International Women's Day Reflection
Gospel of the Fourth Sunday of Lent - LUKE 15:1-3, 11-32
In today's Gospel we hear a story that all of us are familiar with. It's the parable of the
Prodigal Son. It's a beautiful reflection on the love of a father for his son, which Jesus related in order to describe God's love for us.
However, when hearing this story, one could rightly ask, "Where was the son's mother?" The Gospel writer, Luke, provides no clue for the answer to this question. Was she just not considered? It was not uncommon for women to be hardly acknowledged or unnamed in the Scriptures. In Biblical times, this was the norm, as women generally were regarded as inferior to men. Thousands of years later in many places and in many ways, the situation is not all that different.
This Sunday, as well as being the Fourth Sunday of Lent, is International Women's Day. We are invited to reflect on our own attitudes to women. Women are invited to think about who they are, and men too are urged to look at how they regard the women in their lives.
For Catholics, it can be helpful to keep in mind that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#370) states: " In no way is God in man's image. He is neither man nor woman. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes."
In his Angelus address on 10th September, 1978, Pope John Paul I said, "God is our father; even more he is our mother."
Let's think about the roles women have in our world. What would our world look like if women everywhere did have personal choice over how they used their gifts and talents? How would our societies be if women and girls were treated with dignity and respect by all? What can each of us do to support the women in our lives to b e all that they were created to be, thus revealing the feminine face of God to others?
In every parish community women play vital roles. May the male members of the Church thank all the women and girls who do so much to ensure that our communities are flourishing ones. They are truly the "pillars of the Church"! In the Arnoldus Family, where would we be without the Holy Spirit Sisters?!
On this day, International Women's Day, may our thoughts and prayers be with them..