Woman as Prophet in the Home and the World: Interdisciplinary Investigations

(Hardback)

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This first-ever interdisciplinary study of woman as prophet shows that, in these troubling times, ordinary womenespecially Christian womenneed to function as prophets by proclaiming, in word and deed, the indispensability of lovingly seeking the welfare of others. More specifically, social science shows that the person-centered love prophesied by women prophets is able to meet interpersonal challenges within the home and world, while philosophy and theology establish that women are able to excel as prophets due to the virtuous dispositions inculcated by femininity, the choice to be caring, a God-centered spirituality, and a pro-life humanitarian/personalist feminism that welcomes male collaborators. Facilitating the ability of Christian women to prophesy love are Baptismal graces, Thomistic virtues, and a much needed prophetic Marian ecclesiology based on what John Paul II calls the prophetism of femininity. These interdisciplinary findings provide an essential resource for educators and students of humanity, the theology of women, and evangelization. These findings emerge, first, from an investigation into the cognitive and ontological underpinnings of what John Paul II called the feminine genius. A second set of findings emerges from exploring the prophetic dimensions of the feminine genius, secular feminisms need to adopt the insights of Christianity, and the ability of femininitys prophetism to recast both femininity and feminism as Marian prophecies. A third set of findings arises from analyzing the spirituality of women prophets within the Christian tradition by considering the conditions necessary for prophesying, explicating requisite Thomistic virtues, and delving into the spirituality of Hildegard, Catherine of Siena, Julian of Norwich, and Teresa of Avila. A fourth set of findings arises from innovative studies of polarization, secularization, lust, romantic love, the conditions whereby mothers with careers can flourish, and the ability of nuns to combat racism in a small Midwestern town. Overall, these interdisciplinary investigations explicate the theology of women and show that women who prophesy love, either in the order of grace or nature, can help heal lives, families, and culture.

Reviews

This is what weve been waiting for: a theoretical formulation of the feminine genius at the heart and foundation of St. Pope John Paul II's new feminism. Even better, each of these rich and varied contributions is simultaneously a magnificent displaya practical exampleof the feminine genius at work: a prophetic witness to the value of life and love.Three cheers forWoman as Prophet at Home and in the World! -- Michele M. Schumacher, Private Docent at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, and author/editor of "Women in Christ: Toward a New Feminism"
This book is prophetic in character as well as in theme. It does not look back with nostalgia to a time when the maternal aspects of the feminine were more highly valued. Nor do its essays argue a sort of balancing act between the traditional domestic and social roles of women and the new realities of their professional and political power. Rather, they make the forward-looking claim that women's struggle to develop and share their gifts beyond the domestic sphere will only reach its full potential when it harnesses the "feminine genius." This power for knowing the person and affirming her dignity, not only on account of her humanity but as "unique and irreplaceable" is not just the heart of any woman's flourishing, but the key to transforming a culture which, for all its celebration of individualism, has obscured the truth of the person as unconditionally worthy of being loved. Prophetic femininity, grounded in the bodily capacity for nurturing life, does not involve any contradiction between the care of persons and the acquisition of professional knowledge and experience. The challenge of both secular feminism and the needs of a wounded culture find their answer in the woman who prophesies love in the home, the workplace, and the world. -- Mary Catherine Sommers, University of St. Thomas

Author Bio

R. Mary Hayden Lemmons is associate professor of philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota and president of University Faculty for Life.