The role of women in a Catholic family.

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leanuss said:
A worthy information and interested to learn about St. Gianna, who can be the inspiration of young wives and mothers. As the Saint had prioritized, the priority should be Wife, Mother and then other profession. I would rather say that one of the parent should be there to look after the family and daily chores including children so that the purpose of family life be fulfilled.
I think bringing up children and looking after them would be more satisfying in the altar of God,** rather than making money and loosing the careers and lives of children to the jaws of devil.** There are many part time jobs to fulfill the financial requirements.
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I’ve known many mothers – who are also work full time-- and their children have not been lost to the jaws of the devil. We should Not be pitting one against the other – but support each family – the SAHM – the mothers who also work out side the home – and SAHD
 
Walking_Home said:
I’ve known many mothers – who are also work full time-- and their children have not been lost to the jaws of the devil. We should Not be pitting one against the other – but support each family – the SAHM – the mothers who also work out side the home – and SAHD
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👍👍👍
 
oldcatholicguy said:
I’m just going to answer the easy one. No, it’s not wrong if you want to be a geologist and work abroad. It’s not wrong if you want to be that and be married and have children. It only becomes wrong if being a geologist and working abroad becomes more important than your husband and kids. As long as family > career you’re good.
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As a man should put his wife and kids before his career.
 
TacosRocket said:
If I’m not mistaken, the catholic church was one of the first things to say that women were equal to men.

However, when you look at a lot of christian families the women is almost always the homemaker… and if a women is happy doing that, then that’s fine. But it seems that women of a more, liberal mind set, are more commonly to not stay at home parents.

I just want to know, why is that? Does God really not call most women to do much but the chores?

Is it wrong if I want to become a geologist and work scientifically abroad, instead of get married and have children?

That seems like an obvious question, but if christian women are finding themselves called to the kitchen then I just… I want to know why.

Thanks.
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All the moms I grew up with were stay at home moms. Nothing wrong with that. Some women chose to be single or just couldn’t find a person that suited them. You can be a geologist. Nothing wrong with that.

Women are not called to the kitchen, they are more often called to a faithful commitment to a man which results in children. There’s nothing new about that. What has gravely wounded Western society society is abortion on demand and easy divorce - not to say that divorce isn’t hard but it’s too easy.

No. What is required today is for young men and young women to respect themselves and others. To earn each other’s trust and fulfill, if both are willing, their call to be husbands and wives, and mothers and fathers. That would include each other’s families as well, creating intergenerational ties as well. Grandpa and Grandma were a joy to be treasured. They loved their Grandkids too. When this happens, communities are created where good neighbors are part of your lives as well. This was what God intended. It worked. And kids who were surrounded by good role models and saw the bad, were guided toward the good. That included aunts and uncles. Even if your beliefs were not based on Catholic teaching, communities reinforced communities to grow toward good things and to actively work against the bad through reminders, especially to kids, that ‘you had better not do that again.’ I got such reminders when I was a boy. And I respected my neighbors, since I knew what they were saying was for my own good.

Even in non-Catholic societies, the roles of mother and father are set by biology. Today, one problem facing the Church and the Catholic community is a desire not to view family life in a proper way. Those who are not called to marriage are not called to marriage. Those who are need to take their responsibilities with a proper mix of joy and with a knowledge of what married life means. The idea of having a mate for life was regularly criticized for decades, and divorce was promoted as better than solving problems in married relationships. The problems that arise in marriages today have been the same problems for a very long time but the media has created a fiction to make divorce the only viable option. That is wrong in many cases, except for adultery or abuse.
  1. Why should sexual activity take place only within marriage?
    Human sexuality is directed to the marital love of man and woman. In marriage the physical intimacy of the spouses becomes a sign and pledge of their deeper personal relationship with each other. Sexual intimacy, because it is total and exclusive, is not intended to be casual but life-long and life-giving. It is an expression of a life-long commitment that allows the spouses to give themselves freely and completely to each other in a way that is both supportive of one another and open to the transmission of life.
  2. What is marriage?
    Marriage, as instituted by God and supported by the needs of human nature, is a faithful, exclusive, lifelong union of one man and one woman joined in an intimate communion of life and love. The call to marriage is woven deeply into the human spirit. Man and woman are different from, yet created for, each other in all aspects of their being. This complementarity, including sexual difference and spousal configuration, draws them together in a mutually loving union that is always open to the procreation of children. (See USCCB, Statement, 1).
So we have married women who do a lot of different things, like doctors and psychotherapists, and we have unmarried women who do different things.

Hope this helps,
Ed
 
To the original OP. What you perceive is a stereotype of modern society. I assume you are in your late teens or early twenties. I will give you a bit of advice that you will probably not like, and many on this site will not like. You can not “Have it all”, Job, kids and career at the same time.

All of these “vocations” will suffer because there is not enough time available in a day to devote to properly executing these “vocations”. If you try to make it work you will find that when you are in your early to mid thirties, or a little later, you will be burnt out, tired and way over stressed.

Men and women were created in equal in dignity before God. Meaning the life of one individual, male or female, is not more valuable or important that the other. It certainly does NOT mean that they are equal in ALL aspects. God created man and woman separate from each other. He gave unique gifts to each gender that the other does NOT possess or at least does not generally possess.

Modern society, and even many Catholics, will recoil and tell you that you can do any profession a man can. While this may be true in a purely functional sense, meaning you may be capable of doing so, it is not what is the ideal within a family. For almost all of human history women have cared for children and men have provided for the family.

My suggestion for you, if you want to “have it all”, is to not try to have it all at the same time. Be a geologist now, you are not married. IF you get married and have children, I strongly recommend you make being a mother your career until they are grown or at least until they are done with high school. Your children will benefit immensely from your presence. Once the kids are gone, you can return to being a geologist or whatever else you wish to pursue.

Don’t fall for the message that secular society feeds you about being Wife, Mom and Career women all the same time. You will burn yourself out trying to be all three and all three will suffer due to lack of time in the day to devote to all three.

Those are my recommendations, take them with a grain of salt.
 
TacosRocket said:
If I’m not mistaken, the catholic church was one of the first things to say that women were equal to men.

However, when you look at a lot of christian families the women is almost always the homemaker… and if a women is happy doing that, then that’s fine. But it seems that women of a more, liberal mind set, are more commonly to not stay at home parents.

I just want to know, why is that? Does God really not call most women to do much but the chores?

Is it wrong if I want to become a geologist and work scientifically abroad, instead of get married and have children?

That seems like an obvious question, but if christian women are finding themselves called to the kitchen then I just… I want to know why.

Thanks.
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There is no Church teaching that says a woman is restricted to be a home maker. It does recognize the unique nature of women to be able to nurture and that aspect is celebrated.
Historically women have been the care taker of the home and this is not a role that should be looked down upon and should instead be honored.
There is nothing to say that a woman cannot have a career, many do balance work and home, but men and women are created as equal according to Genesis, so the man must also take a role as homemaker as well.

Dcn FAB
 
Brendan_64 said:
Does that also apply to a man?
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Yes. To a very significant degree. I work outside the home and my wife is a SAHM. It bothers me that I have to sit at a job 8 hours and commute for another hour or more each day. I only get to see my kids for a few hours per day.

My dream is to quit my job and devote more time to the farm. My wife and kids work on the farm during the day. She gets frazzled sometimes with all of the kids, but I think she has the better of the two worlds. My daughter is now 13 and I she only has five more years at home if she goes to college. She will then be done. I feel like I am missing a large chunk of my children’s life that my wife gets to spend with them.

I have a career that I really could care less about. It pays the bills and provides good health benefits. Beyond that it is just “a job”. I am good at it, but it is nowhere near as satisfying as coming home to my little ones who love to play with me.

I am sure someday I will have grandchildren, but it is just not the same. In many ways I think my wife is lucky. It is hard work, but she gets to spend a lot more time with our kids. I know she wishes she had a job outside the home, but I think a lot of that is just needing some time away, which I try to give as much as I can.

It is hard enough to be a husband and earn a living for my family. I just hope I don’t miss too much of kids when they are young. I didn’t really appreciate that until I hit my mid-thirties and when my older children are not so “young” any more.
 
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