Undivided heart. Mission and virginity in Carmen Hernández

Lately, the cultural environment raises incisive questions about virginity: what is the meaning of virginity in a hyper-sexualized world? Why is its value being devalued? How to explain the treasure of virginity?

Undivided heart, by Josefina Ramón Berná, offers lucid answers deeply rooted in the Christian experience. The work not only documents the spiritual and theological richness of Carmen Hernández, co-initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way, but also opens a window into the soul of a woman totally consecrated to Christ and to evangelization, with a radical, undivided and free love.

The text gathers with special beauty Carmen's words on virginity, understood as a gift: “In virginity it is all grace, gift, which is not born of moralism but of God himself.”. This conception unfolds in a self-surrender lived in gratuity, without the need for vows or formal structures, but with a prophetic and eschatological force. As Fr. Mario Pezzi emphasizes, Carmen was a woman “with eyes set on the sky”, The book faithfully conveys that vital tension, that burning desire to fulfill God's will to the end.

Of special value are the chapters dedicated to women in revelation. Hernandez elevates the feminine vocation from its biblical and anthropological roots, clearly confronting the ideological discourses that dilute the identity of women and their generative capacity. Her vision, luminous and challenging, reminds us that woman carries in herself “the factory of life”, which explains, in her words, why the evil one attacks her so strongly.

This is not a book exclusively for young women with a vocation to consecrated virginity, but a work that sheds light on the entire Christian life, especially in an era marked by affective confusion, loss of meaning and vocational crisis. 

The figure of Carmen Hernandez - who never sought to found anything, but to serve the Church - resonates as an urgent call to follow Christ with a whole heart.

Undivided heart is, without a doubt, a gift for the Church: a book to read, meditate, pray and share. As Kiko Argüello states, “The brothers and sisters of the Camino have the right to know Carmen.”. And, it could be added, also the whole Church.