"Both Aristotle and Saint Thomas write that the male is active and the female is passive; but the women is not passive, she is “receptive“, and this receptivity is totally different from pure passivity, which is, indeed, inferior to activity. In passivity, an object or a person is simply acted upon without offering any resistance or response. Receptivity, in contrast, is an act of transcendence in which one being opens himself up to another, breaks the wall of self-centeredness in order to communicate with another and to receive from another. What a difference there is between the person who passively listens to a lecture, impervious to its message -- bodily present while spiritually absent -- and the person who “receives”, understands, appreciates, responds, and is therefore enriched and fecundated."
~ Alice von Hildebrand ~
~ Alice von Hildebrand ~
7 comments:
Wow - that's a great quote! I'll admit it took me a couple of times of reading it to get it, but it makes sense, and is a great description of what we are called to be!
Such a beautiful quote... is it from The Privilege of Being a Woman? Alice von Hildebrand is wonderful. :)
Awesome quote. Goes well with your most recent, most excellent posts. ;-)
::applause::
That IS thought-provoking! I think there's so much that's misunderstood about the Biblical model of male-female relationships - it's not about dominance and being dominated, but about, as she wrote, being RECEPTIVE and open and not insisting on one's own will.
Obviously, I could go on!
Very thought provoking quote. It's true, though, that this is how we are to be as wives - the receivers, not the pursuers. I have to write this one down. :)
I'm pretty sure I haven't told you lately how much I appreciate that you're back to blogging. You are saying just what I need to hear. :) Thanks for that, and may God bless you! :)
Post a Comment