The Patron Saint of Feminism?

Morality is carried by personalities. As the contraceptive mandate debate rages, we as Catholics must take this as an opportunity to examine our own understanding of femininity and look at the personalities which shape our moral conduct.

In short, the current debate is not merely a church-state debate, nor a healthcare debate; rather, it is a battle between feminism and Marian femininity – and there can be no peace between the two. It is a battle between “I am woman, hear me roar” and the Virgin Mother of God who says “Let it be done to me according to your word.” It is a battle between women’s “right to choose” on one hand and the Woman’s submission to the will of God on the other. It is a battle between those hungry for power and the Spouse of the Holy Ghost.

Many Catholic women no longer see Mary as the model for their femininity. Perhaps she’s inspiring or appealing in some way or another, but very few women would name her as the woman to whom they aspire to imitate. Today’s patron saints are Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Sebelius, Hilary Clinton, Margaret Sanger – and now Sandra Fluke. Women of power, not purity. Indeed, the polar opposites of Mary and Marian femininity.

Tolkien tells us in the Lord of the Rings that evil “can only mock, it cannot make”. To mock here means to mimic in a twisted and distorted way. Today Sandra Fluke has become the newest patron saint of the feminist cause, and a standard bearer of the twisted mockery of Marian femininity. For example, unlike Mary, the woman who bears the titles Virgin and Mother, Fluke fights for those who detest their virginity and say “no” to motherhood while saying “yes” to the abortionist's scalpel. And unlike Mary, who intercedes before the King on behalf of her children at war with the Evil One, Fluke intercedes on behalf of the President in order to win his battle while preventing the creation of children.

In the Passion of the Christ, Satan appears as a woman carrying a demonic infant in mockery of Mary and her Son. The new mockery comes from those who despise virginity and motherhood. Let us raise up the person and personality of Mary, Virgin and Mother. Let us excise the feminist cataract from our eyes and see clearly. Only then can we succeed at being a lumen gentium – a light to the nations!

Understanding Patriarchy through Mary

Mary boasts the greatest status among all creatures for she is truly the Mother of God. But to this status, Mary says: Ecce, Fiat, and Magnificat. Rather than saying, “Behold, I am woman, hear me roar,” she says “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to His word... My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…” As the Ark of the New Covenant and Queen Mother of the Kingdom of God, Mary wields more power than any other woman ever created – yet power is not her pursuit. Mary seeks to follow the will of the Father, the rule of the Father. In other words, Mary supports patriarchy, a word which literally means the rule of the father.

This is why Mary must be hated by Satan and feminists.

But Mary also helps us better understand who God is and our part in salvation history. She did this in 431 when her Motherhood helped Christians recognize the singularity of Christ’s personhood. Today, however, there are many who mistakenly place Jesus and the Devil on an equal, if opposite, playing field as if Jesus and the Devil are two opposing forces of equal strength and power. But Jesus is the infinite and eternal Son of God while Satan is a mere creature whom Jesus could eliminate with the snap of His divine finger. It is really Mary who is the opposite of Satan. While Mary says, “I am the handmaid of the Lord,” Satan says, “I will not serve!” While Satan is the most powerful creature by nature, Mary is the most powerful creature by supernature (i.e. by being full of grace).

Sadly, the Hilary Clinton’s of today’s feminism would find themselves much more in agreement with the individualism and the will to power found in Satan rather than in the humility and submission of Mary to the will of the Father.

We must also not forget the unique relationship Mary has with each person of the Trinity, for in addition to being the Mother of the Son, she is also the daughter of the Father and the spouse of the Holy Spirit. Most importantly, we remember that these relations are gendered. Mary is mother, daughter, and spouse – and for those who like to think of the Holy Spirit as woman or neutered, we recall that Jesus declared the Holy Spirit a “he” and that the Holy Spirit’s work of bringing about the incarnation is very much a masculine act. Understanding this also helps us understand what theologians mean when they talk about Mary as the Icon of the Holy Spirit. The closeness of identity between Mary and the Spirit is only in the way that a wife and a husband share a close identity through their marital union.

There is a knee-jerk reaction to the word “patriarchy” today. But as we pray the “Our Father” and use “Father” when we address our priests this weekend, let us also recall Mary and remember that she is the most patriarchal of all Christians. Our society would crucify any who believed in patriarchy, but like Mary let us be bold enough to go to that cross where life is paradoxically found in doing the will of the Father amidst a culture of death.

Dr. Pence's Marian Femininity Series

Below you will find a six-part video series on Marian Femininity presented by Dr. David Pence:

New Mary Video

The videos for Dr. Pence's six-part series on Marian femininity versus modern feminism is coming closer to completion with the addition of part five! To view the fifth segment of the series, simply click 'play' on the video below.



If you're new to Orate Fratres, follow this link to a previous post which includes links to the past videos (including a previous series on the all-male priesthood).

And if you just can't wait for part six to arrive, here's a video I just made on the Hail Mary in chant:

Understanding the Cast of Characters

The dramatis personae of salvation history is filled with important people. The names may look familiar, but understanding who they are and how they interact is crucial. Take God and the Devil for example. There are many who commonly make the mistake of comparing God and the Devil, like yin and yang. But this gives the Devil far too much credit because it elevates him to an equal (if opposite) status with God. The Devil may have been the highest of all God’s creatures, but let us make no mistake. The Devil had a beginning, but he will have a very dreadful end.

If we want to find the Devil’s true opposite, a good person to look at is Mary. While the Devil is the most powerful creature by nature, Mary is the most powerful creature through supernature. The Devil is full of raw power, Mary is full of grace. The Devil proclaimed himself to be God’s equal, Mary proclaims herself to be the handmaid of the Lord. The Devil screamed, “I will not serve!” Mary says, “Let it be done to me according to thy word.” The Devil was cast down to the world, but Mary, was assumed from the world and has been made the Queen of Heaven and Earth. It should be no surprise to us that the Devil seeks to destroy her (Revelation 12:13-17).

J.R.R. Tolkien once said: “I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” The Apostles gathered around Mary at Pentecost and just as she became the Mother of God through the Annunciation, so she becomes the Mother of the Church, the body of her Son. The tenderness and care of a mother, however, can only come when mothers are protected. This is what the Apostles did for Mary in the first century, and the Church has furthered that protection through the proclamation of the Marian dogmas. Mary is the icon of that which we as Catholic men defend. Every virgin and every mother should remind us of Mary, and by doing so strengthen us to fight evil in order to protect true beauty.

At the center of the Christian fleet at Lepanto (1571) was a replica image of Our Lady of Guadalupe – and in less than one hundred years since Columbus discovered the New World, Our Lady led the way to converting the Americas while providing her intercession for the men at war defending Europe from a renewed Islamic invasion. Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant, and when Christian men rally around the most holy and sacred container of divine life – the womb who bore God and the flesh which gave Him flesh – we shall always be victorious against the Evil One.

The mortal enemy of the Devil is Mary. Every man that is drawn to Mary’s beauty is brought in turn by her to her Son who makes them brothers at war against the Devil. The Devil’s only hope is 1) to make us think he’s stronger than he really is; and 2) to keep us away from Mary and thus from Jesus. Let us not fall for the lie but instead embrace the truth which will set us free and make us the soldiers of Christ. Let us learn and embrace the cast of characters in salvation history.