By Sister María José Sousa
Have you ever taken the time to admire the rich symbolism contained in the stained-glass windows of a Catholic Church? If you have, you might have discovered many interesting things: saints you didn’t know, varied representations of biblical events, abstract symbols that speak of our faith, etc. You might also have come across a peculiar image: a mother pelican feeding her young with the blood of her open breast. A shocking image, not necessarily uplifting to the ordinary eye. Yet, an image that speaks volumes if we learn what it stands for.
Do pelicans actually do that? No. “The symbolism of the mother pelican feeding her little baby pelicans is rooted in an ancient legend which preceded Christianity. The legend was that in time of famine, the mother pelican wounded herself, striking her breast with the beak to feed her young with her blood to prevent starvation. Another version of the legend was that the mother fed her dying young with her blood to revive them from death, but in turn lost her own life.” (Fr. William Saunders, catholiceducation.org)
We can clearly see why Christians adopted this legendary image as a symbol for Christ, who gave us eternal life through the blood of his heart – who died so that we could live. In fact, this meaning alone would be enough to give the image of the sacrificial pelican a place in the heart of every Christian. However, the striking image can also tell us something about who we are as human beings.
In his Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem, St. John Paul II wrote:
“The human being – both male and female – is the only being in the world which God willed for its own sake. The human being is a person, a subject who decides for himself. At the same time, man cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of self… This is not a purely theoretical interpretation, nor an abstract definition, for it gives an essential indication of what it means to be human, while emphasizing the value of the gift of self, the gift of the person.” (St. John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem, 1988, vatican.va)
We are only fully human once we have given of ourselves completely. He then goes on to explain that for women this “sincere gift of self” takes place when she loves others. Therefore, “a woman’s dignity is closely connected with the love which she receives by the very reason of her femininity; it is likewise connected with the love which she gives in return.” (St. John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem, 1988, vatican.va) We give of ourselves when we love. A woman who doesn’t love, who doesn’t give of herself selflessly to and for others, will never find fulfillment and true happiness.
Receptive surrender
This thought brings me back to when I was discerning my vocation. During a conversation with a family friend, she expressed that she could not understand how consecrated women could ever be happy because they don’t have children. She considered her children the cause of her joy and she simply didn’t grasp how a woman could find fulfillment in anything else than in being a mother. Little did she know that God, as our all-wise Creator and Father, is also aware of this when he calls women to consecrated life. By calling us to renounce physical children, he also calls us to open our hearts to embrace the whole world in spiritual motherhood. On the other hand, she was partly right. A consecrated woman can only be fully happy when her surrender to God finds expression in her love for her many spiritual children. All women are indeed called to be mothers because the motherly instinct in a woman is not merely a consequence of her corporal reality, but an innate attribute of her feminine soul. This is why Father Kentenich described the essence of women as “receptive surrender.” We have an outstanding capacity to receive, but also to give. Thus, all women are called to share in God’s love – a love that reflects the image of the mother pelican, who breaks open her breast with her own beak for the sake of her children.
Mothers for the world
Is the graphic image of the sacrificial pelican a symbol for spiritual motherhood? Yes. A spiritual mother nurtures the life of her spiritual children through her prayers, her sacrifices, her selfless service, her advice and guidance, her education, her presence. Her love doesn’t remain contained within the boundaries of blood ties, but it embraces the whole world! Although physical motherhood is reserved for those called to married life, spiritual motherhood is a capacity given to all women regardless of age, profession, background, or state of life. It is up to us to develop it and make it fruitful.
So, next time we encounter the image of the sacrificial mother pelican, we can thank God for giving us, as women, the ability to give of ourselves completely to others, to nurture and guard life, even if it demands the blood of our hearts. We can also be very grateful that he has given us a real and even greater image of motherly love in the Blessed Mother. She is for us a model of what it means to be not only a physical mother, but also a spiritual mother to many.