"I, brother Martin, profess and promise to obey the Almighty God and the Holy Virgin, and you, brother Winand, prior of this monastery, in the name of the vicar-general of order ... and to live without property and in chastity according to the rule of St. Augustin ... unto death."From page 136 in Young Man Luther.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
a promise to obey the Holy Virgin
Don't take this as some kind of endorsement, but I do think that there was a loss of metaphorical female authority in the Reformation. Martin Luther's vows are described as follows,
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I grew up Catholic, went to Catholic school for 10 years including a year of boarding school in a convent. Then I got "born again" in 1979 and have been a conservative evangelical protestant since. My experience is that the Catholics are far more respectful of women than the evangelicals! Mary was not the only role model. Many female saints are venerated (highly respected) as well.
The divorce rate among Catholics is significantly lower than among Baptists, and I think there is a correlation with respect for women. Catholic men wanting to claim a mantle of "church authority" make the sacrifice of celibacy which eliminates any air of male gender power tripping over "leadership".
"...When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be...
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be..."
It will be a cold day in hell when fundamentalist ideologues are able to subtract even one electron of mystery and magic from the person of the Holy Virgin. And that from ol' Muff who ain't even a Catholic.
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