Lydia offered us an invitation, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home,” and she prevailed on us. St. Paul was part of a patriarchal tradition in pharasaic Judaism. You know the drill, a woman’s place was in the home. However, on his missionary journey he found that the Spirit of God worked outside of those confines. The epistles testify that some of his closest collaborators were women. A married couple were the leaders of the church in Corinth — Aquila and Priscilla. Phoebe the deacon was apparently one of the leaders of the Roman Church. And the Act of the Apostles describes Lyida as the founder of the church in Philippi. All of which says that the Spirit does not move in the pre-determined grooves we have set but continues to surprise us. The Catholic Church today is being challenged to have the same ability to adapt to the evolving role of women in our time as St. Paul did in his.
MAY62024
By Church Staff
