Lent is here again!

Lent is here again and it is time to rekindle, at least for me it is, a commitment to be a better child of Christ. Being a cultural Catholic for most of my life I have only been consciously on this journey for a couple of decades, and in truth only with any serious commitment over the past 7 years.

Lent in my earlier reversion years was a time to give up sweets, or maybe a favourite TV show. But then what? It took me many years to realize, only vaguely at first, that to give something up meant that the time should be filled with activities that would serve to bring one closer to Christ, joining our little crosses to his monumental one. I used to dread Lent, truly! The thought making my little sacrifices and often giving in to my weak will and indulging or finding back doors so that suffering could be lessened, was not appealing so much was my dread of it that I would often neglect to give anything up and sort of make up little sacrifices along the way to appease the occasional pricks of conscience.

God is truly merciful God who, in his unbounded love for us allows us to come to him and is there always waiting for us to finally wake up to his perfect will and wisdom. Despite my many years of prideful indifference to this miraculous opportunity he was ready and waiting for that day when I would finally recognize what a gift Lent is, what a Divine act of Love.

So now I still struggle with my mortifications, sacrifices, and fasts, but instead of looking to myself and my own will to get me through it, I use each moment of struggle as a step to turn to God and his Mercy. My fasts are geared toward not only sacrifice, but reminding myself that this body which God has given me is to be treated with respect. All that goes in it should first be to keep it strong so as to serve our Lord in my duties as wife and mother. The time which I whittled away with social media and entertaining myself with favourite films and tv shows should be time spent with my God, through meditations, reading and service. In the end Love can only increase as sacrifice increases, and in turn as Love increases sacrifice is made easier, because the very nature of true love is sacrificial and a willed denial of self for the beloved.

In the end, at the ripe old age of 49, finally I am starting to understand Lent, and love it. No I am no masochist, suffering is not fun and it hurts, but because I am such a sinner it takes this intense reminder for me to pick up my cross and truly, willfully, follow our Lord. And while to journey is hard and rife with temptations and attacks from the enemy, the fruits are always worth it. Even if it is a barely noticeable increase in my closeness to our Lord, it is worth it.

What he endured for us, are we prepared to endure for him?
May God Bless you and Keep you on your Lenten Journey,
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Mother's love

The other day I listened to an audio sancta sermon from the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, (http://www.romans10seventeen.org/audio-files/20140202-That-Out-of-Many-Hearts-Thoughts-May-Be-Revealed.mp3,) and it occurred to me that God was again clearly pointing me in the direction which he has been directing me my whole life. Sadly it has taken me most of my life to be able to finally recognize, sometimes, his encouraging push. The essence of the sermon was on God's infinite love for us and how it is reflective in the maternal love of Mary and to a more imperfect degree in the maternity gifted to every woman.


As I listened I realized again what an honour I have been given to be able to mother our children. Being a mother has meant more to me than anything I have ever undertook, second only to being a wife.

In his sermon Father was saying that each of us is hard wired to need to be mothered. This resonated with me because of the belief that each of us is created to yearn for God's love. This need is imprinted on our souls from conception and we spend our earthly lives trying to fill this yearning. Alas those who reject God's love, because they are created to love him and be loved by him, find far less satisfying means of answering this yearning. Father quotes from Dom Columbia Marmion on the nature of motherly love.

"God is Love, and so that we may have some idea of his love he gives a share of it to mothers. The heart of mother was her unwearying tendingness, the constancy of her care, the inexhaustible delicacy of her affection, is a truly divine creation. Although God has placed in her only a spark of love for us. Yet however imperfectly a mother's heart reflects the divine love towards us God gives us our mothers to take his place in some manner with us. He places them at our side from our cradles to guide us, to guard us, especially in our earliest years when we have so much need of tenderness."

The words struck me so deeply. Mothering, if we are willing to accept for a moment that the above reflects some truth, is not the act of feeding, diaper changing, bathing, cuddling the sick, scolding the wayward in and of themselves. Mothering rather is that disposition which informs all the above, which drives those acts. Mothering therefore can not be replaced by daycare as so many have come to believe. One might argue that the very notion of daycare is so counter family as to be communistic in nature. Is it a coincidence that daycare came from communist/socialist ideologies. Ideologies which by the way deny the existence of God. Mothering is that spirit of deep sacrificial nurturing that comes from a heart filled with a will to give so completely of self that it informs all other decisions. That spirit that allows us to overcome some of the most heart wrenching pain and torment because God has placed in our care people who's needs have become paramount in our lives and to put ourselves first would mean giving them less than what they must have.

I realize that there are situations where a woman has no choice but to go out into the workforce, where she must set aside her maternity for a chunk of time in the day to take on what had traditionally been a paternal role.  But out of need or choice there is still left the question as to what happens to those who are not given that which they have been created needing?

Let us say that we have been hard wired with an innate need to be mothered, not part time when it is convenient for the motherer, but full time at the expense of the motherer's perceived needs and desires. If this is true what does that mean for the billions of us who's mothers have been sold on the idea that there is no need of sacrifice in mothering? That mothering can be a part-time job shared with a career? That the "constancy of her care" need not be quite so constant? Would this not reflect on the generation preceeding this shift? Is it any wonder that we now live in a culture of "me firstism?" That sacrifice, dedication to others at the expense of self, is considered neglectful and counter-productive on our supposed role of self-fulfillment? How often have we heard the statement, "how can I make others happy and give to them when I am unhappy and do no have what I need/want?" How many have left families and marriages citing some form of the above position?

And then what happens to our understanding of God? If mothers are meant to be a reflection of God's love for us, from whom we first learn about what the true meaning of love, then what happens to a world in which that love is not properly presented or nurtured. Well we are living what happens. Over 50% of marriages do not last. In all honesty I do not know the numbers but fewer mothers than at any other time in history stay home full time. The very notion of family has become some relative idea that anyone can define to mean just about anything. Babies are murdered daily by the very person who was put on this earth to protect and care for them. Men are left wondering where they fit in a world where they really aren't needed anymore because women can now do it all. And throughout the western world God has been exiled from our lives.

I am so thankful that God has opened my ears to be able to no hear now and again his call to me to embrace motherhood, not as a burden that I must survive, or a task I must perform and compensate for it by finding a "fulfilling career," but abandoning myself to the beauty of motherhood. I am a sinner and so I do have my far too many moments of selfish rejection of what mother needs to be. I have my moments of wanting "me time," knowing that other's needs come first and I tend to their needs not wholeheartedly but grudgingly. But I hope that those moments are fewer than they were, and I hope that despite those moments my children have gotten some sense or experience, some minuscule taste of God's divine love for us. And so I continue asking him for the Grace to be a better mother, that my children will, with his Mercy, know even a glimmer of his Love through me as his instrument.

Y que Dios sintiendose triste
Y en eternas soledades
para ser más DIOS que nunca,
quizo tener una MADRE…

(And God feeling so sad
in his eternal solitude
to be God more than ever
needed himself a mother)

Author unknown

Pax Christi

Morning smoothy!

Here is a great way to start your day. I usually have a cup of warm water, juice of half a lemon and tsp of cinnamon after I oil pull for 10 minutes. Then I have cup of infused water, just started doing this and boy does it clear the cobwebs. While I am sipping my water I make the smoothy.

The infused water is easy peasy! Get a mason jar put in it whatever fruit, veggies, herbs and I even add a few pieces of raw ginger fill it with filtered water put a lid on it and let stand for at least 30 minutes. I like to put it in the fridge over night so it is very flavourful in the morning.

here are some combo options but that you can mix and match to suit your tastes and needs.


1. Green tea, mint, lime-fat burning, digestion, headaches, congestion and breath freshener.

2. Strawberry, kiwi-cardiovascular health, immune system protection, blood sugar regulation, digestion.

3. Cucumber, lime, lemon- water weight management, bloating, appetite control, hydration, digestion

4. Lemon, lime, orange- digestion vitamin C, immune defense, heartburn, (Drink this one at room temperature)



Now onto the smoothy! Here too you can add all sorts of things but this is what works for us.

1 can coconut water
1cup infused water
1/4 cup coconut oil give or take
4 raw eggs
1 peeled lime
1/2 peeled lemon
1/3 cup raw unpasteurized honey
a hand full of raw kale, spinach, or parsley
1 600 g bag of frozen mixed berries

Blend the first 8 ingredients until liquefied then slowly add the frozen berries. It might come out more like a sorbet, which in my house is a plus! So feel free to play around with the amounts till you get the result that suits you best.

The day after yesterday

Yesterday was my birthday and it was great. Not great as in I did some extraordinary thing that almost never happens. Not great because I got some great new toy, gadget, outfit, or went to an event. It was great because yesterday God gave me the gift of an insight that let an ordinary day feel extraordinary.


It was a day like many others. I got up and gave out instructions to the troops on what the days priorities were and then set out to go shopping for food that would be consumed within moments of its arrival into the pantry…this continues to amaze me! After my eldest daughter and I wondered the grocery isles chatting and checking things off the list, the use of which did not prevent me from forgetting several things, we went to grab a quick snack before beginning round two of the shopping journey, or maybe it was round three. I sat with her and realized what a good day I was having and shared this with my daughter. Her response was "I feel like this not a very exciting birthday." She said this as if she and her siblings had somehow failed me. I laughed and said to her that there comes a time in life that a good birthday looks very different than it did when you are a child or youth. And I assured her that I was having a very good day.

So what made yesterday a good day. Well I think that it was God's great gift of insight. Those far too rate moments, for me anyway, when you look at something you have looked at many times and all of a sudden you remember what you already know… Life is a beautiful gift. You remember that the most perfect gifts are almost always found in the simplest of places, in knowing that you are where you are supposed to be, doing what you are supposed to do in that moment. Yesterday was good because I was able to go about my day, doing what needed doing, while not letting all those things that I normally let disrupt my peace, distract me from the moment, and cause me to waste the time that I am living in. Yesterday was a good day because I lived that day, the time with my children, with my husband, hearing from dear friends, doing what God called me to, and I was acutely aware of how rich my life is, how much love I am enfolded in.

I pray that all my days would be so enlightened….hmmm well here's praying anyway!

Have a Blessed day, and may God's peace wash over your every moment, especially those that seem too much to bare, and make your day a good day.

Pax Christi,
Dominique

Happy Feast of St.Valentine

I dedicate this post first and most especially to my husband. I love you with my whole heart and am profoundly aware that my life is so much the richer for having you in it. And to our beautiful children.

May we all be Blessed today and always with a deep commitment to serve one another with the same courage and charity of St.Valentine. Let our love for one another start with a deep love of God and so endure all hardships! On this day remember to show the ones you love how much they mean to you through acts of service and sacrifice.

Grant, I beseech Thee, O almighty God, that my husband Marco, who celebrates the heavenly birthday of blessed Valentine, Thy Martyr, may by his intercession be delivered from all the evils that threaten him. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.



This post was copied from http://www.fisheaters.com/customstimeafterepiphany5.html

Feast of 

St. Valentine

St.Valentine (Valentino) was a Roman priest who performed marriages in spite of Claudius II's law against such (Claudius believed that marriage was distracting to his soldiers, so outlawed it to them for a time). Fr. Valentine was martyred in A.D. 270 on the Flammian way, and at the site of his martyrdom, Julius I built a popular basilica. Other than this, little is known. Because two other St. Valentines share this Feast day ("Valentine" was an extremely common name for Christians as it has the same root as the word "valor"), often their stories are confused, but it is the Roman priest-martyr whom we honor during the liturgy. The relics of St. Valentine -- at least a great majority of them -- are, interestingly enough, in the Whitefriar Church associated with the Calced Carmelites in Dublin, Ireland. They were excavated from the Cemetery of St. Hippolytus, on the Triburtine Way in Rome in 1835 and were then given to Fr. Spratt, an Irish Carmelite, by Pope Gregory XVI in 1836. The relics, "together with a small vessel tinged with his blood," were deposited "in a wooden case covered with painted paper, well closed, tied with a red silk ribbon and sealed with our seals and we have so delivered and consigned to him, and we have granted unto him power in the Lord, to the end that he may retain to himself, give to others, transmit beyond the city (Rome) and in any church, oratory or chapel, to expose and place the said blessed holy body for the public veneration of the faithful without, however, an Office and Mass, conformably to the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, promulgated on the 11th day of August 1691," as the letter accompanying the relics reads. On this Feast Day, his relics are carried in procession, and a special Mass is offered for young people and lovers. Customs Because of his Nuptial Masses, he became the patron of lovers, the affianced, and married couples, and fortuitous to the priest's association with romance is the belief that halfway through the month of February, birds choose their mates, hence St. Valentine's association with birds, especially lovebirds and doves. Chaucer mentions this belief in his "Parliament of Foules": For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate. Also fortuitous is the fact that red is both the color of Martrys and the color associated with love. Red roses are also a symbol of both martyrom and love, and had also always been associated with the Roman godess of love, Venus. Venus' son, Cupid ("Eros" in Greek), god of love, was originally depicted as a very handsome young man, but now as a winged putto bearing a bow and arrow with which to smite hearts with love. His image, along with the image of hearts he has pierced with his arrows, are ubiquitous symbols of romantic love on this day.   Oldest existing valentine, British Museum St. Valentine's Day cards are a very ancient custom; one of the oldest extant "valentines," as such St. Valentine's Day greetings -- and the persons to whom they're sent -- came to be known, was sent in 1477 by Margery Brews to her fiancé, John Paston, and can be seen now in the British Museum. It reads: Unto my right well-beloved Valentine John Paston, squire, be this bill delivered. Right reverent and worshipful and my right well-beloved valentine, I recommend me unto you full heartedly, desiring to hear of your welfare, which I beseech Almighty God long for to preserve unto his pleasure and your hearts desire. And if it pleases you to hear of my welfare, I am not in good health of body nor of heart, nor shall I be till I hear from you. For there knows no creature what pain that I endure, And even on the pain of death I would reveal no more. And my lady my mother hath laboured the matter to my father full diligently, but she can no more get than you already know of, for which God knoweth I am full sorry. But if you love me, as I trust verily that you do, you will not leave me therefore. For even if you had not half the livelihood that you have, for to do the greatest labour that any woman alive might, I would not forsake you. And if you command me to keep me true wherever I go, indeed I will do all my might you to love and never anyone else. And if my friends say that I do amiss, they shall not stop me from doing so. My heart me bids evermore to love you truly over all earthly things. And if they be never so angry, I trust it shall be better in time coming. No more to you at this time, but the Holy Trinity have you in keeping. And I beseech you that this bill be not seen by any non earthly creature save only yourself. And this letter was written at Topcroft with full heavy heart. By your own Margery Brews To send a very Catholic valentine to someone you love, how about using a paraphrase of today's Collect as the basis for the text? Grant, I beseech Thee, O almighty God, that (Name of loved one), who celebrates the heavenly birthday of blessed Valentine, Thy Martyr, may by his intercession be delivered from all the evils that threaten (him/her). Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. ...with all the personal, mushy stuff at the bottom! For a romantic card for a spouse, some of the poetry found in Solomon's Canticle of Canticles -- a Book which uses marital love as a metaphor for God's love for His Church -- cannot be surpassed for inspiration. As to foods, oysters, chocolates, champagne, and heart-shaped foods are all considered to be romantic. Note to men: Don't forget St. Valentine's Day. Even the least romantic woman appreciates being remembered on this lovely holy day. One needn't (shouldn't!) spend lavish sums and buy into the marketing nonsense that has become associated with all big Christian Feasts, but a single red rose is just as lovely as an $80 dollar dozen, and chocolates in a small box are as delicious as those in a large box; it is the thought that counts. And it costs nothing to tell her you love her... And a note to all: be sure to wish people "Happy Saint Valentine's Day" rather than just "Happy Valentine's Day." This will help bring the deeper meaning of the day into focus!

Back to Customs of the Liturgical Year

Back to Being Catholic 

Index  

Heart graphic on this page from Victorian Clipart

• 
  

Finally back with "Gift from the sea."

Wow I can't believe it has taken me 4 years to get back to writing. It certainly has not been for a lack of things to write about, so much has happened in the last four years and my life, though so much the same, has changed so much. I have shed much and gained even more, and through it there has been some constants that I have grown to love and appreciate so much more deeply. The main one is our Blessed Lord and his Blessed Mother. So I will return to my journey here with a re-dedication to all that I write here to our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother Mary.

It is ironic that what would prompt my return to writing is reading a book. The book is part of a mentoring course that I am taking with my two eldest children, Ivania and Gabriel. The title is "Gift from the sea."

I could write a book on everything that I have come away with in reading this book. Ironically I am also currently re-reading a brilliant work by one of my mentors Alice von Hildebrand called "The Privilege of being a woman" which stands as a stark contrast to "Gift from the sea." In some ways von Hildebrand is responding to many of the ideas and beliefs that Lindenburg is presenting to us. But I digress. Bellow are some of the most significant things that I have come away with after having read "Gift from the sea."

On the surface "The Gift from the Sea" is a book about a woman's need for space and time to explore herself and create. Lindberg is an artist yearning for the luxury of time to simply create, without distractions, without the burdens of day to day life in the 1950s. I agree with her that we all, not just women but all of us, need quiet time to reflect on what is important, what our priorities should be, what inspires us. Where I think she misses the mark is that she only subtly brushes the notion that this is somehow tied into the eternal, the supra-natural, God. It is here that I think her book loses so much and fails all of us, but most particular it fails her. 

I find it sad and unfortunate that she sees her day to day life as a hindrance to her discovery of herself and her inspiration. I believe that it is in our day to day life, those things that we seem to see as so mundane and burdensome, that we find our centre. It is in these tasks, as much as in our quiet times, that God speaks to us, if only we could listen. And it is through God's voice, in whatever manner that it comes to us, that creativity, in the truest sense of the word can come into being. To those who are struggling with guilt over trying to find time for self-discovery, formation, growth, I think we have lost the ability to find and achieve all this even in the throws of our daily duties. Indeed she too alludes to this in her chapter Moon Shell. 

"Mechanically we have gained, in the last generation, but spiritually we have, I think, unwittingly lost. In other times women had in their lives more forces which centered them whether or not they realized it, sources which nourished them whether or not they consciously went to those springs. Their very seclusion in their home gave them time alone. Many of their duties were conducive to quiet contemplative drawing together of the self. They had more creative tasks to perform. Nothing feeds the center so much as creative work, even humble kinds like cooking and sewing. Baking bread, weaving cloth putting up preserves, teaching and singing to children, must have been far more nourishing than being a family chauffeur or shopping at supermarkets, or doing housework with mechanical aids." (pg. 46)

In her day the "art and craft of housework (had) diminished" and today it has virtually disappeared. And with it much of the time and quiet we can find to reflect and be in the presence of ourselves and should we choose, and we should choose, with God. Despite this shift there are some women, by the Grace of God, who have chosen to dedicate their lives to a homelife. I truly believe that as women we have such a beautiful gift of being able to do this, and I agree with her that this life is much more a woman's lot than a man's. By unlike her I see this as a gift not a lot. It is easier to turn our daily duties toward God and self-discovery in the home than out there in the world.

As I journey through the book, examining these "gifts from the sea" that she has picked up and treasures, I realize that many of the questions that she asks, the insights she gains are inviting. The need to find that centre, the need for quiet in which to do so, the vision to recognize when we are filling our lives with needless clutter to fill an emptiness that to us seems too daunting to examine, the need to rid ones life of that same clutter that acts as a barrier to being able to see what is truly important. These are all profoundly important to consider, and in so far as she invites us to do so this is a worthwhile read. But unfortunately she does not go to the core of the search, she does not dig. To dig she tells us is to "defeat the purpose." (pg. 11) To dig is to be greedy and impatient and ultimately to lack faith. What we must do is simply wade and wait for the sea to bring us the gifts. For life to deliver to us the answers that we need. Searching, digging, exploring too deeply cannot supply us with the great insights that come to those who open themselves, empty themselves and wait to be filled. But filled with what?

She is very much a reflection of a particular mindset in the fifties that was pushing for what they called greater equality. She believed that there was in fact a change between men and women that would mark a shift in their relationship. This shift would mean a truer, more honest, more equal relationship that would come about as women were seen as mens equals, not simply equal in dignity, which is what Christ has taught regardless of how that teaching may have been ignored or distorted it has always been his call for us. This new equality, equality of opportunity and ability, which to her mind and that of the feminist movement, would create a world where relationships between men and women would "no longer follow traditional patterns of submission and domination or possession and competition." Here again she has missed the deeper issue. She is convinced that this superficial shift by creating a world where women and men have virtually the same opportunity will somehow mean that they will be seen as having the same abilitiy, and this would further translate into greater fulfillment and better relationships. Has this fantasy been born out? Are women not treated today even more like objects but now in the disguise of freedom of opportunity? Look at how women are objectified today. The explosion of the pornography industry is one horrifying example of women being dominated and possessed. Some might claim that they are free to do as they please now, they have been freed to exercise their will as men have throughout history in most areas of society even and especially in the most intimate area. But is this better? Is this freedom? Is the kind of self fulfillment that Lindberg had in mind? I hope not.

Our journey to self-fulfilment, the fulfilling of self, the filling of self with self, must be taken alone. "A woman must come of age by herself." (pg.89) The lie of self-sufficiency here rear its ugly head. This same self-sufficient that has made it possible for our culture to deny the rights of the child in the womb because he/she is not yet self-sufficient.  He/she encroaches on the life of the woman, invades her. It lends itself to the justification of the position that euthanasia is a viable and even "humane" response to those who are incapable of caring for themselves. They too being guilty of a lack of self-sufficiency and thereby impose themselves on others. But who is truly self-sufficient? Who does not need and yearn for others? Self-sufficiency does not exist in any honest sense. How can we have true family and true community if we embrace such a notion of fulfilment? We cannot. Family and community, those places where we learn to become who we are called to be require not self-preoccupation but self-denial. We must deny self to find self. We must die to self in order to be born again in Christ, we must be willing, as our Blessed mother was willing, to make room for other. Fulfillment in the end is not the filling of self with self, but rather it is the emptying of self so as to make room for God.

What a very lonely, empty concept. Is it any wonder that there is this sense of sadness and loneliness as we read? What is implicit throughout the book is arguably the opposite of what is true. Fulfillment comes when we embrace our connections, open ourselves to union, find meaning in all those things which lend themselves to communion which inevitably brings us to not the focus on self but the denial of self, self-sacrifice.  Fulfillment in the end is not the filling of self with self, but rather it is the emptying of self so as to make room for God.

Finally she implies that the women of her daughters generation, my generation, seem to have arrived. They are to be admired for what she thinks is a richer life. Richer because they have moved past the restrictive and oppressive limits of previous generations. That there are more women in the workforce, trying to balance career and home is a good. That they have failed, in the truest sense of the word is irrelevant to Lindberg, and that they may or may not be happier is also irrelevant. For Lindberg the true success is in the journey for the journeys sake. But as von Hildebrand tells us "the crucial question is not whether a person is creative, but rather what does he create." If we measure progress by the number of women in particular fields, the fact that women who can vote, the of women who are independent achieving great financial success, fame, power, notoriety, by the number of women who are unwed and going it alone, then yes I guess there is progress. But what is all that in light of eternity? As the Good book tells us in Matthew 16:26 "For what does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?" Kierkegaard warns that we have turned our world upside down and that we have absolutized the relative (money-making, power, success) and relativized the absolute (truth, moral values, God.) In thinking that a world of more varied opportunity means a world of greater fulfillment we have done just that. I am by no means glamorizing earlier generations and times, but I am quite confident that this time has no fewer hardships, just different and I would argue more eternally dangerous.

The book fails in that much of her conclusions are superficial, despite the fact that she seems to think they are profound. It fails because they are focused on the a secular goal of life success that fails women and as such it fails the world. If "the value of a people is gauged by the value of its women," then what does that say of a people that has chosen to reject the feminine almost entirely for the sake of a female population that has rejected the masculine in men and adopted it in its women? Is this anyway to show the value of women? The book succeeds in that it inspires one, whether we agree with her conclusions or not, to consider if she is right or wrong. It is this question, it is in this considering, that we find the real gift from the sea. In taking the time to consider her questions, and even to consider the validity of her questions, I was able to find my own answers, but also come up with my own questions, questions that have allowed me to move on my journey to grow as a better wife, mother, and ultimately daughter of Christ. To move past self-fulfillment toward our greatest calling, that is to true fulfillment, to filling ourselves with Christ. "In order to understand the greatness of a woman's mission, we must open our minds and our hearts to the message of the supernatural. It is the key that will reveal to us the greatness of femininity," the greatness of self.