Women Have Brains
By Lauren Revay
Vocation – a word that simultaneously draws up joy and fear, peace and uncertainty. There is so much contained within that one word...vocation. Though this word is often used to denote one’s calling to marriage, religious life, or so on, lately I have been praying with it in trying to discern what path the Lord has called me to for my career. I recently graduated with my master’s degree and continue to feel the Lord invite me deeper into an intellectual-creative vocation. The path forward is not always clear as to how he will realize this deep ache within my mind, spirit, and heart.
Just recently, Word on Fire published a book that seemed as though it was written specifically to meet me at this crossroads. Entitled, With All Her Mind: A Call to the Intellectual Life this series of essays explores how all women are called to the intellectual life though it may not always look like what they expected. Written by women in various states in life this book seeks to expound what the very core of the intellectual life is and how it is not shaped by a one-size-fit-all mold, but rather, how the intellectual life is at the very core of the feminine genius that we all possess. Drawing on the riches of authors like Fulton Sheen, John Paul II, Edith Stein, A.G. Sertillanges, St. Thomas Aquinas, Josef Pieper, and more – With All Her Mind calls forth the truth of the beauty of woman and the gift of her intellect to the world. In a very real sense, we all dear sisters have a vocation to the intellectual life – that is to use our minds to glorify the Lord. We all are invited to pursue knowledge, and wisdom to ponder these things and give life to the world through what we learn, ruminate on, and pass on to others.
The intellectual vocation in this way belongs to all of us, it is simply a matter of each of us claiming it for ourselves. I am reminded of my time in Magdala the hometown of Mary Magdalene. There in one of the local chapels dedicated to women of the faith there are eight pillars in the Atrium; seven pillars represent women in the Bible who followed Jesus and the eighth remains empty. It is empty because the story is not yet over, and this pillar represents us, the women striving to follow Jesus in the past, the present, and the future. There are many holy women who have come before us, so too will there be many who follow behind us. Today though we are given the grace necessary to use the beautiful gifts of our mind to continue to build on the tradition that has gone before us and to bring Christ’s light into the world.
Rachel Bulman, editor of With All Her Mind, claims “the fullness of all femininity has yet to be exhausted.” She with the many others who contributed to the book argue that to better understand just what John Paul II meant by “feminine genius” needs to be expounded on by reflecting more deeply on this profound gift of one’s intellect whether it be for the woman seeking to obtain her PhD, a wife with kids, or anywhere in between. Wherever you find yourself, know that you too are called to the intellectual life and have an intellectual vocation no matter where it is you find yourself. In this way, your name is inscribed in the last pillar too, and though the path may not be clear the Lord will make a way.
