G.K. Chesterton wasn’t called the “apostle of common sense” for nothing. Among his many illuminating essays and observations, one of the most insightful is his perspective on women and the colossal importance of their role inside the home:
Babies need not to be taught a trade, but to be introduced to a world. To put the matter shortly, woman is generally shut up in a house with a human being at the time when he asks all the questions that there are, and some that there aren’t. It would be odd if she retained any of the narrowness of a specialist. Now if anyone says that this duty of general enlightenment (even when freed from modern rules and hours, and exercised more spontaneously by a more protected person) is in itself too exacting and oppressive, I can understand the view. I can only answer that our race has thought it worth while to cast this burden on women in order to keep common-sense in the world. But when people begin to talk about this domestic duty as not merely difficult but trivial and dreary, I simply give up the question. For I cannot with the utmost energy of imagination conceive what they mean.
When domesticity, for instance, is called drudgery, all the difficulty arises from a double meaning in the word. If drudgery only means dreadfully hard work, I admit the woman drudges in the home, as a man might drudge at the Cathedral of Amiens or drudge behind a gun at Trafalgar. But if it means that the hard work is more heavy because it is trifling, colorless and of small import to the soul, then as I say, I give it up; I do not know what the words mean. To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labors and holidays; to be Whiteley within a certain area, providing toys, boots, sheets, cakes. and books, to be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.
– “The Emancipation of Domesticity”; as cited in Brave New Family: G.K. Chesterton on Men & Women, Children, Sex, Divorce, Marriage & the Family – pp. 112-113. (Ignatius Press)
Common sense, however, is not so common among the apostles of today. Which is perhaps why a thing like this was produced by no less than the very chief apostle himself:
Yes, there’s a token mention of women’s role in the family. But all the remaining issues and graphics deal with careers, work, and social justice and gender ideology themes. There is not one image in the entire video of a traditional, nuclear family with multiple children. We see women chemists, doctors, teachers, and those who perform menial labor. We see an apparently single mother (with conspicuous lack of wedding ring) packing lunches for her children with a world-weary look on her face, before she brightens as the words appear, “I DO MY JOB AS WELL AS A MAN.” We see what looks like a nun, but she is in a classroom, apparently studying, not engaged in apostolate. For that matter, there is not a single image of a woman at Mass, or engaged in prayer. Not a church. Not a crucifix. Not a rosary.
You will also note that there is not a single mention in this video of the woman par excellence, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Nor will you find in this video (or any others this pope has yet produced) any spiritual guidance that helps souls attain heaven. It is all materialism and immanentism — the latter something Father Louis Bouyer, defined as: “A tendency to understand the immanence of God or of His action in us in such a way that it would, in fact, exclude the reality of His transcendence” — all the time.
If the semiotics of the video are anything to go by, it appears that as long as the words like “NO GENDER VIOLENCE” appear in big enough letters while actors stare meaningfully into the camera, we’re supposed to forget all that.
For a pope who has condemned gender ideology on multiple occasions, Francis is terrible at following his own advice.
Thank you so much for quoting our beloved Chesterton on women in the home. It is simply terrific, and so loving – you can hear his love and respect for his own mother, and his wife (although she did not have the privilege of bearing him children). He lifts the ordinary to the sublime.
And this in contrast to the Pope’s spare, dry, empty video. Poor mothers! Poor children! This is what your Holy Father thinks of you!!!!
I cannot remember his wife’s name, but I do know that both of them would be very happy with the spiritual children their union has produced. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. GK Chesterton!
But if a man is a victim of sexual violence, it’s not “gender violence.” Only if it happens to a woman.
Absolutely right. I once worked for a housing office. I got phone call from a man begging us to get him away from his wife. She was a hefty woman and used to beat him up. He was her second husband and she encouraged her kids to beat him up too. I suggested he visit the office. When I told my female colleagues they all laughed. When I showed my disgust they were surprised that I didn’t find the situation funny too. I told them I had never and would never find victims of violence funny. Only one other member of staff took him seriously. We couldn’t get any help for him. The people who ran havens for victims of domestic violence also found him highly amusing. Eventually colleagues at least started to think about the situation and it began to dawn on them that it really wasn’t acceptable. But as far as I know the poor chap never got the help he needed. If it had been a woman they would have all been up in arms.
“gender”
THE
RABBIT
OF
BEING
The Bishop of Rome
He lives not at home
I’m sorry
I have to say
He’s here and he’s there
He’s up in the air
Flying this
And that way
He gets on the phone
Waits for dial tone
To comfort a man
In his sins
But mothers of seven
Who put faith in Heaven
“Don’t breed like a rabbit”
He grins
And how the boys chuckle
And how the girls laugh
And gender-benders
Can trust this man’s staff
But only the mothers,
The big family breed,
Deserve condescension for
They believe in the Creed!!!
I’m confused
Burma Shave.
Not a single wedding ring in the video.
And the MERCY! trademark/copyright was there. But I failed to see anything about mercy in this video. Just a bunch of SJW pablum.
GK’s essays on motherhood and our “drift from domesticity” should be required reading for every faithful Catholic. Oh, and this: https://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_19301231_casti-connubii.html
Very insightful comments, Steve. I can imagine, after looking at the faces of those women, what their children may feel like. I sense they likely feel much like I do, having a mother (Church) who prefers to “rat the streets” rather than preserve herself from spot or blemish. Not only does the human element of the Church fall victim to the “absentee father” problem concerning protecting and defending his bride and offspring, but also to fulfilling her motherly role of teaching the truths of the faith clearly in order to preserve her children from error and ultimately damnation.
For Mother’s Day, I simply pray for the heel of the Virgin Mary to come down on the head of this perversion. That will show the true power of a woman.
and not one Muslim woman in a Birka….tsk, tsk, tsk.
AMERICAN WOMAN
If it is right
And wasn’t wrong
Our breasts would have been
Five miles long.
So working Moms
Who leave their young
Could nurse at work
No baby clung
To Mommy’s arms
That now makes bread
Oh, not that wheat
The green instead
Where printed, “…God we trust”,
With zest –
In everything
But Mommy’s breast!
Awesome.
I hope you don’t mind, Long Skirts, but I had to write this one down to put on my fridge for daily encouragement. It’s so very good! You should publish it if you haven’t already. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Thank you.
He gives us a slap for Mother’s Day! Thanks!
We housewives and mothers do not count even in the Church. Gotta get out there and make money, you know!
Modern Catholics get pretty ticked off when they find out that the Church has always taught that the husband is to be the provider and protector of his family, and the wife is to nurture the children and care for the home.
Yes. Most Catholics now, certainly including those considering themselves “conservatives,” find the doctrine worse than useless in ‘today’s world.’ But I think everyone here knows that…
MY
MOTHER’S
FEET
Withered, wearied
Ripped and torn
My mother’s feet
Were rough and worn.
For they had carried
Future’s weight
Engraved by God
Her pregnant plate.
No money for
The perfect fit –
So when in pain
She’d pray and sit
Until her purpled
Blood would race
Body, soul
Varicosed in grace
And though so wearied
Withered, torn
Emeralds fade…
‘Fore feet so worn.
May God have mercy on Pope Francis but he insults me, as a mother of 10 (“silly rabbits”) daily!!
Each video seems like the worst one yet. It’s like Pearl Jam who I believe set a record for the most number of albums (7?) where the sales of each release were lower than the previous.
It could’ve been made by any secular outlet. There’s no Catholic atmosphere to it; it just feels worldly.
Linking here three of the most important sermons I have ever listened to. I was reminded of them after reading your post. They are very worthwhile listening to and very relevant to your post. They are a series, listed in order.
http://www.romans10seventeen.org/audio-files/20050109-The-Errors-of-Russia-How-They-Affect-Family-Life.mp3
http://www.romans10seventeen.org/audio-files/20050130-The-Errors-of-Russia-Their-Plan-and-the-Plan-of-Heaven.mp3
http://www.romans10seventeen.org/audio-files/20050213-The-Errors-of-Russia-the-Plan-of-Heaven-Model-the-Holy-Family.mp3
O my, friends, yes, where is Holy Mary in our world. She is rarely mention at the Ambo. She is hidden, so to speak, when we are face-to-face with our non-Catholic friends. We are to afraid to mention her name in public. Why? Jesus, often reminds us to “Do not be afraid”. Yes, Mary is Par Excellence, she is God’s Masterpiece so to speak. Maria Sanctissima is the Solution to whom the the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity bestow for us today, in our world so distressed to say the least.
“The instant I remembered the Catholic Church, I remembered her; when I tried to forget the Catholic Church, I tried to forget her; when I finally saw what was nobler than my fate, the freest and the hardest of all my acts of freedom, it was in front of a gilded and very gaudy little image of her . . .” (from “Mary and the Convert” by Chesterton).
In addition, in Mary and the Convert, we read, “But Our Lady, reminding us especially of God Incarnate, does in some degree gather up and embody all those elements of the heart and the higher instincts, which are the legitimate short cuts to the love of God.”
JAMLY,
euie
The discussion of late in our house has been the MANY years it has taken me to TRULY, deeply, value my own life’s work without a paycheck or recognition from the world. That is liberation– not waiting for a pat on the back, but knowing inherently we are doing God’s work. Remaining humble and hidden in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary is an unspeakable privilege and joy that my generation was not permitted to witness. May it please God that my children remain faithful to Him and His Holy Church all the days of their lives– that shall far out way any human injustice ever afforded me this side of eternity.
I am a daughter of God Almighty, not a victim of a social system. Quit telling us we are only the equivalent of how other people see us or how much they pay us, or by what we do in addition to raising families. Point us to the Face of God that we might learn our identity from gazing upon Our Father’s image and allowing Him to mold us beautifully into what He created us to be. It really is so simple and uncomplicated.
And maybe give us TLM closer to our actual domiciles so I could be more of a homemaker and less of a taxi cab driver!! Now that’s an injustice from which I would appreciate some deliverance! LOL
Good observations. Any atheist could like this video. As usual, the pectoral cross is covered up too. This is total worldly, not a bit of faith in it. In Mulieris Dignitatem, St. John Paul II starts out with Our Lady, which is logical, while Francis does his usual omission. Maybe he put a beach ball on her altar?
But but but… strawberries!
on Cake!!
Cake and stawberries!
Until the Church stands up again for the Truth of how God created Man, that he is the head of the body, who is his bride, and that Christ is His head (and indeed the head of His body, who is His Bride the Church), the world will continue to degrade into the worst barbarism ever known. The feminist movement is satanic in it’s origin, just like the first sin.
The Feminist movement isn’t feminine, it’s a pseudo machismo that looks upon Children and their proper upbringing as the vilest of tyrannies, for it dares to interrupt the all important goal of self-fulfillment through worldly success and it looks upon masculinity as the enforcer of that tyranny. For them the only safe masculinity is the emasculated kind, which leaves them embittered all the more because their husbands are weak and pathetic. So they go out for one night stands with the overbearing macho jerk who is dangerous because he isn’t controlled by them, and that sends them back to lord it over their emasculated wimp husbands all the more which leaves them even more unfulfilled in their endless pursuit of self-fulfillment.
PS: That Video is horrible. Even the brief mention of family looks like it’s taking place in a public school class room and not a home…and no husband is to be found.
PPS: How can one begin to describe the nature and dignity of woman without reference to man, except when it comes to portraying men as sexual predators or in a false egalitarian comparison with labor (because men are unjust oppressors)? How is the image of a woman packing a lunch for children to take to school immediately juxtaposed with the words “I do my job as well as a man?” How come the word’s don’t mention the value of motherhood or children? How come its “JOB”?
For all you father’s out there, if your think you most important task is being out there in the work force you’re mistaken, it’s in being an obedient Son to God, a Husband to your wife and a Father to your children. What you do in the world is to serve that end…
In this and his other previous videos, pope Francis obscures the Crucifix he is wearing around his neck. Is he ashamed of the Crucifix ? What can one make of this ?
“We all know that the real pleasures of the tripper are those that are not supposed to be part of the trip; such as the domestic scene I beheld in the most Moslem part of Palestine, the episode of a Moslem woman shouting and yelling abuse of her husband across the breadth of a small lake, while the husband stood helpless and evidently unable to think of any repartee. This made me feel, with a warm touch of sentiment, that home is home everywhere, and is not so very much altered even where a home may be a harem. Now, you cannot arrange a tour with a view to little things like that. I could no more have planned that this particular woman should boil over at this particular moment than I could pay a few lire to obtain an eruption of Vesuvius. But it was immeasurably more forcible and impressive than Vesuvius. For it is the little things and not the large things that touch this tricky international nerve which reminds us that we are all made on the same anatomical plan and that the Image of God is everywhere.” ~The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton, vol. XXXVI, The Illustrated London News 1932-1934, pp. 467-468
A fantastic image.
I will say this, my motor and father married in 1929. My father worked in the local iron mines and my mother was a school teacher. as this was during the depression the rule was that only one member of a household was allowed to have job. Now for a while my dad earned 0.17 cents an hour whenever he was scheduled to work. I recall vaguely when he took me out to some wood cutting he was doing to earn money on the side. So my mother stayed home, which I am sure she would have anyway to take care of her children. Some would say my Dad had the advantage over my mother by having a career working in the mines. women were not allowed to work in the mines then. Like my paternal grandmother who wasn’t allowed to shoe sweaty horses in the blacksmith shop like her husband, my paternal grandfather did, and had to remain in her house and tend the children, obviously she got the worst of the deal and was not liberated like my grandfather was.
But so much for that, all I want to say is that I owe whatever decency I have and for whatever is good in my character directly to my mother. If anyone says what a mother does is not important because she didn’t have a job working as a wage slave for some bloodsucking corporation, and taking orders from corporate minions, I will dispute that very hotly. The thing is men and women are made to form a team, to compliment each other, not to compete, and the woman’s role in raising children is as important a job as there is as I can personally testify to.
Why don’t they show the Blessed Virgin Mary, the perfect woman and mother? Why don’t they show a husband, a wife and their children? Why don’t they show mum’s who are happily look after their families with charity and self-sacrifice? Why? Because (according to modernists in the highest places) the world no longer identifies with such examples. We (the modernist leaders) needed to produce a video that Catholics and anti-Catholics can identify with and promote. We wanted a video that resonates with liberal Catholics and anti-Catholics so that they will say: “finally they’re seeing it the way we do.” Equality, equality and more equality. It’s all pure Marxism.
Turning women into cogs in a wheel.
He’s not only terrible at following his own advice, he’s terrible at giving advice.
I see the Holy Father and the Vatican have been co-opted by “Feminism”….at the same time, the “Rape Culture” appears to be coming from vicious muslim immigrants into Europe…as Sweden is now the rape capital of Europe and crime is increasing. Christian England has now a Muslim Mayor in London… Yet….as the Holy Father has said, “We must tear down the walls”. The muslims are not going to listen to the Holy Father’s message because, “They are Muslim” so this is meant to admonish who? Christian Catholic Men? I wonder do women have responsibility for their own actions or are they perpetual victims. This is a disgusting video that the average man on the ground, especially family man cannot relate to or sympathize in anyway. Its just like what is happening in D.C….power elites living in bubbles being advised by people with viscious agendas.
In the meantime, all the Churchs are pretty much run by women and men are no where to be seen….Feminism is rampant and has penetrated almost every cultural aspect of society…yet it, with this video, it is just not enough.
I am disgusted by this
Looking forward to hearing from the Vatican/USCC about the fact that Catholics and Protestants in the U.S. earn about 50 cents on the dollar for every dollar a Jew earns. The Left and their Vatican/USCC sychophants always like talking about that bogus “79 cents on th dollar” malarkey from economically-challenged feminists.
For some reason, Arthur Sultzberger at The Times and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her ACLU allies aren’t as concerned with that wage gap.
I wonder why ?
all the videos since january are not catholic at all.
they are some kind of statism/socialism/feminism/globalism
the first one in january was freaking frightening… no cross… all religions are equivalent
the ones in february, march, april bluntly aimed at producing discontent and egotism. Breeding the kind of “needs” that a wellfare state want its citizens to have. Destroying family, by destroying the dignity of manhood, and womanhood.
the kind of feminist of “me too” discourse (“me too am able to do what men do…”) is below dispisableness. If the only thing you’re worth of, as a woman, is to “you too” do “as well as men”… there’s simply nothing to understand… It’s destroying any kind of self respect in women. You’re always the 2nd… what’s the point? what’s the glory in that? I don’t get it…
the message of many of those videos, since january is: “life is hard… it should not be so… someone should help me… I have rights …”
the message of those videos produce sinful pride. The demonic pride of attempting to live our lifes without any kind of transcendance.
a catholic pope would not give in that kind of propaganda. He would recommend what the gospel say: “take up your cross… offer your suffering up to God… unite with the suffering of Christ on the cross… forget yourself, and help your brothers and sisters in their own sufferings”
a catholic pope would recommend to pray, to offer up our suffering to God for the salvation of souls.