Day 52: Male and Female (369-373)

• THIS IS REMARKABLE!!

• Yesterday we talked about human beings being BODY AND SOUL

• BUT…

• TRULY ONE

• We have these two components 

• BODY AND SOUL

• IN A UNITY

• Today we learn that as human beings we are MALE AND FEMALE

• There is this REMARKABLE REALITY

• The Catechism unpacks so much of what St. John Paul II called “an adequate anthropology”

• In order to understand WHO WE ARE as human beings, we need “an adequate anthropology”

• Anthropology is the study of human beings

• The Catechism talks about how male and female are EQUAL and also DIFFERENT

• We are EQUAL and COMPLIMENTARY

• The Church stands outside of the culture 

• BUT… 

• The Church also stands IN the culture

• We can go back to the very beginning and realize that the Church asserted and affirmed that men and women are EQUAL IN DIGNITY

• There were people throughout history that disliked Christianity

• They rejected Christianity because the Church asserted that male and female are equal in dignity

• NOW…

• In our culture there are people who reject the Church because the Church continues to affirm that we are EQUAL 

• The Church also affirms that we are COMPLIMENTARY  

• The Church also affirms that we are DIFFERENT

• The Church has this incredible paradox

• There is so much in our Church that is a paradox

• There is so much in our Faith that is a paradox

• What is a PARADOX?

• It is SEEMING CONTRADICTION that actually IS NOT A CONTRADICTION

• That paradox when it comes to male and female is that human beings are equal

• AND…

• At the same time they are different

• EQUAL AND COMPLIMENTARY!!

• There is something SO SO INCREDIBLE about this

• Let’s say a prayer as we dive into something that is, in some ways, counter cultural 

• In some ways it stands against the culture

• In some ways it upholds the culture

• What we believe as Catholic Christians has SHAPED this culture

• We would not have the women’s suffrage movement, even though it took a long time

• We wouldn’t have that without the doctrine we are learning about today

• We wouldn’t have that without Christianity

• We would not have this recognition that MEN AND WOMEN…

• MALE AND FEMALE…

• Are created EQUAL IN DIGNITY

• And are CO-HEIRS to the Life of Grace

• So let’s pray!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, you have made us male and female. You have made us co-heirs to your life. To your Divine Life. To the Grace that you offer to all human beings. We ask that you come and meet us with that Grace. We ask that you come meet us in our maleness. Come meet us in our femaleness. Come meet us in our humanity. Because you have made us different. And yet, at the same time, you have imprinted your Divine Image on every single one of us. And so we are equal. And yet, unique. And yet, complimentary. Lord, help us to appreciate and uphold our equality. Help us to appreciate and honor our complementarity. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen”

• OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS!!

• THIS IS JUST INCREDIBLE!!

• The EQUALITY of male and female

• It is taken for granted by us as modern people

• BUT…

• THAT WAS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE!!

• It was not always just assumed that male and female are EQUAL

• AND YET…

• The Catechism says, and the Church believes, that man and woman are EQUAL IN DIGNITY

• At the same time man and women are COMPLEMENTARY

• This is the UNIQUE PARADOX of this whole thing

• EQUALITY AND COMPLEMENTARITY IS SO VITALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO HOLD IN TENSION!!

• While men and women are EQUAL men and women ARE NOT THE SAME

• At the same time, we are MADE FOR EACH OTHER

• We are COMPLEMENTARY

• Paragraph 372 says, “Man and woman were made ‘for each other’-not that God left them half-made and incomplete…”

• A human being is COMPLETE

• There are certain kinds of philosophies or romantic ideas that a person is walking around the world “looking for their other half”

• That’s not accurate

• YOU ARE NOT HALF

• If you are single, you are not ALMOST A FULL PERSON

• YOU ARE REALLY A FULL PERSON!!

• You are not half-made and incomplete

• The man in the Garden of Eden WAS NOT INCOMPLETE

• He couldn’t live out his VOCATION which was to LOVE

• That’s a very important thing we will talk about in the weeks to follow

• BUT…

• He is COMPLETE

• SO IS THE WOMAN!!

• Paragraph 372 continues, “...he created them to be a communion of persons, in which each can be ‘helpmate’ to the other, for they are equal as persons (‘bone of my bones…’) and complementary ads masculine and feminine. In marriage God unites them in such a way that, by forming ‘one flesh’ they can transmit human life.”

• Now here is the mystery

• Human beings, male or female, are not incomplete in and of themselves

• This is true ONTOLOGICALLY 

• It is true in their PERSONHOOD

• AT THE SAME TIME…

• If you look at a human body, male or female, you will find that every biological system is COMPLETE

• Your neurological system is complete and intact inside of your body

• Your digestive system is whole and complete in your body

• Your endocrine system is whole and complete in your body

• Every one of your biological systems is whole and complete inside of your body

• EXCEPT FOR ONE!!

• That is the REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

• In order to do what it is MEANT to do, it NEEDS ANOTHER BODY

• It doesn’t need JUST ANY OTHER BODY

• IT NEEDS A COMPLEMENTARY BODY!!

• Think about how REMARKABLE this is

• This is one of the reasons we have a sexual ethic

• MALE AND FEMALE!!

• Why?

• Because that is literally, at the BIOLOGICAL LEVEL, what we are oriented towards

• The male and female complementarity is NOT just that boys like girls and girls like boys 

• It is the male body is a COMPLEMENT to the female body

• It is the female body is a COMPLEMENT to the male body

• Remember we talked about how YOU ARE YOUR BODY and YOU ARE YOUR SOUL

• This body and soul IN A UNITY

• YOU CANNOT GET AWAY FROM THIS!!

• The body REVEALS something to us

• THIS IS REMARKABLE!!

• While human beings are EQUAL IN DIGNITY…

• WE ARE ALSO COMPLEMENTARY!!

• WE CANNOT BRING FORTH LIFE WITHOUT THE OTHER!!

• Male on its own doesn’t make any sense when it comes to reproduction

• Female on its own doesn’t make any sense when it comes to reproduction

• THIS IS REMARKABLE!!

• THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!

• PRAISE GOD FOR THIS!!

• We keep saying God’s image and likeness in male and female

• Paragraph 370 says, “In no way is God in man’s image. He is neither man nor woman. God is pure spirit…”

• So when we say God is FATHER He has revealed Himself as FATHER

• That is very important for us to understand

• BUT…

• GOD IS NOT MALE

• GOD IS NOT A MAN

• GOD IS NOT A WOMAN

• GOD IS PURE SPIRIT

• There are ways in which we can speak of God 

• Paragraph 370 continues, “But the respective ‘perfections’ of man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a father and husband.”

• We know these words are LIMITED

• Paragraph 373 says, “In God’s plan man and woman have the vocation of ‘subduing’ the earth as stewards of God.”

• We will talk about this when it comes to our responsibility to care for the earth later on

• BUT…

• God’s sovereignty is that He loves EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS

• God’s IMAGE…

• God’s HEART…

• Is that He loves EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS

• Therefore if we are going to be STEWARDS of what God LOVES then we need to have HEARTS LIKE HIS

• We are not OWNERS

• We are STEWARDS

• Our approach to Creation and to each other is the same as God’s

• Paragraph 373 continues, “‘God calls man and woman, made in the image of the Creator ‘who loves everything that exists,’ to share in his providence toward other creatures; hence their responsibility for the world God has entrusted to them.”

• That is the reality

• God has entrusted this world to us

• If you are listening to this and you are married, God has entrusted THAT PERSON TO YOU

• We are talking today about the difference between male and female 

• IT IS BEAUTIFUL!!

• IT IS POWERFUL!!

• IT IS INCREDIBLE!!

• BUT…

• If you are married, then God has ENTRUSTED THAT PERSON TO YOU

• How are you caring for that person?

• How are you loving them well today?

• How are you loving them like God loves them today?

• If you have been blessed with children, God has ENTRUSTED THEM TO YOU

• We are not owners of our children

• We are stewards of our children

• God has ENTRUSTED THOSE CHILDREN TO YOU

• How have you loved them the way that God loves them?

• If you do not have a spouse or children, there are people in your life

• Maybe they are siblings, parents, elderly parents, nieces and nephews, next door neighbors etc.

• As stewards of this incredible world that God has made, He has ENTRUSTED OUR NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR TO US

• He has ENTRUSTED OUR PARENTS TO US

• How are we loving them the way that God loves them?

• It is something worth praying about today

• Paragraph 373 says, “God calls man and woman, made in the image of the Creator ‘who loves everything that exists,’ to share in his providence toward other creatures…”

• INCLUDING OUR NEIGHBORS!!

• So here we are

• “God, help us to love the people that you love. Help us to love the people in our lives. Help us to love the people who get ignored and get overlooked and get passed by.”

• One of the ways we can love them is by PRAYING FOR THEM

• One of the ways we can love each other is by PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER

• For 51 days Fr. Mike has been praying FOR YOU!!

• Fr. Mike has forgotten to mention to please pray FOR EACH OTHER (Don’t worry, Fr. Mike!! I haven’t forgotten and I remind everyone to pray for each other in these notes!! 😄)

• We need prayers 

• Not just Fr. Mike for YOU

• Not just YOURS for Fr. Mike

• BUT…

• WE NEED TO PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

• WE ARE NOT ALONE HERE

• YOU ARE NOT ALONE HERE

• So please pray for each other!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike!!

• I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!

Scripture References & Reflections

- compiled by Andrew Adamany

Bible Translation - RSVCE

CCC 369 "Man and woman have been created, which is to say, willed by God: on the one hand, in perfect equality as human persons; on the other, in their respective beings as man and woman. "Being man" or "being woman" is a reality which is good and willed by God: man and woman possess an inalienable dignity which comes to them immediately from God their Creator.240 Man and woman are both with one and the same dignity "in the image of God". In their "being-man" and "being-woman", they reflect the Creator's wisdom and goodness.”

Genesis 1:27 

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

Genesis 2:7

“then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

Genesis 2:21–22

“So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; 22 and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.”

CCC 370 "In no way is God in man's image. He is neither man nor woman. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective "perfections" of man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a father and husband.”

Isaiah 49:14–15 

“But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, 

my Lord has forgotten me.” 

15 “Can a woman forget her sucking child, 

that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? 

Even these may forget, 

yet I will not forget you.

Isaiah 66:13

“As one whom his mother comforts, 

so I will comfort you; 

you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

Psalm 141:2–3

“Let my prayer be counted as incense before thee, 

and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice! 

3 Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord, 

keep watch over the door of my lips!”

Hosea 11:1–4 

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, 

and out of Egypt I called my son. 

2 The more I called them, 

the more they went from me; 

they kept sacrificing to the Baals, 

and burning incense to idols. 

3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, 

I took them up in my arms; 

but they did not know that I healed them. 

4 I led them with cords of compassion, 

with the bands of love, 

and I became to them as one, 

who eases the yoke on their jaws, 

and I bent down to them and fed them.”

CCC 371 "God created man and woman together and willed each for the other. The Word of God gives us to understand this through various features of the sacred text. "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper fit for him." None of the animals can be man's partner. The woman God "fashions" from the man's rib and brings to him elicits on the man's part a cry of wonder, an exclamation of love and communion: "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." Man discovers woman as another "I", sharing the same humanity.”

Genesis 2:18–23 

“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; 22 and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, 

“This at last is bone of my bones 

and flesh of my flesh; 

she shall be called Woman, 

because she was taken out of Man.”

CCC 372 "Man and woman were made "for each other" - not that God left them half-made and incomplete: he created them to be a communion of persons, in which each can be "helpmate" to the other, for they are equal as persons ("bone of my bones. . .") and complementary as masculine and feminine. In marriage God unites them in such a way that, by forming "one flesh", they can transmit human life: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth." By transmitting human life to their descendants, man and woman as spouses and parents cooperate in a unique way in the Creator's work.”

Genesis 2:24–25 

“Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.

CCC 373 "In God's plan man and woman have the vocation of "subduing" the earth as stewards of God. This sovereignty is not to be an arbitrary and destructive domination. God calls man and woman, made in the image of the Creator "who loves everything that exists", to share in his providence toward other creatures; hence their responsibility for the world God has entrusted to them.”

Genesis 1:28 

“And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

Wisdom of Solomon 11:24 

“For thou lovest all things that exist, 

and hast loathing for none of the things which thou hast made, 

for thou wouldst not have made anything if thou hadst hated it.”