The “genius of women”
By Tom Quiner
I have been the beneficiary of the “genius of women,” to quote John Paul II.
Men need women to civilize them and bring out the best manhood has to offer. I like what John Paul II said in his letter to women:
“In this vast domain of service, the Church’s two-thousand-year history, for all its historical conditioning, has truly experienced the “genius of woman”; from the heart of the Church there have emerged women of the highest calibre who have left an impressive and beneficial mark in history.
I think of the great line of woman martyrs, saints and famous mystics. In a particular way I think of Saint Catherine of Siena and of Saint Teresa of Avila, whom Pope Paul VI of happy memory granted the title of Doctors of the Church.
And how can we overlook the many women, inspired by faith, who were responsible for initiatives of extraordinary social importance, especially in serving the poorest of the poor? The life of the Church in the Third Millennium will certainly not be lacking in new and surprising manifestations of “the feminine genius”. LETTER OF POPE JOHN PAUL II TO WOMEN
Women have shaped the world every bit as much as men, perhaps more, but in different ways.
I think where the feminist movement in this country got off tracks is viewing men and women as adversarial rather than complementary.
After all, “the feminine genius” is all about being feminine. Or so it would seem to me.
There’s so much freedom in understanding these simple truths.
Which reminds me of an article I wanted to share with you Tom…
http://s-usih.org/2013/05/the-strange-gender-politics-of-natural-living.html
hmmmm, right?
Joann and i went to Dubuque to see an exhibit having to do with the history of the nuns who came to central part of the U.S. over the last 200 years. What they accomplished e.g. building schools, orphanages, hospitals is amazing!! Even the Mayo Clinic was in large measure provoked by nuns who talked Dr. Mayo into beginning the first hospital there!
Inspiring. Thanks for sharing that.
You are not the only one who thinks this! There is an entire field of study in the Church called “male-female complementarity,” but until now I thought this was mostly dominated by women. Wonderful to hear a man spreading the truth about Catholic feminism.
Tom, great post. JPII so “got it”.
MB, loved the article and loved that your comment included the word “freedom”. There is so much “freedom” in being who you are as God intended.
Thank you both!
God Bless
Thanks for writing.