Mary as a role model

Dr. Carrie Gress, a young American philosopher, is the author of a new book called The Anti-Mary Exposed (TAN Books 2019). In an interview for Catholic Exchange, she answers this question:

Following Vatican II, there seemed to be a lessening of Mary’s role in the devotional lives of many Catholics. We, of course, also saw this among our Protestant brothers and sisters over the past five centuries. Do you think this great cultural shift could have occurred if Mary’s place in the Christian life had not first been diminished?

Dr. Gress: No, this would never have happened if Our Lady had been held at the center of culture… I have seen Protestants write about this: Protestantism hasn’t carved out any place for women to be women. Obviously, religious orders were eradicated, as was Mary as a role model, so there wasn’t any place for women to understand their role. As a result, men were put on a pedestal; and women are responding to this. …

If we look at what the Catholic Church has actually said about women — not that every Catholic has responded rightly toward women—but in terms of the way the Church upheld femininity, much of that was developed because of who our Lady was. The Church is way ahead on this. 

Historically, if we think about different women who made history, they were saints. They understood that they had to connect their will with God’s will, and then through that they were able to do things they could never do – things they could only do through God. I am thinking of women like St Helen, St. Lucy, St Monica, St Catherine of Siena, St Joan of Arc. All of these remarkable women had very different vocations. None of these women could be referred to as a doormat. This is what the Catholic Church has had going for it — this understanding of what happens with women when we become holy. Sadly, that was washed from our collective memory, as was Mary.

Source: Catholic Exchange, March 18, 2019