FRIDAY OF THE 24TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
- Fr. George Mungai
- Sep 17, 2021
- 2 min read
17th September 2021
1 Timothy 62-12,
Psalms 49,
Luke 8:1-3
JESUS RECOGNIZED THE GREATNESS OF WOMEN
“Sometime later Jesus travelled through towns and villages, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God. The twelve disciples went with him, and so did some women” Luke 8:1.
During his public ministry Jesus had both male and female followers. Many women followed him and ministered to him together with the Apostles during his public ministry. They followed Jesus up to the end unlike most of the apostles – they watched the crucifixion of Jesus from a distance, Mk 15:40-41. Jesus rewarded them by allowing them to be the first people (Mary Magdalene and the other Mary) to witness his resurrection, Matthew 28:1-10.
For Jesus all have equal status and dignity in the sight of God. Jesus went against the Jewish rabbinic tradition that excluded women discipleship. It is in this spirit that many women took the radical step of leaving their homes and boldly following Jesus in religious commitment. They took up the mission of Jesus as their own.
The generous and loving support of women today in the Church’s mission can never be ignored. Men and women participate in the mission of the Church complementing each other with their strengths and specific calls. There is no longer a struggle for supremacy and power between man and woman, but rather, a relationship of mutual respect and union in faith in the One God.
The Church must always recognize the greatness that Christ recognized in women.
Our Mother Mary is a great example of the greatness of women. The most important event in all history, God becoming man, took place in the history of the human race through a remarkably young woman-Mary. Mary is the model for those who follow her and who seek to change the world, helping it to grow in faith and love. Mary is the archetype that reveals how, on a path of faith, grace, and fullness of life, the strength of a woman is of utmost importance in the life of society as a whole; regardless of race, nationality, or social status.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta is a great example of a woman, among many, who have made an exemplary contribution to the spreading of the Christian message and the fundamental precepts of the Catholic Church in our century. Mother Teresa was a Catholic religious sister from Albania. She became famous, in spite of her humility, throughout the entire world for having lived and taken care of the poorest of the poor in Calcutta. As a result of her work with the sick, the poor, and the weak, in 1979 she received the Nobel Peace Prize.
We must not discriminate against women. We must liberate them from traditional bondages, for “victory for women is victory for humanity” Pope Francis.
We must gladly affirm the marvellous contribution of women to our church and to the cause of Christ.
We must commit ourselves, to being a church that esteems and values the contributions of women to the cause of Christ now and always
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