Oct 27 Sun
Leave me in peace! I want to remain a plain laywoman.
By Paloma López Campos
Let me be a laywoman. Just like that. Neither priestess, nor deaconess, nor member with the right to vote in a Synod... Plain laywoman. Like the women at the foot of the Cross, who had their eyes fixed on Christ, not on the keys of the Kingdom that jingled as St. Peter ran away.
Let me be a laywoman in peace. Not because I lack ambition, not because I think that men are better equipped for the tasks of governing the Church, or because I think that women have to shut themselves away.
I do not want to be anything other than a laywoman because that is what God has asked of me. And if He says so, why should anyone have the audacity to demand that I claim another place?
I see many people in church pointing to a black spot on the white tablecloth. I am surprised to find that they are the ones with dirty fingers. They create the problem and then blame the tablecloth for the dirt.
Is a woman inferior because she cannot receive priestly orders? Absolutely not! Who said that? Didn't Christ appear to women in the first place after his Resurrection? Yes, the apostles have the power to cast out demons and forgive sins (I will not be the one to say that this is not cool) but the women were witnesses of the Resurrection.
The problem is that people are constantly trying to “grade” vocations. This is like the fights between little brothers and sisters because mom gave Mike a piece of cake that was a millimeter bigger. Mommy doesn't hate you, Joe, take a breath.
Those who demand rights and follow certain currents have convinced us that the life of the Church can also be measured. They want to convince me that the Church deceives me, that she locks me in my role as a laywoman because she does not want me to be more, the best for me. They are wrong. ‘You are lucky if you can climb the ladder a little and consecrate yourself as a religious, but being a laywoman... That's bad luck,’ they claim.
And how do I explain to you that I love being a laywoman? I know I haven't been locked up. I know that my vocation is not imposed on me by the Church. My vocation is a gift from God. If you want to measure it, go ahead. I can't and I won't.
A Catholic's only measure is the Cross. I don't need to explore whether, as a woman, I can be ordained as a priest. I need to know how I can best serve Christ within His Church in my role as a laywoman.
I don't need to fight for that extra millimeter of cake. I must recognize that the Church is Mother and knows better. I am talking about the Church as a whole, not just a single Pope, a college of cardinals, or an era.
There are tasks to be done, roles to be recognized, and teachings to be deepened. It would be absurd to think that we already understand all the richness of the Church instituted by Christ. There are undoubtedly areas in which to improve. That is not the point.
I am a laywoman and I want to be left in peace. I refuse to allow an inferiority complex to make me think that my vocation is less valuable. I refuse to allow myself to develop a superiority complex that makes me think I know more than the wisdom of the Magisterium of the Church. I am a laywoman. If you want to measure different vocations, compare them only with the Cross. We will realize on Calvary that our problem is not the lack of rights but the lack of love.
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