On All Saint's Day

Dear Bloggers,


I had the great privilege of attending mass this afternoon at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., and the even greater blessing to have the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States celebrate mass. I figured since I probably would only have that one opportunity to hear the Most Reverend Pietro Sambi preach, I should take notes during his homily, so here are two brief points that he gave and that I feel are relevant to our conversation on virtuous women and great men.

First, we should rediscover the company of saints and remember that we are never alone. For the discouraged and broken hearted there are many saints that we can pray to for encouragement, especially women who have dealt with heart ache and difficult men like St. Monica and St. Rita. Secondly and most importantly, all life comes from the Father and that our way to holiness is the beatitudes. This is where I was inspired to make a connection to our current discussion on masculinity and femininity. If as Christians we believe that the beatitudes (Matthew 5: 1-12) tell us exactly how Christ wants us to behave, then can we also say Christ's message of the beatitudes describes the behavior required of an authentic man and an authentic woman? If yes, then would that not help us to know more clearly what authenticity is?

Most Reverend Pietro Sambi also quoted Pope Benedict XVI who encourages men and women, being aware of human limitations, to strive to live out the beatitudes. Now, for me this is a tall order. Obviously the road to sanctity is not easy because if it were, then there would be no need to blog about men and women striving to grow in virtue and seeking to know Christ more fully; all of us would already be saints. Anyways, during mass today, this light came to me, and I felt that since we seem to struggle with identifying authenticity with regards to men and women, what if we look at the beatitudes and discuss how a man would follow them and how a woman would follow them? Since we are different in nature, we demonstrate these beatitudes in different ways, right?

What I am proposing is that in today's world when we are trying to identify what makes a man a man, or what traits define a good woman...perhaps we should be like children, keep it simple, and return to the Word of God. Just as He taught the crowds, He continues to speak to us, but our hearts must be open.

Just some thoughts for today.

She Said