Mary and the Feminine Touch

12-05-2021Weekly ReflectionRev. Victor C. Yakubu

I recently watched a YouTube video on Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. The video was based on her contributions in uplifting the lives of Germans and other nations within Europe and elsewhere. Her country is enjoying an economic boom and her persona as woman speaks volumes to the world. The refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe are a challenge seeking the attention of the world. Germany is one place that the refugees yearn to find safe refuge.

Chancellor Merkel has received over nine prestigious awards for her immense contributions as leader of Germany. Apart from boosting the economy of Germany, she is a role model for women across the world often perceived as passive contributors to their societies. While I am a fan of Merkel, I do not want to be viewed as negligent of women role models within the United States. My doing so at this tense political period should save me from being labelled a liberal or a conservative. If you understand what I mean, then you will understand that I chose Merkel because she is already breaking grounds as a woman who got the opportunity, and she is influential as a leader. I belong to anything progressive without neglecting traditions. I intend to keep it that way for no determinate period.

Women can teach us important perspectives to life because of many reasons. As mothers, they can feel our pain, and their solution is swift and timely. As mothers, they can sense our fears, and go at length to encourage us.

As mothers, they can mold our innocent minds by injecting love, real love into our souls that binds us to them forever. When we consider that women can offer new perspectives to life, we can always listen to them not out of fear but due to their gift of maternal instinct. Consider the fact that God endowed them with the ability to nurture life, and so we must appreciate this initial step to human existence. The world cannot afford to dismiss feminine touch that affects every aspect of our lives.

Chancellor Merkel is one woman with that feminine touch that has brought glory to her country and exactly women to new heights. Such a rare leader is needed as a role model for women ready to learn lessons on leadership. Today’s celebration is about Mary the Mother of Jesus who decided to say yes to God by accepting the opportunity to play a divine role in our salvation history. She opened herself up by linking her maternal gifts with a call to duty. Since she did not disappoint God, she also pleased us by being our hope in a hopeless world.

For this reason, Mary’s name will be remembered in Christendom for using nurturing Jesus, a symbol of our salvation. In the Catholic Church, the Hail Mary prayer is a song of Mary’s contributions. The essence of this celebration is to remind us that women are saliently offering respectable contributions our families and societies. The expectations of women are many and one of them is delightful to know -- the prosperity of their children. Chancellor Merkel is among a long list of salient women serving their families, nations, and societies with the best they can offer. Recognizing women as partners in progress can open their feminine touch that gives the world more opportunities as Mary did more than two thousand years ago. Keep praying!