As I am writing these words, we
are on the eve of the last full week of Advent. Our minds and bodies have
started to grow weary with penance while the post-Christian or rather
anti-Christian world around us has been indulging in a full-blown celebration
of the “holiday season” for weeks now. Stacks of Christmas decorations lay
disorderly in our stores, having been thoroughly searched through by countless
customers already, though the most frantic shopping days are probably yet to
come. Ember Friday has been substituted by the so-called Black Friday where you
go on an online hunt in pursuit of the best bargain. It certainly takes a lot
of perseverance for Catholics today not to get swayed by the worldly idea that
the “magic” of Christmastime lies in going on shopping sprees and humming “Christmas”
tunes along the way.
As the bulk of Christmas
preparations rest with the wife and mother, or the woman in general, it seems
to me that it is also the ladies
who must decide whether Christmas is celebrated in our homes according to the
wishes of Our Lord and of His One True Church – and act accordingly. We simply owe it to Our Lord and with this
post I would like to share with you some of the reasons that could inspire that
gratitude towards God in us this coming Christmas.
There has been much talk of the so-called female liberation in the past decades. The Vatican II sect has been in the process of feminizing their false religion for years now and Bergoglio has certainly pushed things ahead when he officially allowed women to act as lectors and acolytes with his Motu (Ina)Proprio Spiritus Domini issued January 11, 2021. Obviously, the practice of having “altar girls” goofing around the table and female “Eucharistic ministers” has already been well-established in the Novus Ordo. All of this is naturally abominable to anyone who still retains even the remnants of Catholic sense, and does not mistake equality for equity.
One of the most prominent figures of the Novus Ordo who failed to grasp that distinction in terms was John Paul II. In his Letter to Women, issued in relation to the Fourth World Conference on Women, sponsored by the United Nations, and held in Beijing in 1995, having first expressed his deep appreciation to the UN for the organization of this “very significant event,” he states that “as far as personal rights [of women] are concerned, there is an urgent need to achieve real equality [emphasis in the original text] in every area," adding that this is “a matter of justice."
(See: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/1995/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_29061995_women.html)
Just to give you a short overview
of what that very significant event heartily
endorsed by the then chief apostate in the Vatican aimed to accomplish, here’s
an excerpt taken from one of the UN-run websites:
The 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing
marked a significant turning point for the global agenda for gender equality.
The Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, adopted unanimously by 189
countries, is an agenda for women’s empowerment and considered the key global
policy document on gender equality.
A section of that declaration
says the following with regards to the “Human Rights of Women”:
Try squaring that with the true
Magisterium of the Church expressed in the encyclical on marriage, divorce, and
birth control “Casti Connubii” by Pope Pius XI (which, at the time of its
release in 1931, was re-printed in full by… the New York Times! Times
certainly have changed…).
As we are (hopefully) preparing
ourselves spiritually for the joyous and thankful celebration of the Nativity
of Our Lord, let us first consider the state of the world before the first
coming of Christ, and – in particular – the position of the woman in the
pre-Christian society.
Arguing that the restoration of
the world through Christianity proves its divine origin, Fr. Stanislaw
Bartynowski S.J. in his textbook on Catholic apologetics (1939 Imprimatur)
gives an apt description of the world and society before Christ:
Errors with regards to the most basic philosophical
and moral issues were dominant everywhere, except for the people of Israel.
Only the Israelites worshipped the true God – all of the other nations
venerated nature and prostrated before stones and trees, made by their own hands.
The entire earth was a vast temple of idols, in which, according to Bossuet’s
words: all was God, except for God Himself. Even the most civilized and
mentally-developed nations were no less backward in terms of religion than the
savage ones. People lost their sense of morality to such an extent that they
would adore iniquity in public: each passion and every kind of cruelty had its
guardian deity that was venerated by the practice of the corresponding
iniquity; thus, pagan temples became places of utmost scandal. Whereas, real
virtue, such as charity was regarded as a vice by Seneca or Plautus; honest
labor was the object of scorn – according to Aristotle and Plato, an occupation
unbecoming of a man since “everyone who has respect for himself” should lead an
idle life, as Terence wrote.
As a result of such a revolution in concepts and
degeneration of morals, the holiest of man’s affections disappeared – justice
and honesty were unheard of and the dignity of man trampled upon. Thus,
contempt for human nature was formed. For instance, the father as the master of
life and death in his family, could either acknowledge a child as his own or
reject it, nay, even kill it with impunity. Seneca regarded this as a just
thing to do and, according to Quintilian, the killing of one’s own child was supposed
to be a beautiful deed!... [Quintilian was
a Roman educator or pedagogue, living in 35-100 A.D. – so much for the rights
of children in pagan Rome] Woman was
deprived of her honor and regarded as something lower than man. Thus, the wife
was the first among her husband’s female slaves, whom he could dispose of at
any moment. The family was abused amidst such relations, and the hearth and
home shattered by polygamy.
The society became such as were its members: criminal
and unhappy. The lust for living it up and the egoism of the mighty caused
abject poverty of the poorer classes, which was conducive to all kinds of crime.
Major part of the population found themselves in the most pitiful conditions of
all, being deprived of their civil rights, nay, even, their human rights… Those
were the unfortunate slaves, used for the hardest labor, treated like animals
by their masters to be sold or killed on a whim. They could at any time be thrust
into the amphitheater to be devoured by lions and tigers… such spectacles would take a heavy toll of
about thirty thousand victims each year!
Liberty in the state was known only by its name, the
citizen had no freedom – he was regarded as nothing in the face of the
god-state, that could at any moment demand the sacrifice of the citizen’s
property, liberty, and life. State orders, though inhumane, were thought to be
good and just. The tyranny of the mighty was a substitute for all law – as a
consequence, all respect for authority vanished, and those in power could never
be sure whether they would live or not… In a word, the law of the fist was the
only norm of conduct.
Generally speaking: overabundance and the violation of
all that is law at the top, with debasement and slavery of the lowest classes –
such is the image of the pagan society before the coming of Christ.
In particular, people were so much accustomed to the
corruption and bloody lawlessness which would outrage any honest man today,
that neither the lawgivers, nor the philosophers and poets cared at all to
raise the world from this moral abyss.
How different is this description
of the world immersed in sin and blinded by paganism from the alleged glorious
image of ancient civilizations peddled by the media today.
Such was the miserable state of
humanity more than 2,000 years ago. Without becoming overly apocalyptic, we can
safely assume that the modern world bears a striking resemblance to the one in
which the Incarnate Word was to be made flesh and born of the Blessed Virgin
Mary in the cold stable of Bethlehem. The general falling away from the
Catholic Faith in the aftermath of Vatican II has led many to adopt the pagan
ideas of old – if not in theory, then certainly in deed. Nature abhors a
vacuum, and human nature is no exception to that rule. Most people who consider
themselves educated and intelligent sincerely believe that it is imperative
that we stop burning fossil fuels so as to “save the planet” but shrug their
shoulders at the thought of innocent babies being murdered in their mothers’
wombs at an unprecedented rate.
If human dignity as such was utterly
destroyed in the pre-Christian era, the position of the woman was particularly
pitiful. Fr. Jozef Stanislaw Adamski thus outlines the lot of the weaker sex in
the pagan world in his book The Dignity
and Mission of the Christian Woman (1922):
The originally beautiful and noble creature of God –
the woman – was basically devastated. God has, since the dawn of time, clearly
defined the position and the mission of women. He provided the first couple in
Paradise with mutual unity and love. The woman was no stranger to the man, much
less was she lower than him or insignificant. (…) Therefore, the very means of
creating her should inspire in her husband the love for her, should make him sacrifice
himself for her, and respect her. God set His goal for the woman clearly: she
was to be the man’s helper, being similar to him, having the same nature and
value as he has – the alike helper (adjutorium simile). God demanded of him
limitless sacrifice for her: “wherefore a man shall leave father and mother,
and shall cleave to his wife” (Gen. 2: 24). Such was the original work of God:
kind, gentle, harmonious, fertile, and powerful.
However, man destroyed this wondrous work, and put his
own monstrosity in its place. In the place of union and love, he introduced
tyranny – the woman was supposed to cater to his base lust like a slave. Having
humiliated the woman, man started to despise her; deprived her of the due
honor, denied the position assigned to her by God, devised laws against her –
wicked and cruel ones – which deprived the woman of the dignity of a human
being which left her to fall prey to all kinds of injustice. The man, instead
of putting his own strength and the energy of his sacrifice at the service of
her weakness, took advantage of her feebleness in order to subjugate her
completely and destroy her. God called her the mother of the living, gave her
the right to bear and educate her children, but the man took away even this
most crucial right from her! In the most enlightened Rome in the full bloom of
civilization under the emperor Augustus only the free women were defended from
violence by the law – [a man] was free to do with his female slaves whatever
he pleased. The woman was denied her civic laws; she was held in custody her
entire life. As a daughter, she was her father’s possession who could kill her
or sell her and offer her hand in marriage without her consent. The woman was
underage her entire life – from her father’s slavery she was passed under the
hand (sub manum) of her husband as his daughter (filiae loco), for her husband
to regard her as an object. According to the Lex Voconia [the Roman law of
inheritance passed in 169 B.C.], she was
denied her father’s inheritance even if she was a single child. In relation to
her husband, the woman was a servant, a slave, allocated to the lowest works.
The role of the slave was so eagerly accepted by the disgraced woman that,
after having served her entire life, she would commit suicide on her husband’s
grave as it was the case in India or among the Gaul tribes, not because she
wanted to be happy in the life to come (paganism did not regard women as being
worthy of happiness), not because she wished to accompany her husband – but in
order to serve him still in the afterlife!
Not very different was the fate of the woman among the
Slavonic peoples, in Poland. In order to understand the sad lot of the woman,
suffice to say that polygamy was a common practice. Once introduced into the
house and handed over under the authority of her husband, the woman awaited a
most painful fate. Only yesterday [that
is, before she was married] was she so
respected that if any man should come into contact with her, it was regarded as
her being defiled. She was believed to be a creature so pure and exalted that she
would be called a diva, a kind of a goddess who could at any moment take the
honorific place of a priestess and a seer in the pagan temple of ancient Slavs
– now she is called names such as the one who does not know, cast into the
cabin of the savage master of her life and death. The husband, dissatisfied with
a daughter being born, would (many times before the mother’s eyes) grab an ax
and kill the baby – woe to the mother if she dared weep or complain! (…) Such
is the fate [of the woman] today in
places where the rays of the Gospel have not reached yet or the warmth of which
cannot be felt any longer.
Indeed, the paragraphs quoted
above express to some degree the present condition of the woman in today’s
world which had known Christ and His One True Church yet rejected Him, and fell
once again into the pits of sin. Isn’t the so-called “liberated” woman a slave
to her own wicked passions when she is willing to walk the streets with lewd
banners in support of her “right” to kill her own unborn baby? Isn’t she
complacent with her own enslavement when, working all week as a clerk in the
supermarket, grumbles at the prospect of having a free Sunday due to the state
legislation on restricting public commerce on that day?
Let us now consider, Fr. Adamski continues, how Our Savior raises the woman up from her debasement and ennobles
her. (…) Christ Our Lord elevates the woman in Holy maternity. Oh, how
wondrous, how lovely is the scene that begins the work of our redemption! The
angel – sent to the woman - descends from heaven; he comes to arrange with her
the greatest work of God destined to regenerate and save the human race. He
solemnly declares that she is full of grace; at her feet homage is paid; heaven
and earth awaits her consent for the work in which she is to play the most
crucial part. What an amazing and most marvelous turn of events this is! What
glory; what a wonderful restoration of the woman! At once, the woman who
groaned under the weight of most shameful slavery, stands at the unparalleled
heights, at the highest throne of heaven right next to God-Man. “The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with
variety” (Ps. 44:10).
Our Savior raises the woman up illuminating her with
innocence and grace. The Virgin Mother, the Mother of God inaugurated the
liberation and elevation of the woman with unsurpassed charm and light. Still,
in order to lift the woman up something more was needed since the long ages of
pain and ruin had deprived her of the freshness of her original innocence and
the strength of her native virtue. Lo! At Christ’s feet there kneels a woman,
representing the degradation of the female, shedding profuse tears of
contrition at the feet of God-Man, Who, before the spectators’ eyes, restores
her good name, and, to some degree, illuminates her with the original
innocence. Jesus not only says to her: “thy sins are forgiven thee” but also
praises her fervent faith, extols her magnanimous charity, and the service of
her boundless sacrifice. The purified and sanctified woman is led by the Holy
Savior to the heights of heroism. During the horrifying passion of Christ, when
His flock was scattered, when men – the Apostles, except for St. John – desert
Jesus, the woman takes their place at Calvary, fearlessly facing the rage of
the murderers of God and gathers in a way the last drops of His Blood!
(…)
Our Savior dignifies the woman with the honors of the
hearth and home. Those rays of God in which Christ clothed the woman who became
His spouse in the religious life, are shining also beyond the cloister, and are
spread throughout the entire world. From that time on the mother of the family has
occupied a prominent and wide place in the home, guaranteed her by the
Christian right of sacramental marriage. The woman is a spouse inseparably
joined with her husband. Here does she reign – and if the Apostle reminds her
of her duty to be obedient to her husband (Col 3:18), then it is the obedience
full of glory which does not violate any of her rights. Now, she is the one who
educates her children who acknowledge in her the most tender and sacred authority
and prestige.
Our Savior consecrates and dedicates the woman to
great works in the society. (…) From the early centuries of Christianity, where
events of great importance have been taking place, there have been found a
Christian woman. Constantine is aided by [his mother] Helena;
Theodosius had [his daughter] Eudoxia and [sister] Pulcheria; Clotilde [a Catholic princess who remained Catholic
despite the Arianism of her court] converts
Clovis [the first king of the Franks whose baptism in 496 unified the
Frankish tribes; he is regarded by the French as the founder of France]; Blanche transforms her son into St. Louis;
Doubravka [a Bohemian princess] brings
the light of the Faith into Poland [with her husband, Mieszko I, being
baptized in 966 thus consolidating the once-pagan tribes and giving rise to the
first independent and Christian Polish state, the Duchy of Poland], and Hedwig [or Jadwiga of Poland, the
first woman to be crowned as monarch of the Kingdom of Poland in 1384] brings the Faith into Lithuania. On the throne as well as on the lowest steps
of the social ladder, the woman, lifted up by Christ, becomes a heroic
creature, eager for the highest sacrifice, a fearless aide, whether she is
called “the good duchess” Elizabeth of Hungary or Genevieve, the humble
Parisian shepherdess, or the Maid of Orleans, Joan, sent by God to free France
(…). Fr. Ventura rightly states that “popes,
apostolic men, founders of religious congregations, saintly priests and lay
people, even kings who were not saints, would have accomplished nothing sacred,
great, beautiful, useful in the interest of the faith or morals, nay, even the
material prosperity of peoples without the cooperation in this or that way of a
Catholic woman: if that woman – for her part - was thoroughly Catholic and – apart
from her lofty virtues - she would have a profound and extensive knowledge of
religion; if she would shine with impeccability”. (…)
May the women craving for unhealthy emancipation
remember just what they owe to Christianity, without which the slavery and
shame of old awaits them!...
Conclusion
Although people like Karol Wojtyla may have envisaged that the great process of women’s liberation (…) is still unfinished, true Catholics surely know better than that. Ladies, we’ve already been liberated! Let us give thanks this Christmas to the One who truly liberated us, male and female alike, having broken the chains of our pagan captivity, snatching us with His own Precious Blood from the shadow of death, and having illumined the entire world with the light of the True Catholic Faith which we must preserve and spread according to our abilities in these trying times of near universal apostasy. May our gratitude to Jesus Christ, our greatest Heavenly Benefactor be ever renewed in our hearts, especially as we kneel in our churches, our chapels, and our homes before the crib of Our Redeemer in the midst of the world which “knew him not.” Merry Christmas!
