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Sunday, May 11, 2008
Conservators: A Guest Rumination
Hello, everyone. This is a first for me. Please bear with me if I don't live up to Fran's standards.
One of the things that struck me hardest, when I reached this country, was how wonderfully Americans treat women. Whatever disparagements you might hear from the rest of the world, the women of other countries would turn green with envy if they were to learn how well America treats its women. I've only been here since 1990, and a few feminists have told me things were a lot worse before then, but I don't believe it. I think they're trying to take credit for something they had nothing to do with.
I'm not talking about the working world. I'm talking about the living world, the part that happens whether you're getting paid for it or not.
Mother's Day, in particular, is a really American thing. Yes, I know it's a favor to the florists and greeting-card companies, but American husbands, sons, and daughters treat it as much more than an obligatory gift-buying anniversary. They take it seriously.
I think I know why. It's because of a woman named Mary, a carpenter's wife who lived long ago. You might have heard of her Son.
Mary had a critical role to play in Jesus's story. She was responsible for His upbringing. She accompanied Him on much of His ministry. She stood by Him during His Passion, and at the foot of His cross on the Hill of the Skull.
Mary is the ultimate model for all human mothers. Christian children are raised to revere her as the Queen of Heaven, first among all the saints. Yet she performed no miracles. After the Ascension, rather than participate with the Apostles in the Great Commission, she retired to a quiet anonymity. Though the only evidence for it is in the visions of several mystics, Catholics believe she was assumed bodily into heaven after her natural death.
The traditions of Western societies, especially those of the United States, are Christian traditions. Mother's Day is mostly a reflection of the honor in which Christians hold their mothers, both in obedience to the Commandments and in recognition of the likeness of Mary all good mothers share.
Mary knew what was coming. She learned it from angelic and prophetic sources. At the Presentation of the Holy Infant in the Temple at Jerusalem, St. Simeon told her that a sword of sorrow would pierce her heart. She had accepted the duty of bearing and raising the Messiah, and she did not waver.
Good mothers are like that. They accept the consequences of their station. Many of those things are very unpleasant. As much as we honor a good mother, it can never be enough.
Motherhood is a conservative role. A devoted mother finds her fulfillment in giving life to others, and protecting their innocence as best she can, until they're ready to face the world on their own. That's conservation for you: the conservation of new life against corruption, perversion, and dissipation. Well-reared children arrive at adulthood armored against those things. They have their mothers to thank for that.
I wasn't born here, as you probably know. I never knew my father. My mother was a terribly wounded soul. I loved her and looked after her as well as I could, which wasn't nearly enough. I couldn't keep her sane. Eventually, I failed to keep her alive.
A gag I've heard a few times since coming to America goes, "I started out with nothing. I still have most of it." We never had even that much.
I have only two regrets: that my mother never knew the peace and plenty of this country, and that I can't be a mother myself. As much as I enjoy the business world, I'd give it up in an instant for the privileges and burdens of motherhood.
Happy Mother's Day, American mothers. Remember Mary our model and inspiration. (You too, guys. A few decades of the Rosary won't kill you.)
Comments
Absolutely beautiful post. And most helpful, too.
Thank you.Posted by Fausta on 05/11/2008 at 01:27 PMYeah, here here, good post, i hope one day you will be blessed with the joy of motherhood.
Posted by MK on 05/12/2008 at 02:30 AMAmen to that.
Very nice fetiche.
Posted by Elijah on 05/12/2008 at 05:03 AMGreat post.
But you’re wrong about one thing - you CAN be a mother (if you want to). Plenty of children around the world who would greatly benefit from being adopted by a loving mother (and father).
Posted by on 05/12/2008 at 05:32 AMI second svg, as an adopted child myself I am quite fond of the institution. I think you would do well at motherhood.
Posted by on 05/13/2008 at 07:55 PM
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