The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1954-02-26
As Matters Stand
Joe Breig Says.
How Silly Are We?

is not necessarily a materialist
merely because she fuses over the
health of her children, not even if
she fuses far too much.
Fussing IS kind of natural with
lot of mothers, and their poor
kids simply have TO acquire enough
preternatural patience TO put up
with it.
Neither is a mother necessarily
a materialist because she's always
nagging the youngsters about their
manners, or insisting too much on
their being Well-dresSed.
That kind of thing is more or
less natural with lot of mothers
too. The children have to learn
to shrug il off.
But a mother is a materialist
when she doesn't see-and see con-
stantly-that a child is far more
important than his health, his cloth
ing or his manners, and that how
he looks in the eyes of God is
eternally more vital than how he
looks to the neighbors.
Let me give couple of exam
plies. A boy or girl is entitled TO
certain amount of being let
alone. His human dignity (or hers)
demands that. A child shouldn't
simply be used to bolster his moth
er's pride, or to cater to her health
faddism, her vitsmin-consciousness
her Emily Post complex, or her
clothes-horse-ism.
Take q girl in her teens. It's all
right to teach her to be neat and
clean, and reasonably attractive,
and all that. But a mother can
head her daughter straight for
hell by over-emphasizing physical
beauty, and forgetting about spirit
ual beauty and moral beauty,
Ditto with fathers. A father who
is always talking about muscular
prowess, and skill in sports, and
so on, but never mentions strength
of soul, is materialist; and he
isn't doing his son any favors.
A perfect instance of what /
mean is the mother whose boys
and girls never go to Communion
on a school day because they
need their sleep" and they need
a good hot breakfast" !" and all that
junk,
That's materialism. That's being
too conscious of this world, and
blind to eternity. That's teaching
youngsters that q good meal is
more devoutly to be desired than
Gods grace and Gods presence
Or take the people who haunt
the novenas, but always to pray
for anything and everything eX-
cept holiness They're msterialists
don't mean you shouldn't pray
for what you need But you're
materialist if you don't realize that
what you need most is sanctity,
that your chief business in life is
to become a saint, and to help 9th
ers TO do likewise.
Take a father who wants his son
to be doctor or a lawyer, and
raises the roof If the kid prefers
to be a priest Well
once saw person dedicated
to religion pull little girl out of
a procession in church because the
white stockings she wore weren't
exactly like those of all the other
little girls. That, folks, is material
ism: and God doesn't like il. The
stockings were more important
than a child's heart.
IT'S materialism also when
Catholic society, like the Holy
Name or whatever, devotes all its
sessions TO sports, movies or such
like.
The test is really very simple,
What's your outlook on life? DO
YOU see il from the point of view
of now. or of forever?
II you snatch your kids bald for
breaking a whstnot, and make the
whole family miserable over such
accidents, you're a msterlalist; and
that means you're silly.