On Being a Catholic Woman

In reading The Authentic Catholic Woman by Genevieve Kineke (Servant Books), I was really torn. On the one hand, I was asked to review it for Catholic Exchange and wanted to get the assignment done in a timely fashion. On the other hand, I found each page so full of beautiful images and insights that spoke directly to my heart as a woman, that I wanted to read it slowly, very slowly. I wanted to savor and meditate upon it.



But if I had done that, it would have been another year before this review was written. So I had to plow through it, and I will have to look forward to the savoring on the next read-through. And there will be another read-through.

The essence of the book is that Catholic women should look to the Church as their model for living an authentic feminine life. Of course, we have always had Mary as a model and she remains the gold standard, but the Church gives us a visible, tangible entity that we can also look to for inspiration.

It makes sense, too. The Church is the Bride of Christ, so her essence is feminine. The Church tenderly mothers her children, admonishing them when they are bad and encouraging them always to do better. The Church nurtures and raises her children through the sacraments; for example, she washes them (Baptism), she feeds them (Holy Communion), she nurses them when they are sick (Annointing of the Sick), and so forth.

Practically, this means that when we are dealing with a situation in our lives, we can think, “What would the Church do?” If we are dealing with a difficult person, would the Church ban the person forever? No. The Church, no matter the difficulty, always leaves a path for reconciliation. So should we.

There are many other ideas in the book that are springboards for the imagination; the opportunities for comparisons are endless. How does the Church welcome her children? How does she invite others to become part of the family? How does she decorate her house? How does she educate? How does she celebrate special occasions? Who is the honored Personage Who dwells within? How is He honored?

As we answer these questions, we can think about how we can do the same in our own homes and spheres of influence. We can learn how to extend our feminine gifts.

Kineke has tapped a rich new vein of thought for Catholic women to help us have a renewed appreciation for our femininity and its particular role and gifts. She reminds Catholic women that though men may not know what we want, God knows what will satisfy our deepest desires, and He has every intention of helping us attain those desires.

I am particularly grateful to the author for her reminder that sometimes we have unrealistic images of piety, like when I go to Adoration for an hour every day and my household falls apart. Now when my efforts at piety fall short, I take comfort in Kineke’s reminder that “most prayer is unspoken; it is simply lived.”

Thanks, Genevieve.

P.S. Kineke also provides interesting intellectual ideas for consideration. She maintains that criticism of patriarchy is blasphemous. Think about it.

© Copyright 2006 Catholic Exchange

Katherine Andes is the co-author with Matt Pinto of Friendly Defenders Catholic Flash Cards. She is also a freelance commercial, proposal, and grant writer. You can write her at [email protected] or visit her web site at KatherineAndes.com.

Subscribe to CE
(It's free)

Go to Catholic Exchange homepage

MENU