This e-mail is one that I must share:
Just read your article on the Passion of Christ.
I would nominate my wife as my favorite feminist (before JPII and Mel Gibson, unfortunately, but after the Blessed Mother). After learning at 22 weeks that our daughter Clare Catherine was anencephalic, my wife faced a path akin to that chosen by the Blessed Virgin. Rather than acting “to end the suffering” (as so many cowardly counseled), my wife exercised her “right” by complying with Deuteronomy and choosing life. As with the Blessed Mother, my wife said “yes” to God’s request. She agreed to take care of one of His most beloved children, who was also among the most vulnerable in our “culture of death.”
My wife carried Clare until she was born at 40 weeks. It was a journey full of sadness, grief and pain, as one can easily imagine. More importantly, however, it was also a journey of love and hope. Clare’s birth was anticipated and received with joy, and my wife spent the entire amount of Clare’s life (20 hours) with her. How many parents can say they spent their child’s entire life with them? Because Clare was allowed to come to term, she was able to receive the sacraments of baptism and confirmation (her godfather is the priest who gave her the sacraments), and now she is in heaven, hopefully working to keep her father on track.
We celebrated the second anniversary of Clare’s birth and death (last Friday and Saturday) with mass, a cake, and for some, a visit to her grave. She was and is our greatest blessing.
After watching my wife go through this experience, similar in some ways to that of the Blessed Mother, I hope that someday examples like her will be viewed as the true feminism, the courage to respond to God’s call to be all that a woman can be.
Thanks for reading.