The Feminine Genius

I am taking a little break from packing for our move on Monday. The house is stacked full of boxes; in fact, I have had to squeeze in among some precariously balanced boxes stacked to the ceiling in order to get to the computer (which really should be in a box right now as well). My wife’s patience with this process kind of coalesced with some other recent events, which I will mention below, to give rise to this thought about women and femininity. John Paul the Great coined this phrase, the feminine genius, to help counter a growing problem in some strains of feminism. Notably, the problem is with those feminists who actually reject femininity as a weakness which has been exploited by men. They end up by rejecting femininity and adopting masculine modes of behavior, which JP says will deform them. JP the Great used the term to show the unique and irreplaceable gifts that women possess and their necessity for the proper functioning of society. What he meant by genius is not simply intellectual but that the whole feminine person is structured in such a way which allows her to most uniquely cooperate with God in His ongoing plan of creation. All of her gifts are oriented toward motherhood; whether it be biological or spiritual motherhood, all women have what it takes to be a good mother (even if some do not make use of their gifts). Monday’s Solemnity of the Assumption has manifold meaning but in this regard, the feast reveals the crowning glory of the Blessed Virgin’s vocation as a mother; the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church. While she conceived in a miraculous manner, the way in which she lived out her vocation was nothing other than her obedient response to God’s will and her obediently making use of all of her natural gifts as a feminine person. Her “fiat mihi” (let it be done to me) was not a singular event but an attitude and commitment which marked her entire life. She revealed the essence of biological and spiritual motherhood. She gave herself entirely over to God and in this, she gave herself totally to her family, the Holy Family and the Church. Mary’s heroic model of selfless giving is often criticized by some feminists who say that JP the Great is setting an impossible ideal. They miss the point. He does not overlook the fact that women, as well as men, live in a fallen state. They are both subject to concupiscence and they often fall into sin. However sinful women can be, it does not negate the feminine genius or the capacity of women, aided by grace, to overcome their concupiscent desires. Very many do. I think about the young mother in the news recently, Susan Torres, who died after giving birth to her baby daughter. Most know the details of this bitter sweet case so I will not repeat them. In motherhood, mothers donate their bodies to their children for their first nine months of life and then give the whole of themselves for the remainder of their lives. While Susan Torres did not get to choose to donate her life for the sake of her child, her family, who knew her, said that what her husband did, keeping her alive until the child could be safely delivered, was what she would have wanted. In fact, many mothers have refused treatment for cancer because of the danger to their children, and paid for it with their lives. My own maternal grandmother was counseled to have an abortion with her last child because the doctors feared she would not survive child birth. She did not. However, she did give birth to a healthy baby girl, my Aunt Bev. I also am very lucky to have a mother who provides an excellent model of motherhood. She makes use of all of her feminine gifts to give of herself to her family. Living a life faithful to the feminine genius God has bestowed is not an impossible ideal, it is not the source of oppression, it is what makes women special. Whether God bestows the gift of biological motherhood on a woman or not, she still has the vocation as a spiritual mother for others in her life. Women must recognize and embrace their feminine genius and use it to complement the gifts of men in the family, in the work place, in the Church, and in society as a whole. Society will not survive without it.