New York Civil Law in Discord with God the Father and Mary, Mother of the Church

A handful of New York state legislators have replaced “mother and father” with “gestating parent and non gestating parent,” respectively, in discord with God the Father and Mary, Mother of the Church.  In this grotesque distortion, politicians allegedly capitulated to family law attorneys concerned that civil law did not incorporate same-sex couples. This disrespect of Divine Law blasphemes the incredibly generous gift of  cooperation of fathers and mothers with the Creator in conceiving new life and denies the truth that motherhood and fatherhood transcend the womb. to form faithful families and saints for eternity. Though this article focuses on motherhood,  the honor due fatherhood should be inherently understood for myriad, hopefully obvious, reasons.

The universal reference to the female parent of a child—mother—in any culture or language has been traced back some 15,000 years, but most importantly God so named the female parent of a child as mother.  Eve is considered the mother of all the living. (Genesis 3:20).   Our Blessed Mother was named our mother from the Cross when Jesus speaking to her declared,  “Woman, behold, your son.   To his beloved disciple John, He then said, “Behold, your mother.” (John 19:26).  

From the beginning the Church has cherished motherhood in both physical and theological ways.  Early Church Fathers described Eve as the maternal ancestor of all humanity. They compared her to Mary, in that Eve’s disobedience led to death while Mary’s obedience brought life through the Messiah.  In both, though, the dignity of being a mother is preserved and elevated.

 
Of all the titles given Mary, and even through the recent debates over her role in redemption,  none is more reverenced than “Our Blessed Mother”   Throughout history, whenever she has appeared or spoken to chosen souls, she herself has most frequently identified herself foremost as mother. After the Our Father, the most recited prayer is likely the Hail Mary that recalls her maternal womb “full of grace” blessed with the fruit of that womb, Jesus.  And, then, Holy Mary, Mother of God… 

 
The saints frequently referenced mothers and the glory of motherhood.  To cite a few:  St. Therese of Lisieux exclaimed numerous maternal love themes and celebrated the sacred role of motherhood as a divine masterpiece.   St. Teresa Benedict (Edith Stein) remarked, “To be a mother is to nourish and protect true humanity and bring it into development. Who can nourish and protect humanity and help it reach its fulfillment as much as a mother?”  The Venerable Fulton Sheen compared motherhood to a special kind of priesthood.  Pope St. John Paul II praised women who are mothers, and that motherhood was “God’s own smile upon the newborn child.”  In recent history, St. Gianna sacrificially mothered a fourth child in her womb to the fullness of life though it cost Gianna her own.   Furthermore, the concept of motherhood extends soulfully to a spiritual realm in the religious and celibate laity life.  Thousands of women have mothered others in exceptional charity and deserve the moniker of “mother.”  

 
In stark contrast, there was no reference to the term “gestating person” in human history.  While the term “gestating” is an English verb that morphed into “carrying young in the womb,”  the word dates back only about four hundred years and prior even meant “riding on horseback, etc.” It would not have been used interchangeably with motherhood which extends beyond the womb anyway.  Moreover, there is a certain frigidity of the word “gestating” that  divorces the potentially sanctified beauty of motherhood from the female person as meant by “male and female, he created them.”  (Genesis 1:27,  5:2,  and Matthew 19:4 when Jesus reaffirmed the reference to creation).  Biblical references gently denote “carrying,” “with child,” and “bearing”.   Moreover, the womb is a noble sanctuary for the developing living person.

 
Bluntly, “gestating person” is a diabolical concoction and grave distortion of God’s creation and creatures.  In an attempt to alter language and perception of personal identity, whether from spiritual or mental illness or both, these relatively few politicians have grotesquely mutilated God’s perfect design for motherhood (and fatherhood).  Anyone who mutely accepts or actually surrenders to  this madness must be likewise ill or simply cowardly. 

 
Praying for the wisdom of Christians and all believers in the integrity of family and for them to assert their God designed being as female (or male).

As Catholics, in and out of New York,  we are called to refer to ourselves by our Christian roots and destiny while praying for the conversion of deceivers and the deceived and for the courage of family lawyers to defend their clients’ right to be so addressed as mother and father in court, as billions of people before them so constantly embraced.