Parallels Between Nun and Homemaker

I started writing this way back on February 10 after I saw the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist featured on Oprah (which can still probably be seen on You Tube) and decided to pick it up again this week:

I saw the Dominican Nuns from Ann Arbor on Oprah yesterday.   They inspired me as a lay person who is a stay at home wife and mother.  Many of them talked about leaving the world because of feelings of emptiness and how at the end of their lives none of the things they owned would matter.  As stay-at-home wives and mothers who are aiming to follow the teachings of the church we leave the world in a certain sense as well.  We practice poverty, obedience, and chastity in our own state of life.

Poverty
We practice poverty by leaving behind an added income and a profession away from our homes and families which would perhaps give us more recognition and importance in the eyes of the culture.  We are giving these things up because we believe this is the way we can best serve God and bring our families to God despite lack of money for our children's college eduction, a better house, better clothes, paying off debt sooner and whatever else, understanding, like the sisters, that in the end bringing our families and ourselves to heaven is the only thing that matters.

Obedience
As Catholic women who have come to believe that what our church teaches is the truth, we have been graced enough to come to understand that children are a blessing and we tend to have more of them than every body else (or at least desire to) which stretches that one income even farther.  Our children, in turn, give us the opportunity to  practice obedience by requiring that we give up the ability to do what we want whenever we want to which allows God to make us more like him--to give of ourselves for love. 

Chastity
Like the nuns, who are celebate, we too are practicing chastity in a way that the world does not understand.  Within the context of marriage, the sexual act is a gift, and although meant to be pleasureable, requires total self-giving and sacrifice.  If we are in a position to avoid conception we do this through periodic abstinance, which brings with it the cross of loving sacrifice.  If something artificial is used to prevent conception a barrier is placed between the couple.  Husband and wife are called to give their whole selves to each other--even their fertility-- so that their love can literally bring forth new life.   How different this is from our culture's views of sexuality where it seems like the freedom to have sex any time without the unwanted result of children is what is valued most.

Of course, it goes without saying that "leaving the world" does not only apply to nuns and housewives but to any Christian who is making it a priority to follow Jesus in this life.  There are many different ways to practice poverty, obedience and chastity for the sake of love in every day life.  We can learn much from holy religious orders who perhaps provide us with a more tangible and literal example of being "set aside for Christ."