St. Edith Stein: “Womanhood finds its most perfect image in the purest Virgin”(I)

Any discussion of the differences between men and women and their roles in society seem to be particularly charged these days. As the role of wife and mother continues to be embraced and celebrated by the church, it is often downplayed in an increasingly secularized culture. At the same time, Catholics today grapple with the role of women in the workforce as well as the role of the woman who is single by choice or circumstance.(...) Edith Stein, also known as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, challenged both the feminists of her time and those who would relegate a woman only to the role of wife and mother.

“Only subjective delusion could deny that women are capable of practicing vocations other than that of spouse and mother.” Citing the experience of many different times in history, she noted that “in case of need, every normal and healthy woman is able to hold a position. And there is no profession which cannot be practiced by a woman.”

In a wide range of professions, she contended, “basically the same spiritual attitude which the wife and mother need is needed here also, except that it is extended to a wider working circle.”

Pointing toward the example of the Virgin Mary at the wedding feast in Cana, Stein wrote that women in the workplace can imitate her in being “conscious of where there is want and where help is needed, intervening and regulating as far as it is possible in her power in a discreet way. Then will she like a good spirit spread blessing everywhere.”

Ideally, she wrote, a woman’s soul is “fashioned to be a shelter in which other souls may unfold. Both spiritual companionship and motherliness are not limited to the physical spouse and mother relationships, but they extend to all people with whom woman comes into contact.”

Lauretta Brow, September 11, 2024

Exerpt from: www.ovsnews.com