It’s time for the church to give women their due

I recently attended the ordination of the Rev. Jerod Duet. He had been interested in Hispanic ministry, so he studied at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio. The Mexican-American Cultural Center works with the Assumption seminary administration to cultivate priests who can speak Spanish fluently.

In keeping with Duet’s interest and call to the Spanish community, parts of the ordination ceremony were spoken in Spanish – or printed, for the benefit of those who struggle with English. We sang the Litany of the Saints in Spanish.

“We call on everyone – those in heaven and those on earth – to pray for the newly ordained that he may be a worthy servant of the Lord and God’s people.”

I have prayed the Litany of the Saints often. Maybe it had become second nature to me, but this time something stood out. In English, we have one word for “saint,” whether a person is male or female. In Spanish, the usual form for the male is “San” and sometimes “Santo,” as in San Juan or San Antonio. The female form is “Santa.”

What struck me was how few “Santas” we were calling on to pray for us.

Why is this?

Women have always been known to be more religious than men. Ask any pastors and they will tell you that more women come to church, get involved in church activities, pass down the faith both at home and in the classroom and more were under the cross than their male counterparts. “Standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene”: John 19:25.

The problem has been that, over the centuries, the church has drawn its candidates for canonization from a narrow slice of the Catholic population, namely, priests, bishops, popes, religious and lay persons who either remained virgins or celibates during their lifetime or, if married, entered a convent or founded a religious order after the death of their spouse.

Martyrdom was also open to both male and female candidates.

Very few married lay persons have been held up as models of good Christian living. Yet most of the church is made up of lay persons.

One of Pope John Paul II’s highest priorities was the cultivation of a vibrant Catholic spirituality, which is why he personally canonized more than 480 individuals during his 26 ? years in office and beatified more than 1,300. However, the overwhelming majority of his canonizations were clergy and religious and mostly men.

Wives and mothers who remained faithful to the promises of baptism, who followed the way of Christ and who lived good, holy and exemplary lives have not often been considered by the church for canonization as saints. That’s a shame!

The rhythms of a woman’s life are controlled by her body. Hormonal changes, monthly cycles, birth, lactation and even menopause are bodily experiences of every woman’s life. When Jesus asked us to “deny ourselves,” he was not asking us to put our bodies down or to treat our bodies as something evil.

God made both male and female after the image and likeness of God.

The church has neglected the gifts of women and has not held them up as models of holiness.

Married people must integrate their sexuality into their life of holiness. We’ve finally got a pope who put Eros (passion and sexual love) and agape (the love that wants what is best for another) on an equal plane. We need to recognize the sanctity of marriage as a vocation by canonizing ordinary people who followed Christ and gave themselves to their family and others.

In the meanwhile, we must encourage each other in holiness.