This makes me think... about the things I might pass on to my daughter.

In general, I would want to witness to my daughter that it is worthwhile to "lay down one's life" for others in imitation of Christ. I would hope she would see from my own example that one does not need to be perfect to be a wife and a mother. Nor need one be perfect to be a single woman for Christ or to be a consecrated religious -- for Christ is all-forgiving, eager to erase the past and give us fresh energies to bear the burden of our womanly roles.


By being close to Christ, in the sacraments and in prayer, we can fulfill our great feminine vocation: to live our our love for others day by day in faithfulness.


Finally, I would have my daughter steep herself in Marian devotion and frequently read the lives of women saints so that she could see how beautiful they were in their feminine warmth, charm, and faithfulness...


I would want my daughter and all women to study John Paul II's apostolic letter "On the Dignity and Vocation of Women" (Mulieris Dignatatem). It is a remarkable document...


It this letter, the Holy Father insists that no matter how badly treated a woman may be, her essential dignity comes not from attitudes of weak and often sinful human beings, but from union with God. "This dignity consists in the supernatural elevation to union with God. (n.4)" Indeed, how many times have we faithful women of the Church found ourselves, after being beaten down by the world, kneeling in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament sensing gradually that, no matter what, we are beautiful in the eyes of God.

--Ronda Chervin, Feminine, Free, and Faithful, (1995)