Wonder Women

Appreciating the role and dignity of women

09/18/2020

Luke 8:1-3 Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.

I would like to say a word about women today because the gospel of Luke ch. 8 takes a minute to mention women, too. Do you know where the word “woman” comes from? In the bible it says that after God had created Adam, he created Eve. When Adam beheld the beautiful Eve and he exclaimed: “Whoa, man!” But St. Luke and I are not the only ones who have stopped to wonder about women, so did St. John Paul II. On August 15, 1988, the feast of Mary’s Assumption into heaven, John Paul II wrote “Mulieris Dignitatem,” “The Role and Dignity of Women,” a kind of compendium of his whole theology of the body. If you are searching for a summary of the pope’s famous theology of the body, that encyclical is excellent. I love the pope’s phrase “feminine genius.”

Also, anyone who criticizes Catholics saying women should help run the Church – and thinks they aren’t already doing that – has not stepped inside the church offices lately. Fr. Daniel, Dc. Greg and I are way outnumbered by women, whose dedication, devotion and drive is nothing short of inspiring. If you stop by the church and note the gender of the employees, you, too, may exclaim: “Whoa, man!”

What does the gospel of Luke say today? In the beginning verses of chapter 8, St. Luke mentions three women. We read there: “Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Suzanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.” Let me say a word about each of these women. Pope St. Gregory I in 591 suggested that Jesus expelling seven demons out of Mary Magdalene symbolized freeing her from the seven deadly sins. Hence, she became a loyal disciple of Jesus, and all four gospels record her resolute devotion even to standing at the foot of the Cross, when the other followers had fled.

She is also the first to witness the Lord’s resurrected body and announce the Good News to the apostles. Thus she is given the singular title of “Apostle to the Apostles.” That’s why Pope Francis raised her feast day on July 22 from a mere memorial to a full feast day. We can all look at Mary Magdalene and say, “Whoa man!”

Less is known about the other two women, but not nothing. “Joanna” is a name that means “Yahweh has been gracious.” And indeed God had been gracious to her since Jesus had healed her of infirmities as Luke says. The fact that she was the wife of Chuza, who was King Herod’s steward, means she was likely wealthy and could provide for Jesus and his disciples from her resources. Joanna is also mentioned in Luke 24:10 as one of the women who took spices to Jesus’ tomb. She had the money to buy the spices.

Joanna makes me think of all the wonderful women in the I.C. Ladies Auxiliary, who bring priests dinner on Tuesday evenings every week. The Ladies Auxiliary is our own Door Dash, Grub Hug and Waitr! Did you know the Ladies Auxiliary also pays for most of the church’s supplies for celebrating the liturgies all year: the candles, the books, the hosts, the wine, and the vestments? Every time you walk into this beautiful church, know there are wonderful women who support it out of their resources, and you might want to exclaim, “Whoa, man!”

My friends, if we take two minutes to think about the people who have profoundly shaped our faith, women will be a big part of the picture. No offense to my dad, but it was always my mom who insisted we pray every evening before going to bed. Most often when a young couple from two different denominations marry each other, it’s often the religion of the woman that takes precedence and prevails. The man often converts to the faith of his wife. Women tend to understand intuitively their need for God faster than men do (who are too busy being independent), and therefore their faith-life is often far advanced.

I believe that’s because women get that what’s most important in life is relationships – which is why they love soap operas – and they are ready for the revelation that God is not some Solitary Loner, as the Old Testament insists (cf., Deut. 6:4-8). Rather, God is a Trinity of divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit as the New Testament unveils. That is the heart of the feminine genius because it penetrates the heart of God, the Holy Trinity. And that is the real reason why Adam, when he first beheld Eve, exclaimed: “Whoa, man!”

Praised be Jesus Christ!