The "Perfect Woman"

+ J. M. J.

"Thus the 'perfect woman' (cf. Prov 31:10) becomes an irreplaceable support and source of spiritual strength for other people, who perceive the great energies of her spirit. These 'perfect women' are owed much by their families, and sometimes by whole nations."

- Pope John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem (On the Dignity and Vocation of Women).



God ordained it so that when man and woman unite in matrimony their duty is to get the other, and their children, to heaven. They say the head of the family is the man, the heart of the family his bride.

What a duty it is that God should call upon me to help this man to heaven, to be the moral compass a spouse should be. What gravity. Should I fail, it shall fall on me in judgment. Should I succeed, with God's grace, it will be my most important mark in heaven that I was the woman spoken of throughout Psalm 31--never ever for my glory, but for God's.

And so, God help me, for my husband I will be this woman. For my children, I will be this woman. For my community and Holy Mother Church, I strive to be this woman.

So I made a list of the things that make a woman beautiful in the sight of God. Looking to Mary as THE "perfect woman" I see who I want to be.

This is the beginning of my journey in finding the woman God wants me to be--a woman like the perfect woman He created to be His own mother.