The Women Who Carried Salvation

A Reflection on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 64

“Above all, the poor and humble of the Lord will bear this hope. Such holy women as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Judith, and Esther kept alive the hope of Israel’s salvation. The purest figure among them is Mary.”
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CCC 64
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The poor and humble carried on the hope of salvation.
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These common women
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brushed shoulders with kings,
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waited years for children,
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saved family from death,
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danced for God in pagan lands,
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spared the littlest from the most violent crimes.
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Two young girls, at most teenagers.
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One crying out for her brother as water carried him out of her reach, daring to approach one so superior to her, her own life at stake. Anything to save the one who was dearest.
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The other whispering yes all alone, her body the shield between perfection and the fallen. Sustaining the One whose thoughts sustained her. Risking stones and fleeing soldiers and never resting as her newborn clung to her, and she followed her husband. Chasing dreams to safety.
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These broken, desperate stories carried the greatest story of all on their shoulders, across their backs, in their hearts, within their wombs.
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The poor and the humble brought us Christ, because God chose them.
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He chose us too.
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Will we continue to carry this story?
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Women, will we be hope-bearers in this darkness and dare to carry on? Will we empower and strengthen the men who surround us by our fierce belief in the Gospel?
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Men, will you humble yourselves to hear your women’s words, let them fill you, and enable you to be brave as well?
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That is all it takes to participate in this beautiful design. We will carry this legacy of hope to the next generation, poor and humble, praying constantly, to the end.