I am writing in response to the article “The symbol of discontent” (Trail Times, Oct. 28) by Louise McEwan in a recent edition of your paper.
It is quite obvious that the issue of female ordination has many personal overtones for Mrs. McEwan. It is a fact that at the present time in the Roman Catholic Church, females cannot be ordained to the priesthood; however, their impact throughout history, including our present times, has most certainly been felt.
Some of the biggest “world-changers” in church history have been women – Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, just to name a few. Mother Theresa was no “pushover,” and judging by her state funeral, was respected by many throughout the world. During my early years, my catechism teachers were females, as were many of my youth group leaders.
As I became more active in the Church during my early twenties, I was heavily impacted by a charismatic nun from Texas who “preached” the Gospel to a packed church in Trail-when she was not preaching and praying for people, she operated a mission in the garbage dumps of Juarez, Mexico.
Catholic Bible School brought me in contact with women of different backgrounds from all over the world – they ministered to me in community, and we ministered together in schools, parishes and retreat centres.
In addition, when I taught in a Catholic school, the spirit-filled female principal was both a friend and a mentor. Last, but not least, three very “ordinary” women have had an extraordinary impact on me and many others. My two nonnas were tremendous examples of faith and steadfastness throughout the trials of life, and my mother taught me by her example the value of prayer and service in the church. She was in an active preaching and teaching ministry in B.C. and beyond for close to twenty years.
In the end, Mrs. McEwan, all of these women of “impact” have seemed to have had one thing in common - whenever they became “discontent,” they drew closer to the person of Jesus. I pray that your personal discontent will be transformed as you grow in relationship with the person of Christ.
John Pasqualotto
Trail