Contents

\

The Divine Plan For Women

Those Terrible Teens

. . For Better Or For Worse . .
.”

Mother’s Work... Never Done!

Catholic Women In Today’s World

No. 44



Why the Knights of Columbus

Advertise Catholic Faith

The reason is simple. We Catho-

lics want our non-Catholic friends

and neighbors to know us as we

really are and not as we are some

times mistakenly represented.

We are confident that when

our religious Faith is better un-

derstood by those who do not

share it, mutual understanding

will promote the good-will which

is so necessary in a predominant-

ly Christian country whose gov-

ernment is designed to serve all

the people—no matter how much

their religious convictions may

differ.

American Catholics are con-

vinced that as the teachings of

Christ widely and firmly take

hold of the hearts and conduct

of our people, we shall remain

free in the sense that Christ

promised (John VIII, 31-38),

and in the manner planned by

the Founding Fathers of this

republic.

Despite the plainly stated will

of the Good Shepherd that there

be "one fold and one shepherd,”

the differences in the understand-

ing of Christ’s teaching are

plainly evident. It has rightfully

been called "the scandal of a

divided Christianity.”

If there is anything which will

gather together the scattered

flock of Christ, it is the nation-

wide understanding of the

Savior, what He did and how He

intended mankind to benefit by

the Redemption.

To this end, we wish our

fellow-Americans to become ac-

quainted with the teachings of

Christ as the Catholic Church

has faithfully presented them,

since the day the apostles in-

vaded the nations of the world

in willing and courageous obedi-

ence to Christ’s command: "Go,

therefore, and make disciples of

all nations . . .” (Matt. XXVIII,

19).

SUPREME COUNCIL

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
Religious Information Bureau

4422 LINDELL BLVD. ST. LOUIS 8, MO.

© Knights of Columbus 1954



THE DIVINE PLAN FOR WOMEN I

When I was first asked the

question, "Why does a wom-

an need the Catholic Faith?”

I answered almost without

thinking: "Why I couldn’t

live without my religion.”

Since then I have been

thinking about my spontane-

ous response. Is it true? And

why is it true?

Yes, it is true. I know

that I could not live a life worth

living without it. It is simply a fact,

for me, that nothing in this world,

nor all the things put together in

it would be worth the struggle if it

did not have an ultimate and eter-

nal purpose.

That is precisely why I do so need

my Faith. With it I can have a suc-

cessful life and because of it a

triumphant death. Both depend, of

course, on my being a good Catho-

lic, that is, conforming my conduct

to my Faith. For it is my Faith that

makes my life not only worth liv-

ing, but makes the only important

thing to live it well.

For example, consider suicide. As

a Catholic I can’t deliberately com-

mit suicide without going straight

to Hell. Why? My life isn’t my
own to do with as I wish. It belongs

to God; He decides how long it is

tm V > VV

to last, and how it is to end.

He has plans for me: Heav-

en— if I live according to

His plan. With the words of

St. Paul ringing in my ears,

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear

heard, neither hath it en-

tered into the heart of men,

what things God hath pre-

pared for them that love

Him,” it seems imperative

that I try to fit myself into God’s

plans. It is my Catholic Faith that

shows me what God’s plan is and

how to follow it. Best of all, it is a

lovely, clear blueprint that any

woman can read.

And it is an exciting blueprint,

too. When I consider the edict, "No

suicide,” because I belong to my

Creator and must carry out His

plans for me in order to reach my

destined place in the next world,

I find that I am extremely impor-

tant. God wants ME; He made me

for Himself; if I live as He shows

me how to through His Church, I

will be happy forever after. That is

the reason why all the things of this

world, that in themselves are rela-

tively unimportant, become valu-

able. They are the means or the

tools of my salvation. Not only am

I important as an individual, but

1



everything I do here is important,

too. Hence I want to live out God’s

design for me.

But "living a life," as everyone

soon discovers, isn’t a simple task.

This is where the blueprint I have

mentioned comes in. When our

first parents, Adam and Eve, ate of

the forbidden fruit in the Garden

of Eden and disobeyed God, they

lost, not only Heaven for them-

selves and all of us, but also those

wonderful gifts such as freedom

from sickness, that would have

made our mortal lives much hap-

pier and easier. That is why, with

our weakened wills, we find it very

difficult to want God enough to do

what He has commanded, and to

avoid doing what He has forbidden.

And even when our weak wills

reach out feebly toward God, our

darkened minds don’t know what

to do or how to do it. This is the

fallen nature we inherited from

Adam and Eve. Of course, God

knew all of this and was unwilling

to let the men and women He had

made for Himself remain astray.

He decided to redeem us, reopen

the entrance to Heaven, and again

make it possible for us to find our

way to Him if we wished to do so.

This second chance, as all Chris-

tians know, was given us through

God’s wonderful plan of Redemp-

tion; by which the Son of God,

Jesus Christ, laid down His life that

we, the children of His Heavenly

Father, might be saved. Once again

it became possible for us to reach

Heaven and God, but only after a

life of trial to prove our worthi-

ness.

But though Heaven was re-

opened, we kept our fallen and

weakened human nature. We would
need a great deal of help. God is

just and merciful and loving, so

while He was yet on earth, after

His glorious Resurrection and be-

fore His Ascension into Heaven,

He provided such help, in the form

of His Church, which He set up

with Peter as its first head. And

that this Church would endure and

be infallible in its teachings, Christ

promised Peter: "And I say to thee:

that thou art Peter and upon this

rock I will build my Church,, and

the gates of hell shall not prevail

against it.”

This, then, is my exciting blue-

print: God’s plan for me and the

means of carrying it out, are to

be found in the true Church He

began on that first Pentecost. It is

there that I can find out what He

wants me to do, how to do it, and

there, too, that I can obtain all the

tremendous strength (grace, we

Catholics call it) that I need to be

successful in living a good life.

Nothing has been left out: what,

how, and all the help I need to do

it.

For a woman, one of the most

satisfying and comforting things

about being a Catholic is this con-

viction of security. I don’t have to

depend merely on my own faulty

interpretation of the Bible. I don’t

have to rely merely on my instinct,

intelligence or education to tell me

what is right and wrong. The

Church Christ left me is so clear

and so definite and so precise that

I can always be sure of what I must

do, of what choices are right and

those that would be wrong. Plus

2



all of this is the constant aid to be

strong when I know that I am

really weak. I just don’t have to

worry; I’m always on the right

road when I think with the mind

of Christ’s Church.

So, first of all, what do I have

to do?

My Duties Are:

To GOD:

Know Him

Love Him

Serve Him by Prayer

Thanksgiving

Reparation

Petition

Obey His Ten Command-

ments

The Command-

ments of His

Church

To MYSELF:

Develop and increase the virtues

of patience, humility, etc.

Self-preservation

Care of health, of life

Special duties of state of life:

Married

Single

Religious

to OTHERS:

Respect of their

life

health

body

property

liberty

right to truth

and to good name

Charity:

Think well of others

Wish well to others

Help others in need

This, at first glance, seems like

a large order. But one word seems

to cover all of my duties: love.

I must love God, myself, and my

neighbors in the special ways I

mentioned. By myself, of course,

this would be quite impossible. But

God did not set up His Church

just to tell me what to do. The
Church also tells me how to carry

out God’s laws and its own. For

example, the commandment of God

"Remember thou keep holy the

Sabbath,’’ is interpreted by the

Church to mean: Go to Mass on

Sundays and keep God’s day in a

seemly manner by refraining from

servile works.

Still all the knowing and under-

standing of God’s laws do not

guarantee abiding by them. The

doing is still to be done, and that

is what is really difficult. But right

here comes the most wonderful

part of God’s plan. He, through His

Church, gives Himself to me (and

to all of us) so that we may share

in His strength to resist sin and do

good. In the blueprint for my sal-

vation all the help I’ll ever need,

and whenever I need it, will be

mine.

This remarkable help is called

God’s actual grace, a free gift from

God to us through His Church.

When Adam and Eve sinned and

left themselves and us ignorant and

strongly inclined to evil, they cut

themselves and us, their descend-

ants, off from God. According to

Scripture, before their fall they had

"walked with God.” This sharing

in His life made them holy and

good; they were constantly sanc-

tified. They lived in a state of

3



sanctifying grace: a truly God-like

life.

Therefore the first thing that

God does through His Church

when we are born into the world

is to restore this state of holiness,

this walking-w’ith-God. This new

or God-like life is made possible

by sanctifying grace and first comes

to us through what is called the

sacrament of Baptism. Again we

become children of God and heirs

of Jesus Christ.

The seven sacraments of the

Catholic Church are God’s means

of giving to us those helping graces

which His life and death have

merited for us. Grace is God’s life

within us, without which we could

not do our duties consistently and

save our souls. Of all the sacra-

ments, Baptism is the most neces-

sary, for without it we could not

enter into Heaven. It removes us

from the state of original sin and

gives us the new life of sanctify-

ing grace. It also makes us members

of the Catholic Church and ready

to receive the grace which the other

sacraments have to give.

But Humans Sin

We would have little trouble
being good and loving God and our

neighbor if we could stay in this

state which Baptism gives us. And

we do, so long as we keep from

serious (mortal) sin. But, ignorant

and inclined to evil as we are, we

need another divine help to fight

against doing wrong. This God

gives us too. When we need it,
actual grace comes to "enlighten

our mind and strengthen our will”

so that we can stay holy—faithful

to God—by avoiding sin and doing
good.

Unfortunately we can reject this

help or grace, and commit mortal

sins, that is, we can do what we

know to be grave wrong from our

own consciousness of what God and
His Church have said is wrong.

Should we die in this state of sin,

we would lose God and Heaven
and go to Hell for all eternity. But

God provides help in our failures,

too, for He knows how weak we
are and how likely to fall. Through

His Church, He gives us two chief
ways to maintain His friendship,

and to increase our closeness to

Him: our God-likeness. One is

through our reception of the other

Sacraments of His Church. The sec-

ond is through prayer.

The Sacraments

After Baptism we can receive five

other sacraments — Penance, Holy
Eucharist, Confirmation, Matri-

mony, and Extreme Unction. (Men

may also receive the sacrament

called Holy Orders when they be-

come priests.
)
These sacraments are

all, like Baptism, "outward signs,

instituted by Christ, to give grace.”

It is through Penance (or Con-

fession, as it is popularly known)

that sanctifying grace is restored

should we fall into grave sin and

thus—we can again walk with God.
Our sins are forgiven in Confession

and in Holy Communion we actu-

ally receive God into our souls and

bodies. The rest of the sacraments

increase this state of sanctifying

grace, and all of the sacraments

give us special sacramental grace.

For example, the sacrament of Mat-

4



rimony helps those who are married

to do what they should for each

other and for their children.

Besides these seven essential

means for achieving and increasing

our state of holiness, we can also

simply ask through sincere prayer

to be more God-like. Every prayer

and good deed increases our friend-

ship with God and brings us closer

to Him.

Now, exactly what does all this

mean to a woman, in meeting the

trials and problems of every-day

living?

It means that every minute of my

life here can be full of happiness

and achievement, for no good I do

is useless or without reward. And

when my time comes to die, all the

joys, sufferings, and labor of my

lifetime on earth will contribute,

through God’s Redemption, to my

merit for the ultimate and eternal

reward—Heaven and happiness for-

ever with God.

I find in my Catholic Faith the

strong and deep assurance that I

can accomplish this wonderful state

of affairs: satisfaction here and per-

fect joy in Heaven. How could I
doubt when I know that it is

Christ’s Church which tells me

what I must do, how I must do it,

and helps me to do it. None of it

is easy, but a pointless existence

isn’t easy either, nor is it happy

and satisfying.

For a woman to know that every

small thing she does leads surely

to God—that every peeled potato,

every washed dish, every bandaged

knee is, in the eye of God and in

the design for her salvation, as

great as the spanned river, the

atom smashed, or the life saved—

this is true security, real peace of

mind, and living to the fullest.

Why does a woman need the
Catholic Faith? With it she lives

surely as God directs, and therein

is her positive blueprint for suc-

cessful life on earth and the final

reward of the "things God hath

prepared for them that love Him.”

We begin the quest for peace in our own family, in our own

neighborhood, in our own city. From there we go out to the world,

always obeying the Commandment: Thou shalt love thy God with thy

whole heart and with thy whole strength and thou shalt love thy

neighbor as thyself.

Let all men know you by your speech. When God is driven from

the hearts of men by persecutors, when His existence is denied, when

He is excluded from the high councils of His creatures, make acts of

reparation and atonement and by word and example lead others to

know and love and serve God.

Archbishop John F. O’Hara

5



THOSE TERRIBLE TEENS

=*=

Flip, thoughtless, headstrong,

immature, selfish!— How
often, we hear such critici-

isms of our teen-agers. I came

in for my share, I remem-

ber. And I recall that I

thought some of the critic-

isms justified. This, of *

course, I would not have

admitted at the time. And

at that age, I didn’t want to

be different, or better—I wanted to

be just like other girls.

For me, and for many like me,

it was in the seventh and eighth

grades I first noticed the great gap

between my parents and myself.

Oh, they still loved me, I knew; and

I loved them in a condescending

sort of way. I would continue to

try to do what they wanted in the

big things. After all, they did sup-

port me. But they simply didn’t

understand how I felt about almost

everything that mattered: like

clothes and boys and what school

I went to.

And they had gotten so bossy

about little things, like what time

I came home from a basketball

game or party, and my stopping for

a coke at the corner drug store. It

seemed that mother intentionally

forgot to put my blue jeans in the

laundry — because she hated
them so.

Of course, the nuns at

school were fussy, too. "Why

wouldn’t a party with only

girls be just as nice?” Just

as nice, maybe, but not

nearly so much fun. And all

the books we should read

and those we shouldn’t! And

did our families let us look

at just any TV program? And the

constant talk about being "lady-

like”—whatever that meant, and al-

ways dragging religion into every

class. "What would God’s mother

think of so much lipstick?” Didn’t

we want to imitate Mary? Well, we

did, of course, but we couldn’t help

wondering if Mary might not have

used lipstick if it were being worn

in her day. And did it really matter

to the Blessed Virgin if we did

"paint” our faces?

Yes, it was in my teens that my

parents and the nuns became dull

and staid old-fogies who either

didn’t know or had forgotten what

really mattered in life. I rebelled

against their authority and their

opinions both at home and at

school, but inwardly — for I was

naturally timid and had been

brought up never "to make scenes”

6



— I longed for the time when I
would "be my own boss” to come

and go as I pleased, dress the way

I wanted, and read whatever I

chose.

When I was a junior in high

school, my rebellion against re-

strictions grew into a compelling

urge to try out new things. I

couldn’t wait until my sixteenth

birthday and my permit to drive

the family car.

I was sick of the familiar cottage

at a near-by lake. Why couldn’t we
really travel and see something for

a change? I wondered if I would

like smoking, or would it make me

ill, like drinking did? Maybe I

ought to go out with Jim at least

once just to see, even though older

girls I knew said he was a "wolf.”

Oh, there were so many things I

didn’t know about. And I wanted

to know about everything. I had to

know.

Frightened "Sophisticate”

Along with this tremendous urge

to do, to try, to see, to know, I was

filled with a thousand and one

fears. I wouldn’t have admitted this

to anyone, of course. To appear

self-assured was vital; in fact noth-

ing else mattered quite so much.

But I was afraid—right down into

the marrow of my being. I was
afraid of the very new things that

I yearned so keenly to try out.

Would I be inept, so much so that

someone would know that I was a

novice? I could see myself driving

our car, nonchalantly and with as-

surance, but at the same time wor-

rying about my ability to do so
safely.

As for going out with Jim, well,

I simply didn’t want to. He would

want to pet. Now, just a goodnight

kiss wasn’t wrong, I thought. But

in one of our retreats at school, the

priest had said that prolonged and

intense kissing excited the passions.

How long was too long? There was
simply too much I didn’t know.

And would I be able to handle the

situation? I liked boys, and I wanted

them to like me. Did that mean I

would have to pet?

Made Me 111

And I was frightened, too, about

reading some of the books that

became best-sellers. I had read part

of one that the girls passed around.

It had made me feel odd, as if I

were going to be sick to my stom-

ach, so I had never finished it.

Doing as one pleased seemed to

have definite drawbacks, for I

didn’t know what I would like do-

ing, nor how to do it. It was small

satisfaction to know that all the

other girls were equally at sea. We
talked endless hours over malts, on

7



each other’s front porches during

the long summer evenings, at school,

in the midst of homework. But

despite the airs of braggadocio and

the remarks, "Oh, don’t be young,”

and "Aren’t parents naive,” and

"Do you suppose he’ll ever grow

up,” there were also breathless

questions like, "And then what did

you say?” and "Didn’t you nearly

die?” and "Wouldn’t you be afraid

to go out with him?”

Actually, as I look back now, I

was far more secure than I knew.

It was true that I lacked experience,

for that is a characteristic of almost

any young person. For the same

reason I lacked good judgment,

good taste, and the stability that

maturity should give. But I did

possess certain unshakable convic-

tions that were as much a part of

me as the color of my eyes and the

shape and arrangements of my

features. I took them as much for

granted as I did the house we lived

in and the food we ate.

Security in Faith

In the midst of my teen-age

problems, in the process of trying

my wings, it was these convictions

that kept me intact, good, fairly

happy, and safe. I now know that

they were nothing more than the

simple principles of my Faith that

I had learned and re-learned at

home and at school as long as I

could remember, for I had been

born and raised a Catholic.

First of all, I believed that there

is a God just as surely as I believed

that two and one are three. This

God could do anything or else He

wouldn’t be God. He made me,

expected certain things of me, loved

me, and wanted me with Him some
day in Heaven.

Secondly, I knew that there were

certain things I had to do purely

because I did belong to God. These

actions included obedience to the

Ten Commandments, the com-

mandments of His Church, and

generally being what I would have

called "good.” If I became confused

about what is "good,” I knew that

I could, with no one knowing, ask

any priest in Confession to tell me

what was right.

Because I knew that there is a

Hell, a Heaven, and that God is

loving and watching over me, it

became extremely important that I

stay good. I wouldn’t have talked

about it to my best friend; perhaps

I didn’t admit it to myself — or
exactly know it at the time — but
the facts of my religion were there

to be hung on to, and lived by.

And so I finished high school.

On the surface I looked and acted

pretty much like any other eight-

een-year old girl. I was still flip,

often sarcastic, thoughtless and

eager for the future. My interests
were largely superficial and almost

entirely material. I wanted a car of

my own; I constantly "needed” new

clothes; I considered our house and

everything in it shabby and out-

moded, and secretly wondered why

my father didn’t make a lot more

money.

Then, out of the blue, my mother

asked me, "Would you like to work

your way through college? We’ll

help you all we can. Or do you

want to get a job?” It was a big

decision, but a month at business

8



school had left me weary of typing

and of the seemingly difhcult-to-

master shorthand. College looked

simpler somehow, and more fun.

The Searching

Actually, it wouldn’t have mat-

tered what my choice was. For a

girl, college or a first job can both

be labeled— the waiting period. The

young girl is waiting for life to

begin; she wants to do big things.

The word sacrifice is real to her.

All her earlier yearnings have

merged into a burning desire to

give herself—her enthusiasms, her

talents, her vigor, her life. We
Catholics call it: wanting to find

her vocation.

The word vocation means a way

of life; it is a choice of a pattern

of living by which a person saves

her soul. There are three possible

vocations open to the young girl:

the religious life, the single life,

and the married life. All three lead

to God; all three demand heroism,

sacrifice, and virtuous living. For

the young girl today the most im-

portant question in her mind is,

'What am I going to do? What

does the future hold for me?” And

never, in all the eras of history,

has that question been more diffi-

cult to answer. Never has a young

girl needed more help.

Marriage

Recently I worked with young

women in college and in the prepa-

ration for marriage conferences

that hundreds of Catholic parishes

and schools now sponsor. I found

these girls deeply serious about their

lives, and it is to their religion that

they turn for help. In the very

nature of things, since God made

man and woman, most girls lean

towards marriage as their vocation.

Each new generation of young

women contemplating the married

state must make their decisions in

the light of prevailing social pres-

sures. One of the greatest trends at

present is that toward early dating,

early courtship and early marriage.

A woman’s basic education is her
best dowry. Young women often

must decide whether they will con-

tinue their education or enter mar-

riage; whether they will marry dur-

ing college or wait until the desired

degree is obtainel.

The teachings of the Catholic

Church relative to courtship and the

Sacrament of Matrimony enable the

young woman to act with a maturity

of judgment. The present attitude

that there is no time, that if you

aren’t married and settled and have

your career and a house before you

are twenty-five, you are never going

to get these things is a misleading

and dangerous line of thought.

Marry in haste and repent for a

lifetime. The Catholic girl is taught

9



that marriage is a sacred vocation

requiring proper preparation for the

responsibilities involved. When she
enters marriage, she knows that her

marriage is permanent and the voca-

tion in life in which she freely

chooses to save her soul. Should her

marriage mean constant travelling,

trailer camps, difficult living condi-

tions with babies, illness, and being

distant from friends and relatives—

that, too, is her vocation.

For some girls another love to

which to give themselves is the

only possible vocation. This is the

religious life. They become nuns.

In a very real sense, they choose

God as their life’s companion, and,

like their married sisters, love

dominates their every act. To the

outsider, the life of a nun looks

singularly uncomplicated, secure,

and even easy. But Sisters must be

self-sacrificing, virtuous, and often

heroic and it is through the con-

stant use of their Catholic Faith

that they are so. They give up com-

pletely their own personal freedom,

going wherever their Superior sends

them: it may be to serve India’s

starving millions, to deal with

thirty squirming American fifth-

graders, or to cook, scrub, serve the

sick, the old, the orphaned. They

give up the joys of family life, the

comforts of personal possessions,

modern clothing, and the ease that

money can buy. They lean heavily

upon God’s promises to the pure of

heart and upon the graces they can

obtain through Him and His
Church.

Some girls choose to love God

in the world without the joys and

privileges of either marriage or the

religious life in the convent. Too

often the unobservant fail to realize

that this single life is as truly a

vocation, an answer to love, as are

the married and the religious lives.

It is true that the choice of a single

life is forced on many girls today,

but the Catholic girl knows that

God uses circumstances to indicate

His will, to show what He wants

for her, what would be best for

her. Dependent and aged parents

sometimes make the choice of a

religious life impossible, and the

death of a fiance or the failure of

the right man to appear rule out

marriage.

Promptings To Serve

An unmarried young Catholic
woman today may dedicate herself

to the service of her fellowman

because her religion teaches her to

see in everyone another Christ. For

such women, it is often a lonely,

heroic, selfless way. They are un-

known, unheralded, and often un-

distinguishable from the non-Catho-

lic girls with whom they work. In

reality, they are as different from

them as day is from night.

They live in the same de-Chris-

tianized world where God and His

laws are often absent from business

deals, social life and the routine

duties of every day. They are sur-

rounded by the same temptations to

over-emphasize the importance of

material things. They see the

worldly success of others who live

by such dictums as: "I’m not my

brother’s keeper,” "Let the other

fellow do it,” and "Why shouldn’t

I take what I can get?” Yet they

continue to live by such truths as:

10



"My brother and I are one in

Christ; I must act as Christ would

act.”

It is because of the strength of

their Catholic beliefs that young

girls can ignore the yard-stick of

material success and not follow in

the ways of those who strive merely

to "get ahead.” While they wait

for a God-made marriage, or come

to accept a single life as their voca-

tion, they live apostolic lives of

service to those who need their

help. I see examples of their gener-

osity everywhere. In my city there

are three girls, dedicated to the lay

apostolate, who came solely to help

families of limited means. For what

we can afford to pay, they come

into our homes and do whatever

needs doing. The wonderful one I

have had sings as she scrubs floors

and walls. She took complete charge

of my family of seven when I had

to be in the hospital. She is a mas-

terhand with a new baby, a sick

mother, and four noisy boys.

I have many unmarried friends

who give hours to clerking in the

local St. Vincent de Paul store and

at the Catholic library and book-

shop. Most of their leisure goes to

working with the parish Catholic

Youth Organization, groups, the

Legion of Mary, and helping at the

day-school for retarded children.

Many of them are taking care of

their elderly parents and aiding

financially a married brother or

sister. Their lives are useful, happy

and full because of one thing—their

Catholic Faith and training.

Talents Needed

So it is that the Catholic young

girl need not be adrift, frustrated,

restless and unhappy. There is a

definite place for her in the world.

She knows that whatever her talents

may be, they are needed. And while

she waits to try her skills and to

find her niche, the Catholic beliefs

that her school and her parents

have taught her keep her pure of

heart and of body, and ready for the

work that is to be hers as a woman,

and through them she will save

her soul.

Bachelor girls who begin to think along lines of serving human

beings, in their bodily and spiritual needs, as a fulfillment of their

dedication to God, will not complain about single life being useless.

They will see that for the family of their own they passed up they

have substituted a family scattered over the nation, over the world.

Thus single women can attain to full personal self-realization, achieve

a life of great social usefulness, give themselves to the practice of

endless good works and so reap a generous measure of genuine

happiness, though they are single.

Rev. Hugh Calkins, O.S.M.

11



...For Better or For Worse...

For me God chose marriage.

I can think of no way of

life that demands more of a

woman. It literally uses all

my strength, my talents, my

time, my mind and heart

and soul.

I would not have it other-

wise. If the biblical story of

the talents means anything,

it means to use all of myself.

Every latent power, every gift and

ability, every function of my body

and soul God expects me to use

and develop to their fullest.

God made my husband and me

for each other throughout all eter-

nity, just as surely as we chose each

other individually and sacramen-

tally in time on October tenth,

1936. To use myself fully in this

vocation which God and I selected

. . . that is a life worth living.

My marriage, my adulthood, two-
thirds of my entire life, has been—

with God’s help—a real success. My
husband, my children and I are

happy in an oftentimes miserable

world, and I can and do look for-

ward to being with them forever

in Heaven.

Yes, this is a life worth living,

but it is a full-time job to make it

that way. I am constantly trying to

do more than I think I can

really do. In fact, I am

always doing more than I

thought I could do. Because

of my Catholic Faith — and
my reliance upon God —

I

am able often to achieve the

seemingly impossible. I just

say to God, "I have this tor

do, God, and I just know

that I can’t do it. ° Will you

help me?” You see, I don’t do it;

God does it through me.

But you and I both know that

even if God does see us through,

the going is still not easy. And yet

we see thousands of Catholic wives

deliberately choosing the hardest

way. For example, why does the

good Catholic wife have all the

children God chooses to send her?

She could, as some women do,

choose birth control because, as

they say, more than three children

are too much work, too expensive,

too heavy a physical burden, or

simply because a new car seems

more desirable than a new baby.

Why does a Catholic wife go on

'living, year after year, with a hus-

band many women would divorce?

—the poor provider, the un-exciting

plodder, the jealous unreasoning

despot, the playboy, the arrested

12



adolescent, the habitual drinker, the

sadistic introvert? She does it be-

cause Catholic women believe they

have undertaken certain duties and

responsibilities through their mar-

riage vows that are irrevocable.

How do they do it?—with God’s
help that comes to them through

their Catholic Faith.

Because of what a Catholic wife

believes and accepts as binding in

the marriage contract, her attitude

is entirely different from that of

the wife who does not have the

same religious viewpoint concern-

ing the Sacrament of Marriage and

the binding obligation it involves.

When I pledged myself to my
husband, I said these words, "I,

Helen, take thee, Paul, for my law-

ful husband, to have and to hold,

from this day forward, for better,

for worse, for richer, for poorer, in

sickness and in health, until death

do us part.” As much as anyone can

realize before the actual experience,

I knew that these words were ab-

solutely binding and meant exactly

what they said. I was promising, no

matter what happened, to live with

this man until one of us died.

Anchor of The Home

Small wonder, then, that I, and

millions of other Catholic wives,

do not fall in and out of love, or

run home to mother when the go-

ing is rough. We expected to stick
to our bargain. Even should one of

us have to live apart from her

husband (because of insanity, con-

tagious disease, physical brutality,

and the like) she knows that he

will always be her husband. There

is no new partner, no second marri-

age, no chance to try a n$w love.

What else does a Catholic wife

believe about marriage? Well, I

know that in the literal sense of the

term, my marriage was made in

Heaven. Once my husband and I
pronounced our vows, God ratified

them; for each of us this spouse

is now and henceforth "the one and

only.” Others may continue to

whisper, "What does she see in

him?” My parents may still wish
that I had married someone else.

But for me, my husband is the only

husband I may have as long as he

lives; and only with him can I

save my soul.

It’s Sacred

I know, too, that my marriage

is more than just a legal contract.

Matrimony is a sacrament instituted

by Christ to give my husband and

me a life together that is above the

worldly order. We are surrounded
by God’s overflowing grace, and

the serious and binding promises

we made on our wedding day were

made with complete trust. God’s

grace fortifies us in every difficulty;

it helps us find the answers to our

problems, or it lifts us to the ac-

ceptance of the unanswerable and

seemingly unendurable.

I also know that God meant it

when He said, "These two are one.”

From the very beginning of time

He has emphasized the unity of

husband and wife: Eve was made

from the flesh and bone of Adam;

the sign of union in the marriage

ceremony is the clasping of hands.

To a Catholic wife this unity means

far more than "the two shall be-

come one flesh.”

13



My husband and I are one flesh
—that is our physical unity. But we

should be one in mind and soul,

too; this is our mental and spiritual

unity. Surely when God made Paul

and me for each other, and when

we chose each other forever, this

mutual gift of self included more

than our bodies. In true love one

wishes to give all to the one loved.

Thus it is that the unity God

insists on implies complete and

lasting love. In the ideal Catholic

marriage, love, if it is to be all-

inclusive arid permanent, is con-

stantly growing. In fact, it is my

obligation to cultivate and increase

my love for my husband. This has

very practical and telling applica-

tions. I do not attend parties and

dances with the husbands of my

friends; I do not dwell upon, for

my own enjoyment, the attractions

of other men. This is spiritual in-

fidelity and the fore-runner of

physical infidelity, or at least a

prelude to falling "out of love”

with my own husband.

Head of My House

On the positive side I think

about, talk about, and thank God

for the good qualities of my hus-

band. My conversation with my
friends is liberally sprinkled with

"Paul said and Paul thinks. . .” I

show Paul, too, in every way I can

think of, that he is more important

to me than any other person in the

world. In times of family stress,

severe illness, and life’s innumer-

able difficulties it is his judgment

I accept, his strength I lean upon,

his presence I seek.

The children hear me say often,

"I don’t know, but I’m sure Dad

would. No, I can’t fix that, but

Dad can. Let’s ask Dad if he wants

to go.” With five boys and an

eight-room house I can’t always

look as if I just came out of a

band-box, but I can and do have

house dresses of the colors and style

he likes. I try to show my interest
in his hobbies and in his work. He

knows that he is the center of my

life. I am the center of his.

God Comes First

Because in a Catholic marriage

religion is the most important pos-

session, my husband and I agree on

the things that matter most. As a

Catholic does not believe that "one

religion is as good as another,”

tolerance of another way of wor-

shiping God is very difficult, and

frequently makes trouble in mixed

marriages. Both of us agree that all

of our children are to be raised

Catholics, and, if at all possible,

sent to a Catholic school. We go to
Mass every Sunday and every other

morning that it is possible in a

hectic breakfast-school-work sched-

ule of a large family. We think that
it is necessary to go to Confession

and to receive Holy Communion

frequently. Baptism of the new

baby, First Communion, Confirma-

tion, being a server at Mass, con-

stant conversation about God, His

saints, Mary, and Heaven are im-

portant in our household. These

common interests knit us and our

family together as nothing else

could.

Even our outside enthusiasms

promote our unity. The center of

our outside-the-home activities is

14



the parish, that individual Catholic

church nearest to us. All religious

events take place there (like Bap-

tism) and many social ones as well:

lawn parties, parish hall square

dances, Holy Name, Altar Society,

and Catholic Youth meetings. Even

the Cub, Boy, and Girl Scouts are

affiliated with the national groups

through the parish.

So it is, mentally and spiritually,

that the unity which must exist be-

tween my husband and me is pro-

moted by our mutual concern in

things Catholic.

Physically we are united, too. As

"Christ and the Church are one

Body,” husband and wife are one

flesh. "And the two shall become

one flesh.” Too often the Catholic

Church is thought to frown upon

sex. Perhaps because her priests and

Sisters take the vow of chastity, the

false conclusion is drawn that the

Church considers sex bad. This is

far from the truth. Precisely because

the Church regards the sex urge

made by God as good and highly

important, does she ask her religi-

ous to give up its satisfaction. One

does not give up what is bad; it is

already forbidden.

Unity Is Vital

The giving of my body to my

husband (and his to me) is part of

the trilogy of union in our marri-

age. It is truly a gift of great love,

and a duty, too. Nothing so com-

pletely expresses our unity, particu-

larly when it is added to mental,

emotional, and spiritual unity as it

is in an ideal mariage. But our mar-

riage, or any other, does not rest

merely upon sex love. Into the life

of every happy, normal couple

comes times of abstinence from sex

during serious or contagious disease,

in times of separation, during late

pregnancy, and by mutual consent.

No good marriage fails during
these times, nor do these periods

of marital continence cause unhap-

piness or infidelity.

Another principle that a Catholic

wife knows she must live by is the

Biblical principle that the husband

is the head of the household. St.

Paul says in his epistle, read in the

Nuptial Mass, "Let wives be subject

to their husbands as to the Lord,

because a husband is head of the

wife, just as Christ is head of the

Church Just as the Church is

subject to Christ, so also let wives

be to their husbands in all things.”

Proper Relationship

This, of course, does not mean

anything that harms the dignity of

a wife, for St. Paul goes on to say,

"Husbands love your wives, just as

Christ also loved the Church, and

delivered Himself up for her.”

Every well-run business has a

president, and marriage is the busi-

ness of my life. I, too, need some-

one to formulate a general policy

and to make big and final decisions.

Every wife knows that in the daily

routine of living almost all choices

are hers. But in important issues

where the welfare of the family is

seriously involved, the husband has

the final say. Of course, the hus-

band, bound by love too, must

consider carefully the wishes, tastes,

and opinions of his wife.

There are many less obvious im-

plications to be drawn from the

15



headship of the husband. In the

Catholic household the husband is

first through love as well as by

right. I defer to his opinions, I rely

on his judgment, and I try to dis-

cuss everything with him. I never

belittle him before the children or

before his friends in spite of many

temptations to do so. When I do
not agree with his choice, I must

not take refuge in bitter arguments

before the children or even make

small remarks to show that Dad’s

decision is ill-advised. In social

groups I do not interrupt, add to,

or correct my husband’s conversa-
tion. Rather do I quote his ideas

and laud his achievements.

My Duties

These, then, are my obligations
to my husband. And, if I love him

a great deal, they become willing

gifts instead of reluctant duties. But

family life and today’s hectic living

can wear true love rather thin.

Oftentimes the wear-and-tear of

every-day existence makes a woman

hate, the world, herself, and even

those nearest and dearest to her. Love

has been temporarily suffocated, or at

least it lies dormant. In these situ-

ations, therefore, her Catholic Faith

is the only answer. The woman with

convictions of right and wrong,

with a sense of duties that must be

done, with a belief that God is truly

with her, can and does survive these

dreary, depressing and overwhelm-

ingly unhappy intervals that can

come to everyone.

When a wife and mother is worn
out from child-bearing and too

much work, when one of the chil-

dren is stricken ill, when her first

teen-ager chooses bad companions

in spite of Catholic training and

the years of example and training

at home, when her husband changes

before her eyes into a morose and

gloomy man with unpredictable

moods, the Catholic wife goes on.

She can go on, not merely because

she wants to, which would be love,

but because she must—for that is

her Catholic Faith.

For me the success of my voca-
tion—my way of life and my only
road to Heaven—the happiness of

my husband, the well-being of my
children and the permanence of my
marriage—all need faith. I must

have it; without it I would fail. My
talents, my work, the talents and
work of my husband, our great love
for each other, our education and

common interests—all of this is not

enough to insure the security of

our union and of our continued

happiness together. We need our
Catholic religion.

Right and Wrong

It is imperative that we be con-

vinced of two things: there are

right things that we must do, and

there are wrong things that we

cannot do—independently of our

feelings, our wishes, and even of

our love. Furthermore we must

know that God gives us the strength,

the courage and the persistence to

do all that we should, no matter

what hardships and difficulties

come and no matter how impossible

the doing may seem. With this kind

of faith and this kind of grace no

marriage can fail and every marri-

age will bring husband and wife to

Heaven.

16



MOTHER’S WORK..JEVER DONE

When my husband and I

chose marriage to each other,

we also chose to have chil-

dren. The primary purpose

of marriage, from the Catho-

lic point of view, is cooper-

ation with God through the

marriage act in bringing

new human beings into the

world.

As Catholics we could not

decide that we were sufficient unto

ourselves and that we would never

have any children. Only God could

make that decision for us. So it was

that we expected to have children.

In fact, like most couples of any

religion, we eagerly anticipated

their coming.

But quite often the actuality of

a baby is far different from what

the young couple anticipated. The

unending diapers, the sleepless

nights, the unexplained crying and

the constant physical demands tend

to overshadow the first wonder and

gratitude of a "baby of our own."

Far too many parents of an only

child are heard to say, "One was

enough for us,” or they repeat the

old joke, "We wouldn’t take a
million dollars for xhe one we have,

or give a plugged nickel for an-

other one." One doctor friend of

ours, who probably thought

he was showing his great

love for his wife, said to me,

"I’d never let my wife go

through THAT again.”
I have been pregnant ten

times and at no time during

our seventeen years of mar-

riage has my husband had

more opportunities to show

his love for me. Perhaps

because of all the "extra” manifes-

tations of his affection, I seem to

be more aware of my love for him.

This is especially true when our

baby is being born.

It seems to me, therefore, that

the begetting and raising of a

family increases the love of the

parents. I do not claim that this

love in any way eliminates or de-

creases the suffering, the worries,

the problems, and the economic

pressures. But the knowledge of

Catholic parents that they must

have children if God sends them,

that they want and will love all of

these children, and that in helping

to produce their bodies they have

done a truly wonderful and meri-

torious thing—more human beings

to love, honor, and serve God—all

these build an attitude in complete

variance with what is the vogue

17



of so-called parenthood in many

homes these days.

For example, we know that our

children belong to God. They are

not our sole property to do with as

we want, to push into molds of our

choice. They are not mere exten-

sions of ourselves through whom

we live again and whom we try to

coerce into doing all that we didn’t

do in our own lives. We are not
proud of their achievements or

ashamed of their seeming failures

because these reflect upon us. We
try, on the other hand, to see them

as "loans” from God, given to us

temporarily to love and cherish,

to clothe and feed and educate, to

develop the temperaments, the tal-

ents, and the character latent in

them.

Truly a child is "a hostage to the

future.” For the next twenty years

I, his mother, am responsible for

him. Next to my work as a wife,

this is the most important thing in

my life. I must try with every means

at my command to equip him to

take his destined place in Heaven.

I am not too concerned that he re-

ceive what is known as "every ad-

vantage,” that is, the best schools,

the better neighborhoods, perhaps

dancing schools, music lessons and

social contacts with the wealthy and

powerful. What I really must see to

is that his character is trained and

that in his contacts at school, at

home and socially, he grows in

grace, in dignity, and with a knowl-

edge of and belief in the things

that really matter. This, my work
as a mother, comes before my own

comfort and health, before my own
leisure, wants and pleasure. This is

my life’s work.

Besides seeing our children as

belonging to God and entitled to

the training that should lead them

back to Him, my husband and I,
as Catholics, recognize their right

to love.

Now I know non-Catholic par-
ents love their children too, for

parental love is God-given. But love

can be misguided. How many of
us know parents, Catholic and non-

Catholic, who say, "My children are

going to have all the things I didn’t

have when I was young.” And the

children are showered with every

material gift so that they become

selfish, demanding, and pampered,

completely unaware of the joys of

work, of wanting, and of giving to

others. How often, too, do we see
parents blinded by love to the faults

and frailties of their own. Their

children can do no wrong, so they

grow up uncurbed and uncorrected,

with lying tongues and uncontrol-

lable tempers.

A True Love

True love of our own demands

restraint and a stern discipline of

many of our natural urges. But

children have a right to the love

that gives them what is best for

them, that is, training for life as it

should and has to be lived. They

must learn to want without gratifi-

cation, to give without return, and

to work without recompense. They

must learn to lean not on places,

things and people but upon them-

selves and God. This is the kind of

love we must give to them.

Besides giving our children the

right kind of love, we must teach

18



them how to love. This means how

to love God and all of God’s cre-

atures. This is vitally important.

And again, the Catholic mother

needs her faith in order not to fall

into the deceptive trap of the

famous Golden Rule: "Do unto

others as you would have done unto

you,” and to understand how the

world overemphasizes love of self,

even under the guise of humani-

tarianism (the Golden Rule) and

religion ( self-sanctification. ) This

produces a doctrine of kindness and

decency to others so others will be

kind and decent to you. Save your

own soul, it suggests; never mind

the destination of others. Preserve

yourself, develop yourself, enjoy

yourself. In contrast, we should

realize that only love of God and

neighbor will produce children who

will grow up to care more about

the welfare of others than their own

ease and material gain.

But love of God and neighbor

must be taught. This is begun and

best done at home. I must talk

about God as easily and as often

as I talk about anything else. Be-

cause I am conscious of God’s near-

ness and grace I often chat with

Him, particularly in moments of

stress or need. For my children’s

sake I must remember to talk to

God out loud. "Please God, help me

right now. Show me what to do

Yes, Johnny, you can go on the

field trip with the boys for God

will take care of you, I know

You are good, Jane, to help me;

God is good to give me such a nice

daughter.”

There are many less direct ways

in which we show our children that

we love God. Their father does not

swear as he fixes their broken

bicycles. We have to drive past our
parish church to reach down town,

and they soon notice that he always

tips his hat as we pass God’s house.

We say grace before and after
meals. Rain or snow, in season and

out, nothing keeps us away from

Mass on Sundays and the prescribed

holydays. Because we believe that

God cannot be separated from his-

tory and art and science, we send

our children to Catholic schools at

our own expense, even though our

taxes help support the public schools

and we live nearer to one. In fact,

God is really a member of our

family, part and parcel of our

every-day life.

Love Our Neighbors

For a mother to teach her chil-

dren to love one’s neighbor is not

so easy, and yet, next to loving God,

nothing is so important to the de-

velopment of a child or the welfare

of the world. Again the place to

begin is at home and if the ordinary

child can learn to love the superior,

condescending older brother or

bossy big sister, he has made a

wonderful start toward understand-

ing true brotherly love. Mere talk

about loving one’s neighbor gets

nowhere; it is example that counts.

Then, after love of brothers and

sisters might come the neighbor

next door, the same one who fusses

so if you step on her grass or throw

a ball in her garden. Of course, I

send over a casserole of meat and

potatoes and a salad when she is ill,

but that is the minimum. I also try

to keep my children off her pretty

19



lawn and out of her tomato plants,

and to respect the work that has

gone into them. My patience with
the door-to-door peddlers should be

an example to my children. So also

with clerks in stores, the other chil-

dren in our yard, the trash man, the

families in our block, no matter

their race or religious beliefs. All

of them were made by God and are

all our "brothers in Christ.” I must

treat them that way.

A Big Job
Loving my children in the right

way and teaching them to love God

and His creatures is really only half

of my job as their mother. I still

must live with them, and they with

me. Of course, this would be simple

if we all just remembered to prac-

tice our love for one another. But

we learn to love as we live, and we

are often inexperienced and ignor-

ant. Always we have our faulty, frail

selves to deal with. We find it so
difficult to know what love really

is, and even more difficult to show

our love.

But, as always, God provides the

help and direction, and gives us the

grace to keep trying. I often won-

der how my non-Catholic friends,

many of them with no particular

religion, do such a good job of rais-

ing their children. I find that rais-

ing my children takes more than

common sense, books on child

psychology, education and a firm

determination to teach them what

is right. It does take all of these,

and in large measure, but, at least

in my case, it takes a great deal

more.

I need the instruction and direc-

tion that I receive from the prin-

ciples of my Catholic religion and
I need the help and encouragement

that are constantly given to me
through Mass and the Sacraments.

When I realize that it is chiefly
through example that my children
learn, then I know that it is my own
actions in the home that count

most. Therefore, I cannot turn my
responsibilities over to a succession

of cleaning women, baby-sitters and

mother substitutes. Perhaps house-

work is monotonous drudgery, but

watching one’s own children grow

and develop can be wonderfully

exciting and rewarding. In any case,

it is my job and I must do it as
well as I can.

So here I am, in my home, the

chief source of example to my

children. Unfortunately, this is just

where most of us fail, and it is

exactly the place where we cannot

afford to fail. I must literally do all

of the things that I want my chil-

dren to learn to do. Just as they

learn to handle their silverware

correctly and with ease by watching

how their father and I use ours, so

do they learn to speak and almost

to think as we do. This is a tre-

mendous responsibility for parents

and yet it must be shouldered.

The Little Things

So I try frequently to take a frank

look at myself. Am I shouting at
my noisy Peter and Johnny, "Shut

up, you two”? If I am, they will all

too soon and too often be shouting,

even louder, "shut up” at each other

and at me. No brotherly love there,
or parental respect either. If I scold

and fuss as they track mud and sand

20



on my clean floors, if I become

caustically impatient as they pick

at a disliked vegetable or postpone

the routine of getting to bed, then

the virtue of patience is not grow-

ing within me and it isn’t likely to

start growing within them.

If I complain that I never have

any new clothes or go any place

that’s fun, if I groan audibly and

frequently as I hang the clothes,

"With five children I certainly

ought to have a dryer,” then how

will those children really feel secure

and wanted? If I mutter about our

old car everytime I struggle with

its broken door handle, will my

boys believe that I would rather

have them than the latest model

station wagon? Will they come to

know that Paul and I really believe

that children are more important

than material possessions?

Will they know that we believe

Catholic education is a necessity if

we send them to the nearby public

school because it is free and in-

volves no transportation costs? If

money and what it will buy is our

main concern, will they believe us

when we tell them that spiritual

values are all that count?

No; I must do what I preach and

live what I believe. I know by now

how hard this is, for I know my-

self—how weak-willed I am, despite

my beliefs and the best of inten-
tions. I would be certain that I

could not be the kind of mother I

must be, except for my Catholic
faith. Because I know with absolute

conviction that all the things I am

trying to do for my children are
right and good, I am sure of what

kind of person I must be.

I must be kind, and loving, and

patient. I must live all that I believe

in the midst of a world that flatly

disagrees with me: God is to be

worshiped in His one, true, Catho-

lic Church; the Ten Command-

ments are to be obeyed as are the

laws of His Church. As a mother I

must recognize the rights of my
children—they belong to God. They

are to be given clothing, food, and

Catholic education, with example

and discipline at home directed to

making them mature and able to

face life as it should be lived. Most

of all I must try to put God’s wishes

and the welfare of all of His cre-

atures first in everything that I do

and say. In that way, and only in

that way, will my children learn

what Christian love really is.

By its very nature love is a sacred thing, an element of natural

religion; and it is peculiarly fitting that in revealed religion the con-

summation of love in marriage should be elevated by Christ to the

dignity of a sacrament. Matrimony places upon the shoulders of its

recipients a mantle of holiness, indicating henceforth their partnership

with God. Well has it been said:

A partnership with God is motherhood.
What strength, what purity, what self-control,

What love, what wisdom, should belong to her

Who helps God fashion an immortal soul.
Rev. John A. O’Brien

21



CATHOLIC WOMEN IN
TODAY’S WORLD

While I have ever felt the

great need to be a Catholic,

especially after I grew up

and took on the responsibil-

ities of marriage and chil-

dren, I think I am now

becoming more and more

conscious of an even great-

er need of my faith. If as

a mother and wife in the

home I have needed the

principles of my religion, how

much more do I find that I need

them to do my part as a woman

in the world! And today every

woman finds herself thrust into

the world whether she wants to

be or not.

It remains true, of course, that a

wife and mother’s first place is in

the home; this is especially so when

the children are small. But, as the

children grow older, more and more

do their friends, their reading, their

hobbies and their group activities

expose them to influences far re-

moved from the schoolroom and

their own fireside. I feel, therefore,

that it is imperative that I know

all I can about this new world of

my children. Starting with the com-

munity in which we live, I must

take part in the organization and

programs of the youth groups

whose aims agree with my

principles. It takes time and

effort to participate in a

Scout-o-Rama and the Blue

Birds’ donut sale, to chap-

erone a CYO square dance,
and real heroism to become

a Den Mother. But what

other way is there to know

what is really going on and

to try to direct things into

the channels I want them to go?

And all this is but a very small

beginning. I cannot be satisfied to

take part in just what affects my

own small community. This is

shortsightedness, for even State,

national and international affairs

affect my children as well as the

clubs they belong to and the city

they live in. I must not, therefore,

be ignorant of or indifferent to the

social, economic and political world

outside of my own small circle.

Furthermore, the real concern I

must have in everyone’s children

wouldn’t permit me such smug

isolation.

As a mother with older children,

and along with widows, childless

wives, and single women, I must

heed the words of Pope Pius XII:

"Every woman has then, mark it

well, the obligation, the strict obli-

22



gation in conscience, not to absent

herself, but to go into action in a

manner and way suitable to the

condition of each so as to hold back

those currents which threaten the

home, so as to oppose those doc-

trines which undermine its founda-

tion, so as to prepare, organize and

achieve its restoration.”

It is impossible to overestimate

the value to the world of a woman’s

achievement in the family. No
wonder the Pope urges all women

to safeguard what has been accom-

plished. The well-being of the en-

tire nation is only as secure as the

families that are in it. The very

existence of all agencies depend

upon the family.

We Are Teachers
We mothers, no matter what our

formal education may have been,

are important educators. We are
the ones who pass on the traditions

of our Christian civilization, our

Western culture, and our Catholic

religion to the new generation. We
really make the men and women

of the future who in turn make a

better world by their work in gov-

ernment, in teaching, in business,

and in the arts and professions.

The mothers and fathers of the

future are trained by us for mar-

riage and their work as parents.

The girls learned not only how to

cook, sew, and to keep house, but

also that these are occupations

worthy of the dignity of women,

not drudgery to be tolerated or to

be put off upon paid help when-

ever possible. The boys learned to

paint, to saw and to build, and to

develop their masculine qualities of

firmness, justice, kindness, and ob-

jectivity.

And who can measure the effects

of a wife’s love for her husband

upon his contacts with the world

outside the home? He works in a
highly competitive society where

the pressure for speed, accomplish-

ment and ability is very great. He
needs the rest, the security and the

comfort of his home, and most of

all the inspiration and encourage-

ment of his wife.

Actually, then, it appears that

everything good in life benefits

from happy and stable family life.

Women must strive to keep it that
way, because family life, according

to God’s plan, is in jeopardy. As

the Pope has said, the new social

and political situation today "threat-

ens to prejudice her (the woman’s)

mission as a mother and the good

of the family. It might even be-

come still more precarious for the

sanctity of the home, and hence for

women’s dignity. Your day is here,

Catholic women and girls. Public

life needs you Your destiny is

at stake.”

What, practically speaking, can

the ordinary Catholic women do?

What can I do?

Outside Duties

I must take part, insofar as my

duties to my husband, my children

and my home permit, in the politi-

cal, social and religious activities

about me that aim at helping the

family develop and prosper. For

example, with my vote I can choose

for political office men and women

of integrity. I can even campaign

with other determined women for

23



necessary and good reforms, like

better housing, strict pure food

laws, and decent literature on our

news and drug store stands. Even

in world affairs, I can pray unceas-

ingly for a Commonwealth of Na-

tions and for a lasting peace.

Equally close to home are many

social affairs upon which I can have

an even more direct effect. In my

own parish I can join the Altar and

Rosary society instead of merely

paying my dues and criticizing

their policies. Keeping the linens

spotless, cleaning the church, and

decorating the altars is a holy work

and pleasing to God. I also can

organize and take part in study

clubs in order to learn more about

God and His laws and so love and

serve Him more. Participation in
these religious groups and in civic

and charitable organizations is the

very best way I can make articulate

the Catholic principles that I be-

lieve in.

The destructiveness of gossip

common among women is well

known. Believing it wrong to harm

another’s reputation, perhaps I can

change the trend of group conver-

sations by my remarks about the
victim’s good qualities and my

pleasure over her achievements or

good fortune.

In any group a good woman can

raise the level of its conversation,

its entertainments, and its purposes.

She can do this because she is a

living example of the truths that

she believes, and because of her

very nature as a woman. God made

every woman to be a mother, either

physically or spiritually. All the

characteristics of a woman reveal

this purpose of the Creator. Her

body is built to bear children; her

mind and her emotions possess a

sensitiveness and delicacy peculi-

arly feminine. This is the dignity of

woman that the Catholic Church

has proclaimed throughout all the

centuries since the time of Christ.

This is why the first place in

Heaven is reserved for Mary, the

perfect model for all women.

Everything, then, in my faith

protects my position as a woman;

everything in my faith shows me

the work I can best do as a woman.

God in my making gave me the

very nature best fitted for doing

what the world needs most: the

preservation of the home, the fam-

ily, and society. How glad I am to
be a woman! And how blessed am

I to have my Catholic Faith to guide

me, to lean upon, to turn to for

truth, understanding, strength and

security.

Christ’s clear teachings on marriage and divorce are being chal-

lenged today by many men and women . . . The challengers are of two

kinds: the pagan-minded people who know nothing about Christ;

and those people, still calling themselves Christians, who long ago

gave up their loyalty to Christ’s laws.

Rev. Roger L. Vossberg

24



KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS - RELIGIOUS INFORMATION BUREAU
-

4422 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis 8, Missouri

List of pamphlets available at the above address. One title may be requested at a time free

of charge. Several titles, complete sets, and quantities of individual pamphlets may be ordered

at 7$ for each pamphlet, plus postage.

3. The Bible is a Catholic Book

5. Christ’s Seven Sacraments

6. The Holy Sacrifice — the Catholic
Mass

7. Why the Catholic Church says "Inves-
tigate” — Masons, Inquisition, Nuns

8. Speaking of Tolerance — Controver-
sial periods in history

9. These Men They Call "Knights”

10. Why Catholics Believe As They Do
— Existence of God, Immortality

11. A Short Story of the Popes
12. Let’s Stick to Moses — Ten Com-

mandments explained

13. But Can It Be Found in the Bible? —
Bible not sole rule of faith

14. What Happens After Death?

15. Yes ... I Condemned The Catholic

Church

16. What Do You Mean "Only One True
Church”?

17. But How Can Educated People Be
Catholics?

18. No . . . Belief in God is not Enough!

19. The Real Secret of Successful Mar-

riage

20. The Way to Everlasting Life . . . The
Catholic Church

21. Is the Catholic Church a Menace to

Democracy?

22. But Do You Really Understand the
Bible? — Rules for understanding

23. A Letter to Our Non-Catholic Neigh-
bors — Aspects of Catholic faith

24. Yes, the Mother of God Will Help
You!

25. What Makes a Woman Choose Such
a Life? — Life of a Catholic Nun

26. I’ll Tell You Why I Am a Catholic
27. Why So Many Decide to Become

Catholics — Convert stories
28. Let Us Judge Catholics by the Bible

— Prayer to Saints, unmarried priests
29. But Would Christ Call You A Chris-

tian?

30. But Do You Understand What God
Told Us? — Apostles’ Creed

31. Should Children Learn About God-
in School?

32. The Bible Is Not Our Sole Guide

33. This Was the Faith of Our Fathers
34. These Are Our Seven Deadly Enemies

— Seven capital sins explained
35. Let’s Test Catholic Loyalty — A Good

Catholic is a good citizen

36. Remember the Sabbath . . . Keep It
Holy — The "Sabbath Question”

37. I Am a Catholic Priest
38. But Why the Candles, Holy Water

and Beads ? — Sacramentals
39. The Reformation. Was It Reform or

Revolt?

40. Why I Had to Embrace the Catholic
Faith — Convert stories

41. Yes, Miracles Happened at Fatima

42. Does the Bible Contradict Itself? —
Peter the Rock, Faith and/or Works

43. I Was Warned About the Catholic
Church! — Religious Liberty

44. Why a Woman Needs the Catholic
Faith!

45. The Early Years of the Catholic

Church — First three centuries
46. Yes ... A Priest Can Forgive Your

Sins — Sacrament of Penance
47. But Why Don’t You Pray to the

Saints? — Communion of Saints
48. God’s Story of Creation — Genesis
49- Is the Catholic Church Out of Place

Here? — Catholicism and Loyalty
50. This Is the Catholic Church — Creed,

Sacraments, Mass, Commandments

51. Revelation ... A Divine Message of
Hope — Revelations or Apocalypse

52. Does It Pay to be a Catholic? — How
to be a Catholic

53. Think About Death and Start to Live
— Catholic attitude toward death

54. What Do You Find Wrong With
the Catholic Church?

55. His Name Shall Be Called God With
Us — Divinity of Christ

56. The Infallible Church, Truth or Trick-

ery? — Church of the Scriptures
57. Tell Us About God . . . Who Is He?

Existence and nature of God

58. The Word Was Made Flesh-
Humanity of Christ

59. Let Us Pray—Prayer

60. Gift of the Holy Spirit—Confirmation

61. The Church Says — Precepts of The
Church

62. "Upon this Rock . .
.”



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Just send us your name and address and advise that

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Imprimatur:

*JOSEPH E. HITTER

Archbishop of St. Louis

St. Louis, March 1, 1954

Published in United States of America

8th Reprinting, July, 1961