Yesterday, I had a lovely conversation with one of my best friends, a woman of 50 something. We were discussing how we were raised with rules, schedules, discipline, clear morals, and little TV. We had dads who asked us about our homework and even helped us if we were stuck, but only is we were stuck.
We had stay-at-home moms, who cooked at least one hot meal daily, two if breakfast was hot, and were there when we came home from school.
We had many siblings and learned to share, not even having our own rooms.
We had clothes made by hand and we did not snack on fast food or junk food.
In fact, we had a secure life, surrounded by appropriate boundaries and we were definitely not spoiled.
What happened?
Contraception first of all caused too small families and working moms caused chaos and anarchy.
Fr. Chad Ripperger states clearly in one of his talks that unless absolutely necessary for whatever reason, for a woman to go to work is a mortal sin.
I had to make the decision to work at jobs which enabled me to home school, as I was the wage earner.
God bless me and my son. How I did it all I cannot explain except for grace.
Grace is all we need, plus hard work.
My friend and I decided that what we learned just by growing up in the Midwest with simplicity and a Catholic environment is worth all the gold in the world.
She went on to have six children. God gave me one only that lived.
But, the heritage continues.
May God open the eyes and minds of Catholic women who do not have to work to see that it is child abuse to do so if not necessary. And, vacations or two cars, or five phones, or three computers, or lots of stuff are not necessities.
The culture wars start at home.