To my Sister in Christ,
From the depths of my heart, sadness and anger have overtaken me for how my brothers have mistreated you. I am caught with Christ between his mourning over the death of Lazarus (see John 11:35) and his just anger over turning the Temple into a den of thieves (see Matthew 21:12-13). How appropriate this is where I find myself. Man should weep over the death of life that has occurred due his sacrilegious actions toward the sanctuary of your womb! On behalf of my brothers, I am deeply sorry for how we have offended you. I pray that the rays of His Divine Mercy penetrate our bodies so our souls may be cleansed with grace. So as Christ trusted in the glory of God the Father, I place my trust in him who is the resurrection and the life.
Mercy is truly present between us because you smile at me. All sorrow and hate is destroyed because of your life-bearing smile. What a blessing your smile is! Truly you, my Sister in Christ, are the crown of God’s creation. Because you smile at me, my heart swells with joy. For my sake, please never cease smiling. Your smile is a sign of prayer. A prayer that begets veneration:
Oh how her smile embraced me!
That truth be born for He,
She opened her mouth
Yet no word need be.
Oh how her smile embraced me!
Kissed by beauty’s breath
From lips that caress.
Oh how her smile embraced me!
Truly God created man and woman in his image and likeness. Consider if the image of God is the masculine, so much the better that God’s likeness be the feminine. Only if my brothers see as I see with eyes of faith. Then my Sister, Man could see the divine when viewing you. Gazing upon such heavens, Man might finally genuflect before God’s vessel of life.
Yet do not take my words as ones of worship. Such would be unjust to place upon you, my Sister, and wrong for me. Man’s adulterous tendencies should not be replaced by ones of idolatry. My devotion to your feminine genius is necessary for our salvation. Honoring Woman helps Man to realize what being human means. Knowing the truth, beauty and goodness of Woman, reveals to Man the genius of his own masculinity. He without She is nothing, likewise you without me.
So I wish to remain in you, and you in me so we two can be one in Christ. I need you as much as you need me. We must believe this to be true for Christ proclaims, “Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). And in God’s presence we should feel no shame, especially when we see us as one body (read Genesis 2:24-25). Yet I first must take your hand in holiness, if two are to become one. I must first see God in you so you may see God in you. In doing so, I can be God to you. And if we can see God in one another, then truly we can bring life into this world.
This is my prayer to you my Sister in Christ,
your loving Brother in Christ
