“There is not male and female”

Taken out of context, this sentence in today’s first reading (Galatians 3:22-29) might be interpreted by some as obliterating any difference or distinction regarding gender.

This has even been used by some (wrongly) to argue in favor of things such as women priests and same-sex marriage.

The full verse is this:

There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free person,
there is not male and female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Saint Paul’s point is that there is no division or stratification in salvation or in the unity of the Church based on these categories. Being one of these things or the other does not make you greater or lesser a member of Christ’s body or make you holier or less holy. Indeed, the greatest of Saints was a woman (the Blessed Mother) and the most revered of the 20th century Blessed was a woman (Mother Teresa).

No matter who we are, we are called to live faithfully in accordance with the truth of God the Creator, the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the purity of the Holy Spirit.