The Dignity of a Woman

Witnessing to Christ in Today's World
By Anne Marie McDonnell, Ph. D.
Catholic Online

Simply put, for any woman to truly live in accordance with Catholic teaching in today's society, heroic virtue is needed. Virtually every form of media in our current society, ranging from television to movies to magazines to books to computers to music to theater, has somehow been tainted and desecrated.

Our human dignity is inviolably assaulted by visual images that are often pornographic in nature. There was a time when at least some degree of shame was associated with the displaying of such vile filth and undignified behavior in a public venue. This is no longer true. Simply by subscribing to basic cable television networks or standing in line at the supermarket one can often be inadvertently subjected to a host of risqué pictures, shocking misconduct, insulting language, and many other exhibits of indecency.

Do we block our ears, cover our eyes, and retreat to our chapels of adoration to pray? Well, praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament and frequent reception of the sacraments are key elements to the conversion of our hearts and souls. Still, we cannot completely withdraw from this world.

Perhaps just trying to live our lives as faith-filled women in the midst of a pagan environment is the most difficult form of persecution that Catholic women experience in today's culture. While we may not be thrown into a lions' den or decapitated like many of the Early Church martyrs, we still face a constant onslaught of sounds and sights that are completely at odds with our Catholicism.

At times, we may suffer ridicule for shunning the popular vulgar expressions or situation comedies that everyone seems to find perfectly acceptable. These situations offer us ample opportunity to offer God these humiliations in the form of a prayer for the Poor souls in Purgatory. A woman does not need to travel to the mission fields of a Third World Country to evangelize. Indeed, the need for evangelization is perhaps the greatest right here in the United States of America!

To be true witnesses to Christ, we need to examine and treasure our true gift of femininity, as reflected in the life of purity that the Blessed Virgin Mary always led. In order to truly live a life enriched by an authentically Catholic feminist perspective, we must have a conscience that is both informed and well formed.

This means reading good Catholic literature, starting with the Catechism and the Bible, first and foremost. After building a foundation of catechetical understanding and daily Scriptural reflection, one can move on to reading various works and genres that fill our hearts with joyful praise and our minds with lofty reflections. While there is a plethora of journals and magazines in our pop culture that will titillate one's senses and purportedly help every woman to get the most out of this life on earth, there is also a plenitude of fine Catholic literature in the fields of apologetics, theology, philosophy, and fiction. Only then can our feeble minds be enlightened, our tempted souls become enlightened, our hungry hearts satisfied, and our earthly lives become spiritually enriched.

We must never forget that Mary, the handmaid of the Lord, is our model. She always reminds us that service to the Lord must be of paramount importance in our lives. We can only lead others to Jesus by following in Our Blessed Mother's footsteps. Let us pray that we will always remain pure and committed to our faith by receiving the sacraments in a worthy manner, praying the rosary, and attending mass frequently. By following Mary's example and relying upon her intercession, great miracles can happen in our midst.

With the assistance of Mary's intercession, our prayerful thoughts, charitable actions, and kind words can break through the barrier of spiritual blindness that engulfs our present society. As Catholic women, we must pierce the darkness of sin and paganism that pervade our culture by shining the effervescent light of Christ in our world.

Contact

St. Augustine Parish
http://www.regent.edu RI, US
Anne Marie McDonnell, Ph. D. - Educator, 401 3531627

Email

amcd@pobox.com

Keywords

Woman

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