by reflecting on how they express the feminine genius—whether by a receptive sensitivity, a harmonizing approach to conflict, a nurturing instinct, or other gifts. In expressing our appreciation to the women who have given us life, we also make space for the feminine genius to take its rightful place and make a difference in our world.
God bless you.
Sr. Marie Paul Curley, fsp