hood. This chapter, for me, was the most important of the book as it explores the nature of priesthood only to disrupt it. She proposes that Mary, as the one… Click to show full abstract
hood. This chapter, for me, was the most important of the book as it explores the nature of priesthood only to disrupt it. She proposes that Mary, as the one who nourished Christ, is the one who then nourishes the Body of Christ; the mediator; the ‘one who holds open the door for humanity to enter the space cleared by God’ (204, quoting Rowan Williams). Mary has never been considered to be a priest, but here O’Donnell suggests that she is the model of New Covenant priesthood. The usual gendered boundaries for understanding priesthood are disrupted as O’Donnell argues for the priesthood of Mary: ‘To be a priest is to be one in her likeness’ (118). It is in the final chapter ‘Body: A Love Story’ that O’Donnell calls upon the Church to step into a new narrative of loving the body based upon the ‘Annnunciation-Incarnation’ event. When she writes, here, about ‘loving the whole body’ (197) she presents a call to wholeness which atomises neither the life and person of Jesus Christ nor his body the Church. It is a call which celebrates the whole body of Christ incarnate without shying away from those times when bodies are places of horror and sadness. In addition, it is a call to celebrate the priestly body: recognising Mary as both the theological model for priesthood and for trauma recovery. The task of this book seems vast as O’Donnell moves around and between her imagined interlocuters – early church fathers, liturgists, feminists – but her argument is tight and her writing is engaging. Her work is important not just because it gives voice to the often silenced issue of miscarriage, but also because it shows us as practical theologians how to honour women’s experience within our discourse about Christ and the Church. I suspect the conversation won’t end here: I would like to read more about the other sacraments, and how they might be both disrupted by the hermeneutical lens of trauma and re-narrated as part of the ‘Annunciation-Incarnation‘ event. As the book concludes, O’Donnell, whose personal experience is woven throughout, writes: ‘This book is my reconnection with society. It is my survivor’s gift that is offered as both a comfort and a challenge.’ It is indeed a gift.
               
Click one of the above tabs to view related content.