The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-12-06
THE DECLINE OF FAMILY LIFE.

In this country family life, which
exercises such a great influence on
the development of personality, is
seriously lacking. particularly in the
cities. And what is the cause? The
craving for pleasure and excitement
The woman, the wife and mother,
upon whom the task devolves of de-
veloping domesticity and family life,
thinks too much of the world with
out and not enough of her proper
sphere. Today the program calls for
party; tomorrow it's an excursion:
the day after tomorrow she goes to
a theater or wanders through the
downtown stores to inspect the latest
fashions. Thus she spends the whole
year.
How can such a housewife make
the home attractiVe; how can she be
a real mother to her children? The
children she entrusts to the care Of
a servant, or if she does not have q
servant she places them with the
neighbors while she is gone from
home. The children grow up estrang-
ed from father and mother and yearn
for independence so that they may
seek their own pleasures. Parental
supervision being lacking, the neglect
ed children fall into evil ways.
A good housewife, on the con-
trary, a loving mother, creates home
atmosphere and is a soul OF family
life, as well as the guide and inspira-
ton Of the young. The mother repre-
sents love- She folds the hands of
the little ones and teaches them to
lisp prayers. She shares joys and sor-
rows Nothing affects us that she
does not feel more than we do. Her
eyes are ever watching over us; her
heart never slumbers. With the years
her love grows. In hayward son
she sees only an erring child whom
she draws to herself.
The home-loving woman is. fur
thermore, the greatest factor in the
life of the husband. If after a day
of toll or business veXations he re-
turns to home where he finds his wife
the presiding genius of merry house
hold, which has anXiously awaited his
return, home life enchants him. Il,
however. when he arrives home, she
is not there, or if there Immediately
wishes to hurry him off to some social
affair, then there is no such thing as
home life for him.
Lack of well-grounded religious
faith is the primary cause of the
present-day disintegration of family
life. A truly believing Catholic will
find home life a necessity of his very
being and will bring up his children in
the faith A practical Catholic couple
will by their example inspire the con-
duct of others and will vindicate the
religious principles in family life. In
such families young people of sterling
character will be reared and other
Christian fathers and mothers will
take place in society to exert a
refining and elevating influence and
to counterfeit the demoralizing ten
denotes of the day.
Present-day society will continue to
go from bad to worse as family lie
continues to deteriorate. Parental
control over children is weakened, as
we'll as the mutual love of parents
and children. The children will grow
up without self-restraint and will
abandon themselves to pleasures.
Only Christian mothers can maintain
true family life and inspire those
under their sphere of influence to an
appreciation of the higher and more
worthwhile things in life.