MATRESCENCE AND THE PASCHAL MYSTERY
A RAHNERIAN REFLECTION ON THE DEATH AND REBIRTH EXPERIENCES OF NEW MOTHERS OF INFANTS
Keywords:
Anonymous Christianity, Feminist Theology, Grace, Karl Rahner, Motherhood, Paschal Mystery, SalvationAbstract
This article explores the idea that motherhood is an invitation to engage with the paschal mystery and can thus be a salvific experience in the lives of women. This is of even greater significance for a Christian mother who can explicitly name the experience as her own sharing in the paschal event of Jesus. This article will focus on crisis moments of motherhood in a contemporary Western context, exploring particularly the issues raised in first becoming a mother, and on the initial years of motherhood. Using Karl Rahner’s theologies on grace, cross, death, and resurrection, the article seeks to forge the beginnings of a theology of mothering.
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