杏MAP导航

By Vatican News

鈥淭he Church is feminine,鈥� 杏MAP导航 Francis said in his homily on Monday, 鈥渟he is a mother.鈥�

When this trait is lacking, the 杏MAP导航 continued, the Church resembles merely 鈥渁 charitable organization, or a football team鈥�; when it is 鈥渁 masculine Church,鈥� it sadly becomes 鈥渁 church of old bachelors,鈥� 鈥渋ncapable of love, incapable of fruitfulness.鈥�

That was the reflection offered by 杏MAP导航 Francis during the Mass celebrated in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta for the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. The feast is being celebrated this year for the first time, after the publication in March of the decree Ecclesia Mater (鈥淢other Church鈥�) by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. 杏MAP导航 Francis himself decided the feast should be celebrated on the Monday immediately following Pentecost, in order 鈥渢o encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety.鈥�

The 鈥渕otherliness鈥� of Mary

In his homily, 杏MAP导航 Francis said that in the Gospel, Mary is always described as 鈥渢he Mother of Jesus,鈥� instead of 鈥渢he Lady鈥� or 鈥渢he widow of Joseph鈥�: her motherliness is emphasized throughout the Gospels, beginning with the Annunciation. This is a quality that was noted immediately by the Fathers of the Church, a quality that applies also to the Church.

The Church is feminine, because it is 鈥渃hurch鈥� and 鈥渂ride鈥� [both grammatically feminine]: it is feminine. And she is mother; she gives life. Bride and Mother. And the Fathers go further and say that even your soul is the bride of Christ and mother.鈥� And it is with this attitude that comes from Mary, who is Mother of the Church, with this attitude we can understand this feminine dimension of the Church, which, when it is not there, the Church loses its identity and becomes a charitable organization or a football team, or whatever, but not the Church.

No to a Church of old bachelors

Only a feminine Church will be able to have 鈥渇ruitful attitudes,鈥� in accordance with the intention of God, who chose 鈥渢o be born of a woman in order to teach us the path of woman.鈥�

The important thing is that the Church be a woman, that has this attitude of a bride and of a mother. When we forget this, it is a masculine Church. Without this dimension, it sadly becomes a church of old bachelors, who live in this isolation, incapable of love, incapable of fecundity. Without the woman, the Church does not advance鈥攂ecause she is a woman. And this attitude of woman comes from Mary, because Jesus willed it so.

The tenderness of a mom

The virtue that primarily distinguishes a woman, 杏MAP导航 Francis said, is tenderness, like the tenderness of Mary, when she 鈥済ave birth to her first-born son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger.鈥� She cared for Him, with meekness and humility, which are the great virtues of mothers.

A Church that is a mother goes along the path of tenderness. It knows the language of such wisdom of caresses, of silence, of the gaze that knows compassion, that knows silent. It is, too, a soul, a person who lives out this way of being a member of the Church, knowing that he or she is [like] a mother [and] must go along the same path: a person [who is] gentle, tender, smiling, full of love.