'The feminine vocation' in Pope John Paul II's Mulieris Dignitatem.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 22 September 2009
• Author: Prokes, Mary Timothy

The hour is coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of women is being acknowledged in its fullness, the hour in which women acquire in the world an influence, an effect and a power never hitherto achieved ....

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... It is a question of understanding the reason for and the consequences of the Creator's decision that the human being should always and only exist as a woman or a man. (1)

~Pope John Paul II

INTRODUCTION

It is audacious for anyone, in the contemporary global context, to address and interpret the meaning of "The Feminine Vocation." Yet that is precisely what Pope John Paul II did in his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem in 1988. In the previous year, the Synod of Bishops had focused on "The Vocation and Mission of the Laity in the Church and in the World Twenty Years after the Second Vatican Council." (2) The Synod recommended "further study of the anthropological and theological bases that are needed in order to solve the problems connected with the meaning and dignity of being a woman and of being a man." (3)

The Pope did not simply encourage others to take up this task. He swiftly contributed to it, building upon almost ten years of his public audiences that were rooted in scholarly reflection on the Theology of the Body, the meaning of marriage and human sexuality, and major contemporary developments challenging integral relationships. (4) His personal experience as priestly mentor to young women and men in Poland, his penetrating understanding of human life in desperate conditions of war and persecution, and his poetic sensitivity to human relationships enabled him to apply theological insight, prayerful wisdom, and philosophical acuity to urgent human questions. He perceived a particular need for "the vocation of women [to be] acknowledged in its fullness." (5)

As a basis for understanding his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem in its profundity, this paper will first discuss two essential aspects of the document: first, the universal breadth of its approach; and second, the terminology employed in developing this reflection on the feminine vocation. With these in mind, I suggest that understanding three basic elements of Mulieris Dignitatem assists one in receiving Pope John Paul II's self-described "meditation" on the feminine vocation. (6) The three elements are the centrality of Divine Revelation, the communion of opposites, and an understanding of the embodied person as gift.

1. UNIVERSAL CONTEXT

   In chapter two of Mulieris Dignitatem, Pope John Paul II expressly interprets the "feminine vocation" within a universal context-indeed, a cosmic context--extending from the creation of human life to the end times. (7) The chapter opens with the Pauline text from Galatians 4:4: "When the time had fully come, God sent Forth his son, born of woman." (8) In that proclamation, St. Paul indicates that a preparatory period--indeterminate in the human measuring of time--had reached the point of readiness for the Incarnation. The Pope notes the significant fact that "St. Paul does not call the Mother of Christ by her own name 'Mary,' but calls her 'woman': this coincides with the words of the Proto-evangelium in the Book of Genesis (cf. 3:15)." (9) Mary of Nazareth is the woman, present and completely given to the central salvific event marking what St. Paul called the "fullness of time." (10) The Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity was realized in and through her, and it remains the key event of salvation history. (11) The phrase "fullness of time" designates the definitive self-revelation of God expressed humanly, bodily: the Second Person of the Trinity became incarnate in Mary's womb. (12)

   Since all creation revolves around this event, and since, as John Paul avers, every human question pertains to it, he locates his approach to the "feminine vocation" in that perspective, describing his approach as panoramic. (13) "Woman--Mother of God" is a reality, he says, that "determines the essential horizon of reflection on the dignity and the vocation of women." (14) In using the terms "panoramic" and "horizon," the Pope indicates that the meaning of the feminine vocation can only be understood within the totality of creation and within the divine intent manifested in the creation of humans as women and men. (15) That divine intent is expressed most completely, he says, in the event which came in the fullness of time: the Incarnation at Nazareth, in which "Mary attains a union with God that exceeds all the expectations of the human spirit." (16)

   It is from that universal perspective that Mulieris Dignitatem is written. The vocation of the "feminine" and the specific vocation of every woman participate in a divine intent that reached its perfection in the Woman, Mary, who holds and expresses the mystery and potential of every woman's vocation. It is not surprising that John Paul writes at the conclusion of chapter one, "[I]t seems to me that the best thing is to give this text the style and character of a meditation." (17) In this spirit, John Paul consistently comes to his delineations concerning woman and man (as Christ did) by looking to "the beginning," to the divine intent for humanity. (18)

2. TERMINOLOGY OF JOHN PAUL II IN MULIERIS DIGNITATEM

   Closely linked to the universal, cosmic approach in the Pope's reflections, there is another factor that can influence the reception (or rejection) of Mulieris Dignitatem: the terminology the Pope employs. The ease with which John Paul moves among words such as "the feminine," "woman," "virgin," "mother," "daughter," "creature of God," and "handmaid" in the brief pages of chapter two could snag the sleeve of thought and distract from his insights. Individual academic disciplines attempt to define these terms with some precision that is appropriate to their focus. It is precisely John Paul's universal, "panoramic" approach, however, that allows him the freedom to connect multiple aspects of the mystery of the feminine vocation. It is obvious that the very term "feminine vocation" bears a pejorative connotation for many in our present culture, but John Paul repeatedly links "vocation" and "dignity." (19) The apostolic letter even begins with the statement, "The dignity and the vocation of women-a subject of constant human and Christian reflection--have gained exceptional prominence in recent years." (20)

   The title given to chapter two of Mulieris Dignitatem is "Woman--Mother of God (Theotokos)." To explicate the vocation of women, John Paul stood at the turning point of creation, the Annunciation at Nazareth--that "fullness of time" where woman is found and where the self-revelation of God is given. (21) At the Annunciation, Mary became Theotokos, Mother of God. (22) There is no greater totally human vocation, no greater human dignity. From that vantage point, John Paul turns to "the beginning" of creation--including the first turning of man and woman from their Creator, when the promise was made of the Woman who would crush the head of personal evil (23)--and to the ultimate finality of humanity. At the fulcrum of creation, Mary of Nazareth, by her personal, feminine response--by her fiat in personal dialogue with a divine messenger--became Theotokos, God-bearer. (24) It is a title, John Paul wrote, that "also signifies the fullness of the perfection of 'what is characteristic of woman,' of 'what is feminine.' Here we find ourselves, in a sense, at the culminating point, the archetype, of the personal dignity of women." (25)

   Mary's supernatural union with God is unique. While hers is the ultimate realization of union with God, union with Divine Persons is also the ultimate finality of every human person, both in earthly life and in eternity. (26) In looking toward this ultimate fulfillment of all humanity, the Pope stressed that Mary is "the representative and the archetype of the whole human race." (27) In particular, the Pope stresses that Mary's union with God is "in a sense .... the culminating point, the archetype, of the personal dignity of women." (28) "Woman--Mother of God," is the reality, he said, that "determines the essential horizon of reflection on the dignity and the vocation of women." (29)

   When he speaks of the vocation of women, John Paul does not focus on a particular culture or moment of history. Rather, he delves to the roots of what it means to be created human: as image of God, called to communion of persons, even to union with the Trinity. All other specifics of a vocation find their source and meaning, their dignity, in that union. People look, says the Pope, for answers to "those profound mysteries of the human condition which ... stir the human heart." (30) What is a human being? What is the meaning and purpose of life? What is goodness and what is sin? What of sorrow, true happiness, death, judgment, life beyond the grave? "What, finally, is that ultimate and unutterable mystery which engulfs our being, and from which we take our origin and towards which we move?" (31)

   The answer, as Mary exemplifies, is a union with God that exceeds all expectations of the human spirit. It exceeded all the hopes of the People of Israel.(32) Who would dare to envision the depth of the profound truth to which human persons are called? Intimate union with Divine Persons can seem a preposterous idea in contemporary daily life, in which women are interpreted in the media as sex objects, or are prompted by "handlers" in preparation for political discourse, or encouraged to fabricate alternate identities through avatars in fantasy worlds such as Second Life. (33) It is not the easiest of times to receive the truth and depth of Pope John Paul II's letter.

   Realizing that Pope John Paul II's approach is at once panoramic, and easeful in employing terminology appropriate to his method, I now propose the first key to receiving John Paul's understanding of the feminine vocation: understanding the meaning and significance of...