Women! The Church is yours!
The female voice is one that has been growing in volume for the last number of years, we have grown and evolved from the “homemakers” of the past to the CEOs of the future and everything in between. This growth and development is something amazing to study. Women, in the western world fought for the vote and gained it in 1920, fought for the right to work and do so daily and now in 2019 women are still fighting for equal rights and equal pay and I am filled with the confidence that we will, in time, gain this in every work place and will begin to strive to help women in countries where their voice is not heard.
Now is a time for female leaders, we see so many women influencers online, excelling in their field. I admire these women for their grit and determination, literally working from the very bottom of the heap to the top. They endure “trolls”, rejection, keyboard warriors and many times ill health caused by the stress of their jobs but still they continue to rise. They rise with the voice of other unknown women and men egging them on, supporting them and this kind of empowerment can be heart-warming to view.
Women in the Catholic Church
The one area where, sometimes I feel there are not enough women represented is the Church. The sacristan in my local parish is a man, men read the Word of God and obviously, men are the priests who say the Mass. It’s understandable for women to feel left out of this, we are not necessarily seeing other women to approach within the parish communities, unless we really put ourselves out there and make an effort to seek people out, and let’s face it, that’s simply terrifying!
Leadership is more than physical presence
However, if you look under the surface, women are as much the backbone of the Church as men. It is worth noting at this point that to assume that leadership in the Church is solely physical would be to misunderstand the very meaning of being a leader. To be a leader is to live as you teach. Yes, to lay people those who stand in a physical presence in the Sanctuary area seem to be the leaders of most ‘importance’, but how important would they be if there was no one there to see them? To be influential in the Catholic Church, does not mean to be the person who is there in presence only. To be influential and a leader in the Catholic Church is much more than that. It’s bringing Christ and His message to the streets, to our homes, to our friends and families. These are the real influencers in the Catholic Church and many of these influencers are in fact women. These influencers will transform the Church not from within, but from the outside in!
Influence may not be obvious, but it’s real
Women run Parish groups, women bring their children to mass, women live the Gospel in their daily lives and show it to those around them. In short, women are the influencers the Church needs. In my journey of faith, I have met women who have inspired me so much in the way they live their lives. I find it difficult to look to a priest for advice on life matters, purely because he’s a man and you know, I’d just rather discuss my life with another woman. I found that on this journey, I have found female mentors, women who I can talk to, share problems with and am met with a non-judgemental, practical advice. I think these women do not get the recognition as ‘inspiration’ in the way they deserve. These women have taken the time out of their busy days to listen to the questions, to the doubts and to the arguments that I and many others have put to them. Instead of disputing with me, they came to me with books to read, other people to talk to, to hear my arguments and discuss them with me. This patience, compassion and kindness is something I will always remember, why? Because these women could have turned me away, they could have done the “stereotypical” thing and just ignored my negativity. Instead, they showed me what it meant to be a Christian, patience, dignity and support of the proverbial lost sheep.
Outside of ecclesial structures, there are women living the word of God daily, women showing the world through their actions what it means to them to be Christian. In every parish, in every community there are women holding it together, we don’t always see them clearly, but they are there. Even you, who are reading this wondering, where in the name of all that is good is this girl going with this, are being Christian in showing me patience while I get to the point.
I think, the Church is viewed in some circles as being a man’s game. I feel very strongly on the fact that it is time now to really clearly see the work that women do in the Church in order to keep it alive. Down to the basic level, without women the Church would die out purely because without women, there would be no men. On a wider scale, women and men need to work together to keep the world turning, we need to coexist in order to keep the world spinning on its axis, much in the same way as women and men need to work together to continue to deliver the word of God, to live it, to spread it, to work together to ensure that the Church lives on.
great Woman Saints
The spiritual role of women is one that I have, in my own ignorance, needed to read up on and inform myself of. This role is again something I find myself blinded to, in that, I focus on the lack of women, as opposed to the abundance. One of the most central figures of the New Testament is Mary, the mother of our Lord, she is compassion and strength personified. Letters from both Pope John Paul II, Letter to Women (1995) and Cardinal Ratzinger, Letter to Bishops (2004), clearly describe the movement of the view of women in the eyes of the Church away from a hindrance to men, descendants of Eve, who had led men to sin in the Garden at the beginning of time, to the partner and equal of men. They write in their letters about Mary and her pivotal role in the life of Jesus, they compare women to her, encourage women to continue in their labours, be they mother, daughter or sister. Among the greatest saints have been women: St Joan of Arc, St Teresa of Avila, St Therese of Lisieux (a doctor the Church), Saint Teresa of Calcutta, St Catherine of Siena, St Faustina, St Brigid (Patron of Europe).
I guess the point of this post is to encourage us to be the cheerleaders, to be the change. If you spot an opening somewhere, if you spot something that needs change or development, you can step up and either take it on yourself or suggest it to another woman you know could smash it! Simply letting someone know that she is your inspiration is building her up, in a way she may need. Let’s come together to build up and encourage the women around us. Our voice has made history, let’s continue to do it!