The Other Within

I purchased a book recently entitled, Women, Writing, Theology, and in the Introduction I was introduced to the concept of "the other within".  This is a concept that I am hoping will help me to clarify in my mind and in my heart the "why" as to the reason so many women feel "displaced" as the "other" within the Church and yet we have been so uniformly and willingly used to re-create this displacing scenario for our children, especially our daughters.

There seems to be an ongoing societal and religious understanding that God created woman's dignity, any woman's dignity, less than a man's and it presents itself in her needing to be given a "place", a "compartment", a "way" with boundaries in which to live her life because if she is given an open door, so many keep questioning the status quo of what they are living.  If her dignity, her very soul, is encouraged to be discovered, celebrated, and affirmed, the thought seems to be that she most surely will cause conflict and try to move into areas of life that have been determined by societal and church leadership that are not for her.  The saddest and most sinful part of this painful picture is that the Holy Spirit of God whose Spirit moves where He wills and touches the spirit of any human that He wills, including a woman's is denied.  For me this way of maintaining the status quo seems to be way too close to the unforgivable sin that Christ presented to His faithful.  To deny the Holy Spirit is certain death. 

As one who has known relationship with the Holy Spirit since a young child I can witness truthfully to His impact on my life.  I can also witness truly to my sinful acts when I was most distant from focusing on Him.  I find it an amazing revelation to me that as I move myself into my desired life of being thoroughly awashed in God that I am being drawn into this place of feminism within the church and I am seeing with fresh eyes how many women have suffered while trying to be their "authentic" selves.  They were and are motivated by the Spirit of God to be all that they were created to be and with that, of course, have approached their communities of faith with a vibrance and joy that comes with being on the right path, only to confront fear, disappointment, resistance, etc.  I, too, have experienced some of this resistance by my ordained brothers and yet I have also received affirmation, celebration, and encouragement to keep asking the pertinent questions by others.  There cannot be a finger pointing that takes place here only a questioning and a courage to engage reflection.

Fear has always been satan's playground.  We have so many fears as human beings that he has an unending ability to play with our imaginations and move us to worry about impending scenarios that certainly will cause our lives to be more painful.  It is within this battle of good and evil that the "other" is engaged.  We, as human beings trying to reason our troubles away, seek systematic answers; action and reaction.  The Holy Spirit asks us to turn away from satan and focus on Him, to discern with Him God's will and to do this we need to begin asking reasonable questions such as "What would it cost the church to "ask" women, or everyone for that matter, how the Holy Spirit is moving within their spirit?  What danger would be unleashed if all the faithful were asked about their "spiritual gifts" and those discerned to have "special graces" were lifted up to the congregation as helpmates on this earthly journey of faith?  What raucous would it cause to allow adult lay women to have ways in which they can clarify what is happening within their very souls?  How would the church be conflicted by those of us who have had mystical experiences to be given a place to express them and have a communal prayer to assist in determining their purpose within the modern day church?"  One priestly brother told me of a woman in his congregation who clearly had a mystical experience every time she experienced the Eucharist.  I quote him " I don't know what to do with her?"  No, he didn't know what to do with her.  In fact, it disturbed him to continue to watch her and he came to the conclusion that he expressed to me that most priests do not want to deal with people like her (the other).  Instead, they want to say the Mass and give the homily and blessings and have this nice, neatly bound up presentation of Sacrament for the people without needing to be party to this type of supernatural, spiritual experience.  As I write this I wonder how in the world did we get here.  Here we have this gift of Christ's that is the sacrament of the Eucharist that fills us with His Spirit; here we have this bread and wine that through the Mass and the charism of the priest is turned into Christ's body and blood and yet there is an aversion to the supernatural, spiritual experience of the Spirit also happening in this profound way and the desire is to minimize and disengage?  No, he probably doesn't know how to help this woman because it isn't his charism that can but someone like myself who has been given this holy gift to discern could and she would find comfort in her faith knowing that she is not an "other" within the community of the Church. 

Take time to reflect today on the many "others" that we have systematically side lined within the Church.  Who are they?  Why have we done this?  What has motivated us and what part do we play?  Blessings on your day....