June 6 Tue
Role of homemaking for women. “For decades now, some thought that women’s unhappiness was because home life demeans us; and the remedy would be for us to despise it in return,” explain Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering, co-authors of “Theology of Home II: The Art of Spiritual Living.”
“Nothing could feel further from the truth. My mother passed away. She did many things in life, but what stands out to me is how beautifully she gave herself as a stay-at-home mom, and how many lives she enriched in this way. That gave her life meaning, and is what she gave to others: namely, her fruitfulness as a woman who made a home for a family.”
“Women are powerful, but power cannot the purpose of our life —it is a mechanism, a means. In the 1960s, our culture took away the notion of fruitfulness, while offering us the promise of power and control.” Home and family went out the window. In came contraception, abortion, and the new image of ‘career’ as everything in a woman’s life… Our educational system and culture reinforce the idea that the pursuit of power is the preeminent business of womanhood.”
“Despite what the some may tell us, all women—no matter our vocation—have been created and built up for a kind of fruitfulness…” Though, not every woman will become a mother with children.
“There could be a disconnection; while we love our home, we fail to recognize the importance of a homemaker,” a value that is not in the physical, material home. Rather, it is in the purpose of every home.
“Home is where we prepare our families for Heaven…Homemaking is not merely an unfortunate but necessary burden; rather, it is an opportunity to acquire something that is difficult to get outside of a home… That something is the capacity to be fruitful.”
“Fruitful living enables our own souls to mature. A homemaker is a person getting a degree in love.”
Living as a Gift to Others. Perhaps you hesitate. Be bold. Have the courage to get a “doctorate or PhD in love.”
Pic of Nuestra Señora de Guía (of Guide), in Magallanes, Cavite. With her hands, Our Lady seems to be indicating the straight path that leads to eternal happiness. “Do whatever He tells you.” Do not look elsewhere, the way is there, in front of you.