The Untold Story
There is a story I’ve been trying to tell my whole life. It’s the reason I tell stories.
Sometimes I come very near to it, either in writing or in reading, but the note is never quite perfect, never quite completed, the taste never quite right. Or else I find it to be too apologetic, or else too sarcastic.
As far as I can tell, from the pieces I have put together thus far, it involves a graveyard and a garden. It features a heroic, magnificent knight who is utterly broken, and a broken heroine who is also utterly magnificent. There lurks in the shadows of the tale the ultimate evil of a dragon, and the ultimate innocence of a unicorn. It involves in the forefront a lion and a doorway, and the journey consists of a descent to the underworld and a rising to the afterworld. In its very fabric it communicates final suffering, and ultimate joy.
She Is My Everything
God has given you this treasure… He hath not given her to you so that you may be exalted, but the very gift of her exalts you! As Jesus was given to Mary not to exalt her, but because the very gift of Him within her was her exaltation, so is woman to you, oh man. The very gift of woman to you, oh man, exalts you.
“I Must Provide for Myself”
The way the Lord created men and women to live is radically different from the current systems of the world. Because it is so radical, He does not call everyone to live in it, all at once, immediately eschewing the paths of the world. This would lead to overwhelm and collapse.
Rather, He desires to shift the world into a fuller and richer system, doing so gently, even as He guided the early Christians into the establishment of Christianity. That shift was both radical, and a natural process, with stages and steps.
Radical Femininity
Men are called by God to provide the necessities of life. By forming himself into the stability and backbone of the home, the man paradoxically earns himself freedom to live a life more free from labor. He finds himself free to participate in the polis of the larger community, because he has provided so well for his intimate community.
The woman, also, finds herself living a paradox. Because her husband has shown himself eager to provide for her, and grant stability, she finds herself free to labor. Her heart overflows with confidence and nurturing love, and everything to which she puts her hand prospers. Her activity increases, when he provides stability; and his interior life expands, when she proves herself worthy of holding his heart.
Home is the Heart of a Woman
Before I could meet the man who would become my husband, I believed I needed to extend myself into the working world, with my feminine genius, to make my mark, change lives, and earn an income. Then, once I had made those external victories, I would be formed enough to meet the man of my dreams, leave the public sphere, and have children. Then we could relax, take a deep breathe, and declare, “At last, we are home.”
Women Are Not Called to ‘Provide’
As I struggled with health issues, part-time jobs, and ever-increasing debt, I started to think, “Maybe I’m not smart enough, hard-working enough, or worthy enough to work. Maybe I will never be worthy of a husband providing for me.”
Veiled Woman: Conclusion & Bibliography
Only when woman respects her own dignity, when she embraces the misunderstood and weakest of humanity, and sacrifices herself for their sake, will she be able to fully manifest her nature, and attain fulfillment and happiness in this life.
Veiled Woman: Chapter 3 – Veiled Woman
The veil of woman is the symbol that most accurately portrays the truth of her mystery. The vocation of woman to receive love is contained in the veiled and hidden nature of her life; it is within the hidden and secret chambers of a woman that she accepts the love offered, and through which she glorifies it, before giving it back to the world.
Veiled Woman: Chapter 2 - A Woman’s Proper Sphere
Many women are called to exercise their gifts outside, or in addition to, the family sphere, and when properly practiced, this call does not negate the gift of love a woman is called to bestow upon others. For, while woman is not called to ignore or deny her gifts (unless a specific situation arises in which something greater is demanded of her sacrificially), yet she is encouraged to put those gifts to the service of those she loves.
Veiled Woman: Chapter 1 – The Nature of Woman
Woman’s nature is two-fold, and the second aspect of this nature, which is unique to her sex, is separate from the common dignity she shares with man.
Introduction to Veiled Woman in the World
How can we reconcile an authoritative Catherine of Sienna with the obedient fiat of Mother Mary? Judith, from the Old Testament, represents woman as strong, commanding, and unyielding, but the woman of Proverbs 31 represents woman as humble, caring, and merciful. It is on account of these seemingly incompatible images that the nature of woman presents a paradox to the world. How are we to understand woman’s relation to reality, and the role that she plays therein, and where can we find a key to unlock this great mystery?
Table of Contents to “A Paradox: Veiled Woman in the World”
The ultimate goal of this thesis is to lead the reader to a more complete understanding of who woman is, why she is such, and how we are to embrace her unique nature, which is so universally misunderstood. It is not a question that offers a ready answer, but one that, when answered, opens multiple horizons for women’s fulfillment, and invites us to continue searching it out, in all its nuances, within our personal lives.
I apologize, but the search engine can be a bit finicky. First try usually gets you a ‘no results’ message, but just push that enter button again, and what you’re looking for should pop up. Happy Reading!