What a week in the world of Catholic women’s blogging.
On the one hand, we have this awesome article from Haley Stewart at Carrots for Michaelmas, Things You Don’t Have to Do to Be a Holy Catholic Woman.
Brilliant piece, and remarkably, one that an infertile female like myself doesn’t feel excluded by. I’m very happy that someone took the “wear skirts and homeschool your 10 kids or else you’re going to hell” people to task.
And then there was this garbage– and article that takes a narrow view of womanhood, and says that working outside the home means you’re “indulging in disordered emotional appetites.”
I expected better from Catholic Answers.
Being a stay at home mom is a beautiful vocation, and there are many good articles about that. This was not one of them.
Denying that women can find fulfillment in work, denying that many women are called to other or additional vocations beyond motherhood is not Catholic, not true, and not very nice.
Defending your vocation by putting down others is NOT acceptable.
Here’s a direct quote from this article:
“Even if I disliked most of the duties involved in homemaking, I would still do it. Once again, it’s about accepting God’s will and fulfilling the role he appointed—even if one is not titillated by every aspect of that role. Ironically, my working friends will often use this same rationale in defense of their boring jobs, though they will try to stop me from using it.”
Excuse me? “Boring jobs”- God called me to a wonderful vocation of being a wife–and a writer. And a singer. And a composer. And other things yet to be discovered.
Almost every female saint contradicts what this author says.
St. Zelie had kids AND her own business- and one of her kids is St. Therese!! St. Elizabeth Ann Seton had children, and she founded a school.St. Theresa of Avila was a brilliant scholar. St. Catherine of Siena was a powerhouse of thought. St. Mother Theresa, enough said. Sts. Agnes, Cecilia, Gemma, Therese, Mary Magdalene– none of these women were stay at home moms, and yet all of them faithfully followed a vocation given to them by God.
Really, I have three words for this author:
Rant over.
Tales from the Valley 
I’m just now catching up on blogs after a few weeks, and I’ve been feeling this rant a bit after a post I just read that more or less challenged how hard I was trying to get married. Because I didn’t just let my career happen, I worked for that, right? So I should be working hard in trying to get married. Oh, it’s MY fault I’m a bad Catholic woman who is neither married nor a mother! Sorry, you got the small rant that should have been directed elsewhere. 😉 Thanks for sharing Haley’s article! So well worth the read!
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No problem, Monica! Happy to be together as “Bad Catholic Women”. We should start a club. BCW. In it would be St. Joan of Arc, St. Mother Theresa… St. Agnes and St. Lucy who refused marriage all together…
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