The future is female, as they say. Apparently, so is the past.

History shows us that as movements are born, they very often involve the voices and leadership of women who work hard to establish new energy and efforts to make our shared human existence more kind and equitable. As movements turn into institutions, however, the voices and leadership of women are increasingly suppressed.

It is profound, then, to remember that with the Magnificat, Mary’s song, it is the voice of a woman that issues a mandate challenging the powers that oppress, divide, and harm; her words are the very foundation of the work and witness of Jesus Christ in the world.

As we know, hers was a small voice in a loud world with a tendency not to listen. It’s a good thing that the voices of women are often revolutionary. Over and over in our collective story, women have called for change and ushered us toward a society that welcomes and nurtures the whole.