Catholic women told their most important label is daughter of God

Episcopal Delegate for Youth Taresa Best Downes cautioned about labels women create for themselves that do not put God as priority.

“Even if you are a mother, even if you are a wife, even if you are an entrepreneur, even if you are whatever, if it is not because I am first a daughter of the Most High God, then what is it for? Who[m] does it serve?”

She shared this perspective March 8 at the St Joseph’s Convent Chapel, Port of Spain at the Catholic Women’s Conference, which had the theme Women of God: Pilgrims of Hope Founded on Faith. It was a collaboration between the Archdiocese and the Missionaries of the Divine Potter. She delivered a talk on ‘Empowered in Faith: Inspiring Young Catholic Women to Live with Purpose and Hope’.

Best Downes discussed some of the things that got in the way of women living with purpose and hope. She commented that one of the most insidious realities today was Catholic women accepting certain labels which did not align with God’s desire for them. If hope is the focus, then women had to look at the things “we have allowed that get in the way of who we are called to be!”

She listed the other things that got in the way—money, capitalism, patriarchy—stating, “all the things that we don’t like to say in Church, that got in the way of realising sometimes, what our celebration should really be about”.

Missionaries of the Divine Potter founder, Bernadette Burke spoke on ‘Mary, Queen of Hope: Our Guiding Light on the Pilgrimage of Faith’, highlighting five situations in which Our Lady was prominent: The Annunciation, the Wedding Feast at Cana; from Cana to Calvary; Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Mary at the battle of Lepanto.

Burke elaborated on the difficulties and risks Mary faced in saying ‘Yes’ to carry the Son of God. Through her ‘yes’, hope entered the world and prophecies of the Messiah were fulfilled.

“How often we stand at crossroads sisters, in our lives, how often does fear tempt us to say ‘no’ to God’s plan for us?” Burke said. Mary experienced hardships following her ‘yes’ but her hope was built on a strong foundation, “that’s what her life teaches us as women of God, our hope is founded on faith”. —LPG