When John Adams was in Philadelphia working on what would become the Declaration of Independence his wife, Abigal, wrote to him: “I desire you would remember the ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than you ancestors.” He didn’t heed her advice and it took 144 years for women’s sufferage to become part of the US Constitution. I picture St. Luke’s wife giving him similar advice when he began writing his gospel and he does seem to have listened. He features Mary in the infancy stories, he talks of Jesus’ friends Martha and Mary (Luke 10), he mentions Mary Magdalene and the other women who supported the Jesus movement financially (Luke 8), he often pairs a story about a man (the lost sheep) with one about a woman (the lost coin) in Luke 15. And he goes out of his way to mention the widow Anna who welcomed the Holy Family to the temple. Today would be a good day to give thanks to God for the women who have been the presence of God in your life.
