The Sincere Gift

Sincerely offering the gift of self to family and ultimately the culture


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“Married twenty one years today. It seems like fifty.” She Wrote

Vintage photo of woman writing.

The words in the title of this post were written by Josephine Jordan on May 25th, 1892 in her personal diary.  Those were the only words she wrote in observance of her anniversary.  Instead of books this summer, I’ve begun reading the online diaries of various wives and mothers of the past.  We may think we have an idea of what life was like in certain decades over the last 100 years or so, but there is nothing like reading the actual thoughts and activities of real, ordinary women to get a clearer picture of their lives.

 In some ways the worries, concerns and joys are the same as we experience today and in other ways, we see how attitudes and practices have changed.  For instance, on Feb. 12, 1925 a housewife writes, ” I put the little ones to bed and left the big ones in the house and went down town to buy shoes.”  The footnote provided at the end of the entry states, “When this was written, the boys were approximately 7, 6, 5 and 2 when she left them alone while she went downtown to shop.”  A few days later she writes, “Albert took all morning to go to the store as he was afraid of dogs.”  We learn that Albert was the 5 year old and the store was two blocks away.  Apparently, his fear didn’t change his mother’s mind about sending him on his errand.  Today, Child Protective Services would be called if anyone suspected children of these ages were left alone unsupervised.  

Farm Children, Gelatin Silver Print

Although I haven’t read through all these diaries yet, the few that I’ve started are really just accounts of uneventful, ordinary days rather than anything exciting and scandalous.  If you’re looking for exciting and scandalous for your summer reading, you will have to go elsewhere.  If you don’t mind mundane mixed with an occasional cheeky observation or learning that butter was only .49/lb in 1925 and 5 lbs was bought in one shopping trip, then you too might like to delve into the lives of these women.

For example – This housewife in 1925 writes what seems to be her usual type of notation of the day’s events

” Thawed in the night. Colder today.
Bill went to Cleveland with W. Caskill.
Doctor Koeler here.

Sewing again more slips.
D. + Helen went to P. Show “Unguarded Women”.
Ret’d at 11:00P.M.”

However, she surprisingly adds the following remark about her husband.

“Bill returned at 8:00 P.M., hadn’t had his dinner.

It seems the queerest thing but B. can stay out until morning but as soon as he is home before dinner or after, he is asleep.  Might just as well have married a dummy. Would have been just as pleasant a companion.”

In another later entry, she adds

“Have made up my mind the only way to keep from arguing with B’s mother is as the Bible says. Let your words be Yea Yea and Nay Nay.”

It was noted that she was probably referring to this verse “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” Matthew 5:37

Vintage early 1920’s family photo

Some of the diaries are posted online by relatives to whom they were handed down.  Others were ones that were found at estate sales and such.  I appreciate the willingness of those who posses them to generously share with others.  I also enjoyed the research and notations that the bloggers provide with some of the entries to give context to what is written.  Sometimes, even those commenting are able to provide clues to the meaning of certain phrases or abbreviations for commonly used products, tools and appliances of the time.  

If you would like to read along, here are the links to the ones I have bookmarked to read….I linked to the start of each diary in each blog and you will just have to hit the “Newer Post” link at the bottom to move to the next entries.  You will notice that most of these diaries belonged to farmer’s wives. That isn’t surprising since I read somewhere recently (and I can’t remember where, darn) that 50% of homesteads in the early 1900’s were family farms.  That figure today is now 1%.  If I can find the source of this information, I will add it later.  

  This is the personal diary of a wife and mother living in Akron, Ohio just before the Depression.

Diary of a 1920’s housewife

Josephine Jordan was a potato farmer’s wife in Aroostook County, Maine.

Diary of an 1892 farmer’s wife

Entries dealing with everyday life on a farm during the summer. 

Diary of a farmer’s wife: Summer 1920

Every day entries of blogger’s maternal grandmother Lillian Blair Bailey, from the year of 1927

Diary of a Maine Farmwife

Daily journal of a hard working farm wife circa 1951

Diary of a 50’s farm wife

One month look into the life of an 1859 farm wife and mother

January, 1859 Diary of Indiana farm mother Sarah Young Bovard

Glimpse of what it was like to be an Indianapolis housewife and mother in the 1920’s.

Ruth Campbell Smith 1925-1927 Diaries

Journal of Grandma’s trip to Europe in 1922 

1922 Journal of Ruth’s trip to Europe with her three best friends.  All teachers.

Not a diary. The following is a description of farm life written at the turn of the twentieth century by an anonymous woman who had secret aspirations to be a writer.  Titled “I am not a practical woman.”  The introduction states ” In addition to providing insight into life on a farm, she reveals a much different attitude towards the marital role of women than we have today:”

Farm Wife 1900

I hope you found something that interests you from these links……It makes me wish I had a diary or journal of some distant relative to share. Perhaps if anyone reading this has a diary from the past, it might inspire them to allow these voices to be heard again.

Vintage photo of 1950’s farm family


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Can’t Sleep so I’ll Just Chat With You About What I’ve Been Up To Today

The Candlelit Market by Petrus Van Schendel

I can’t say the day was all that exciting but we did go grocery shopping.  I’m probably one of the few people out there who actually enjoys this weekly necessity.  I got a good deal on London Broil ($3.99/lb) which I’m going to have my DH grill up on Sunday.  We’ve never tried to grill this cut of meat before but I happened to see this on facebook this week, and was determined to try it.  What’s not to love?

I thought I’d pair it with this Italian Potato Salad and maybe a simple Romaine Salad.

If things turn out as good as they look, I’ll share the recipes next week.

Have I told you that I love hummus?  Well, I do and the store had a special of Buy 1 and Get 2 (that’s right, not 1 but 2) Free!  I bought nine containers!  I’ve recently committed to making sure I get the recommended 9 servings of fruits and veggies a day.  To help ensure I meet my goal, I eat a large salad for lunch which gives me 4 servings of veggies at once.  When I saw the special my store was running, I wondered if there were any salad dressing recipes out there that used hummus as a base.  Lo and behold, Sabra Hummus has a simple recipe on their site and I happen to have all the ingredients on hand.  I can’t wait to try this out.

  • 1-10 oz. container Sabra Classic or Roasted Pine Nut Hummus
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 4-5 Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp. roasted sesame oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Just mix all ingredients well and store in fridge.

Another deal I got was strawberries for $1.99/lb and a pint of blueberries for the same price.  Where I live, $2.50-$2.99 is the standard for these berries.  I bought 3 lbs of strawberries and 3 pints of blueberries.  I cut up 2 lbs of the strawberries and added 1 pint of the blueberries for us to eat now, and prepped the remainder for the freezer.  I hope to use these in smoothies, to make jam or blueberry pie this winter.   Two of the three stores I go to seem to have this $1.99 special every couple weeks.  I hope to keep stocking up a nice supply for the freezer.

On a sadder note, we have a funeral to go to in the morning.  My oldest dd’s Godfather’s sister passed away this past week at the young age of 52.  When we asked our friends to be our daughter’s godparents, they had this sister crochet a beautiful baptismal gown, sweater, hat, booties and blanket for her.  I am forever grateful for this gift and all three of my girls were baptized in it.  May she rest in God’s eternal peace.

Well, it’s very late now and I better try to get some sleep.  Nice chatting with you!

 


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Feeling The Need To Lighten Up

I’ve had so many heavy topics on my mind lately and being the serious person I am, I need to adopt this Nana.   I would love to have someone like her around the house to remind me to not forget that life can still be fun, even amid so many worrying things in our culture.  Apparently, Nana was having an outing with someone who was blasting music from the car when she pulled up.  She couldn’t help but dance along.  Take note, each time her purse gets put down, she’s about to get real.   Enjoy!

Oh, if you are offended by curse words she does use the F-dash-dash-dash word towards the end of the video.  It’s not something that typically bothers me but I had to throw that out there for those with more refined sensibilities.


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Some Thoughts About Liberty on This Independence Day Weekend

A little excerpt from the Declaration of Independence…..

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Image result for catholic liberty

The following are excerpts from the

ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII ON THE NATURE OF HUMAN LIBERTY-June 1888

This encyclical, written over 125 years ago is truly prophetic when liberty is misunderstood as license for “every man doing what he pleases”  rather than the freedom to “conform to the prescriptions of the eternal law.”  I encourage you to read the whole encyclical because in light of last week’s SCOTUS ruling, we all need a refresher on what exactly is meant by liberty and does it mean free within certain bounds given by God or does it mean free to do what you “feel” is right or seems right at any given moment without any acknowledgment of your Creator?

 “From this it is manifest that the eternal law of God is the sole standard and rule of human liberty, not only in each individual man, but also in the community and civil society which men constitute when united. Therefore, the true liberty of human society does not consist in every man doing what he pleases, for this would simply end in turmoil and confusion, and bring on the overthrow of the State; but rather in this, that through the injunctions of the civil law all may more easily conform to the prescriptions of the eternal law. Likewise, the liberty of those who are in authority does not consist in the power to lay unreasonable and capricious commands upon their subjects, which would equally be criminal and would lead to the ruin of the commonwealth; but the binding force of human laws is in this, that they are to be regarded as applications of the eternal law, and incapable of sanctioning anything which is not contained in the eternal law, as in the principle of all law. “

“If when men discuss the question of liberty they were careful to grasp its true and legitimate meaning, such as reason and reasoning have just explained, they would never venture to affix such a calumny on the Church as to assert that she is the foe of individual and public liberty. But many there are who follow in the footsteps of Lucifer, and adopt as their own his rebellious cry, “I will not serve”; and consequently substitute for true liberty what is sheer and most foolish license. Such, for instance, are the men belonging to that widely spread and powerful organization, who, usurping the name of liberty, style themselves liberals.“

“…these followers of liberalism deny the existence of any divine authority to which obedience is due, and proclaim that every man is the law to himself; from which arises that ethical system which they style independent morality, and which, under the guise of liberty, exonerates man from any obedience to the commands of God, and substitutes a boundless license. The end of all this it is not difficult to foresee, especially when society is in question. For, when once man is firmly persuaded that he is subject to no one, it follows that the efficient cause of the unity of civil society is not to be sought in any principle external to man, or superior to him, but simply in the free will of individuals;”

“To refuse any bond of union between man and civil society, on the one hand, and God the Creator and consequently the supreme Law-giver, on the other, is plainly repugnant to the nature, not only of man, but of all created things; for, of necessity, all effects must in some proper way be connected with their cause;”

” For, once ascribe to human reason the only authority to decide what is true and what is good, and the real distinction between good and evil is destroyed; honor and dishonor differ not in their nature, but in the opinion and judgment of each one; pleasure is the measure of what is lawful; and, given a code of morality which can have little or no power to restrain or quiet the unruly propensities of man, a way is naturally opened to universal corruption.”

“The empire of God over man and civil society once repudiated, it follows that religion, as a public institution, can have no claim to exist, and that everything that belongs to religion will be treated with complete indifference.”

“From all this may be understood the nature and character of that liberty which the followers of liberalism so eagerly advocate and proclaim. On the one hand, they demand for themselves and for the State a license which opens the way to every perversity of opinion; and on the other, they hamper the Church in divers ways, restricting her liberty within narrowest limits, although from her teaching not only is there nothing to be feared, but in every respect very much to be gained.”

“By the patrons of liberalism, however, who make the State absolute and omnipotent, and proclaim that man should live altogether independently of God, the liberty of which We speak, which goes hand in hand with virtue and religion, is not admitted; and whatever is done for its preservation is accounted an injury and an offense against the State. Indeed, if what they say were really true, there would be no tyranny, no matter how monstrous, which we should not be bound to endure and submit to.”

“One thing, however, remains always true – that the liberty which is claimed for all to do all things is not, as We have often said, of itself desirable, inasmuch as it is contrary to reason that error and truth should have equal rights.“

“And as to tolerance, it is surprising how far removed from the equity and prudence of the Church are those who profess what is called liberalism. For, in allowing that boundless license of which We have spoken, they exceed all limits, and end at last by making no apparent distinction between truth and error, honesty and dishonesty. And because the Church, the pillar and ground of truth, and the unerring teacher of morals, is forced utterly to reprobate and condemn tolerance of such an abandoned and criminal character, they calumniate her as being wanting in patience and gentleness, and thus fail to see that, in so doing, they impute to her as a fault what is in reality a matter for commendation. But, in spite of all this show of tolerance, it very often happens that, while they profess themselves ready to lavish liberty on all in the greatest profusion, they are utterly intolerant toward the Catholic Church, by refusing to allow her the liberty of being herself free.”

“For, to reject the supreme authority to God, and to cast off all obedience to Him in public matters, or even in private and domestic affairs, is the greatest perversion of liberty and the worst kind of liberalism; and what We have said must be understood to apply to this alone in its fullest sense.”

“Many wish the State to be separated from the Church wholly and entirely, so that with regard to every right of human society, in institutions, customs, and laws, the offices of State, and the education of youth, they would pay no more regard to the Church than if she did not exist; and, at most, would allow the citizens individually to attend to their religion in private if so minded. Against such as these, all the arguments by which We disprove the principle of separation of Church and State are conclusive; with this super-added, that it is absurd the citizen should respect the Church, while the State may hold her in contempt.”

” Others oppose not the existence of the Church, nor indeed could they; yet they despoil her of the nature and rights of a perfect society, and maintain that it does not belong to her to legislate, to judge, or to punish, but only to exhort, to advise, and to rule her subjects in accordance with their own consent and will. By such opinion they pervert the nature of this divine society, and attenuate and narrow its authority, its office of teacher, and its whole efficiency; and at the same time they aggrandize the power of the civil government to such extent as to subject the Church of God to the empire and sway of the State, like any voluntary association of citizens.“

” Lastly, there remain those who, while they do not approve the separation of Church and State, think nevertheless that the Church ought to adapt herself to the times and conform to what is required by the modern system of government. Such an opinion is sound, if it is to be understood of some equitable adjustment consistent with truth and justice; in so far, namely, that the Church, in the hope of some great good, may show herself indulgent, and may conform to the times in so far as her sacred office permits. But it is not so in regard to practices and doctrines which a perversion of morals and a warped judgment have unlawfully introduced. Religion, truth, and justice must ever be maintained; and, as God has entrusted these great and sacred matters to her office as to dissemble in regard to what is false or unjust, or to connive at what is hurtful to religion.”

” Of the various forms of government, the Church does not reject any that are fitted to procure the welfare of the subject; she wishes only – and this nature itself requires – that they should be constituted without involving wrong to any one, and especially without violating the rights of the Church.”

 


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Catholics Moving Forward…..What Now After the SCOTUS Ruling?

First, this ruling surprises no one.  It is only confirmation of where society already is.   The worry moving forward is that the slowly increasing media portrayal of the normalcy of same-sex relationships that we have been seeing in recent years in tv, movies, commercials, print ads and more, will become a tidal wave.  It’s been the goal of the media for a long time to desensitize viewers to gay lifestyles and relationships so they will be more accepting of them over time.  

The media also makes it appear that there are more homosexuals than there really are.  In fact, 

1.8 percent of men self-identify as gay and 0.4 percent as bisexual, and 1.5 percent of women self-identify as lesbian and 0.9 percent as bisexual. Washington Post

This is a lot of societal upheaval, chaos and fighting over what is essentially a very small minority.  It also makes you wonder how many of this minority are actually interested in a life-long, monogamous marriage.  It kind of makes you wonder what this fight has really been about.  My thought is it isn’t about them having such great respect for marriage that they want their “right” to it as well, as the SCOTUS ruling suggests.  The underlying issue behind it all is that they want affirmation of their relationship as something good.   They want to not feel the pain of guilt about their homosexual acts.  Remember, the Church acknowledges the struggle those with same-sex attraction feel and reminds all to treat those with this condition with compassion and respect.  However, in doing so, it is not love to tell them that their sexual acts are licit.  They are not.  

OIL PAINTING COMMISSION OF FAMILY AT THE BEACH

I saw a facebook proclamation from someone that claimed, “finally free to love.”   Since when has anyone ever been shackled to the point that they weren’t free to love?  Love can’t be legislated.  Everyone has always been free to love or to even abuse what the word love really means.  We can see that by rampant divorce, adultery, pornography, contraception, and abortion. The fight against gay marriage was lost when heterosexuals became more accepting of these and took the use of them too lightly.  How could we effectively argue that marriage is ontologically impossible between members of the same sex when we’ve already done so much damage to the sanctity of it?

If you’ve seen any of the images from the gay pride parades happening in large cities worldwide, “finally free to love” seems to mean, free to shove it in your face and make you watch.   Sexuality, until recently in history, has always largely been something that’s been kept behind closed doors because it is an intimate and sacred act between husband and wife.  The gay lobby seems to believe that “freedom” means bringing sexuality out into the streets for all to see, including children.  This is an abuse of freedom, not a right use of it.

Moving forward, Catholics and all Christians, will now more than ever, need to educate themselves about marriage and get back to living it as the sacred institution that it has always been.  The solution is to live out ordinary, loving, committed married life in our own homes and if we are not married, to still respect it by how we live as a single person in the culture. In his response to the SCOTUS ruling, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia states, “The task now for believers is to form our own families even more deeply in the love of God, and to rebuild a healthy marriage culture, one marriage at a time, from the debris of today’s decision.”  Don’t forget–laws usually come about as a result of changed minds, not the other way around. The generations being raised now will need to be the recipients of good, wholesome, loving family life in order for them to be able to embrace it for themselves when the time comes. 1 Cor 1: 27 states “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,”  Christianity seems to be weak and foolish to those who are aggressively pushing progressive, liberal agendas.

It may seem right now that those who are wrong have the upper hand, but it will be ordinary families, faithful to the teachings of the Church, that will change minds and hearts over time.   Protect your children, parents.  Even I, who live in a small, conservative, rural town and who feels safe sending her children to our local public school, will be on the lookout for any kind of indoctrination that homosexual lifestyles are normal and good.  The day I see that, will be the day I home school.   I also suspect that cable will be going shortly.  Although there are a handful of programs that I will allow my girls to watch, it will be the commercials during those programs that will eliminate even that.  I’ve already seen at least three product commercials that included portraying same sex couples or families as the norm in the last few weeks.   I can’t protect them from seeing it at all but the less they see, the less they will get the message that this is something that’s ok or even widespread.  Remember the statistics.  The media will make them believe that there are a whole lot more homosexual people out there than there are.   If you largely eliminate as much media as possible, unless you live in a very large city, your children will have a realistic perspective of the truth. 

The media will spread images of same-sex couples that look like this to try to normalize gay “marriage.”

However, the gay pride parades show lifestyles that are anything but conducive to raising a healthy new generation.

See here, warning graphic images.

I found great comfort in two things as I pondered Friday’s decision.   The first was the daily readings for the Mass for Friday.    God speaking through these readings, which were planned for this day long before any SCOTUS decision, shows His faithfulness and encouragement to His people.

The Old Testament reading from Genesis featured God, using the union of husband and wife to carry forth the covenant between God and His people down through generations.

God further said to Abraham:
“As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai;
her name shall be Sarah.
I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her.
Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations,
and rulers of peoples shall issue from him.”

The reading from the Psalms featured this verse

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.

The Gospel reading was the healing of the leper.  After which, he was told to show himself to the priest.

And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I will do it. Be made clean.”
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one,
but go show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”

 Leprosy as a disease, although not from sin in a person’s life, was used as an example of what sin does to the soul and although Jesus healed the man completely, he was told to show himself to the priest and give the offering for his healing.  A foreshadowing of how Jesus would use the Catholic priest, for the forgiveness of sins.  As Catholic Christians, we need to seek repentance for our own sins against the sanctity of marriage before we move forward in changing the culture for the good, one heart and mind at a time.

The second thing I found comforting and encouraging was the statements from the Catholic Bishops to Friday’s decision.  Overall, they reaffirmed that

  • no law can change that which is true. Marriage is one man and one woman, united and committed for a lifetime for the procreation and education of children.
  • that we will still have a fight moving forward and that we need to do everything we can to strengthen marriages through prayer and living authentic Catholic lives
  • we should be prepared for persecution as the days move forward
  • despite our disagreements with those who support gay “marriage”, we have to debate in a respectful and loving way.

You can read the statements from individual bishops and archbishops here.  It is encouraging to see Christ speaking through the united voice of His shepherds.

The nature of the family (as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church)

2201 The conjugal community is established upon the consent of the spouses. Marriage and the family are ordered to the good of the spouses and to the procreation and education of children. The love of the spouses and the begetting of children create among members of the same family personal relationships and primordial responsibilities.
2202 A man and a woman united in marriage, together with their children, form a family. This institution is prior to any recognition by public authority, which has an obligation to recognize it. It should be considered the normal reference point by which the different forms of family relationship are to be evaluated.
2203 In creating man and woman, God instituted the human family and endowed it with its fundamental constitution. Its members are persons equal in dignity. For the common good of its members and of society, the family necessarily has manifold responsibilities, rights, and duties.

Parents, show your kids good, wholesome affection between husband and wife, have family dinner every night, pray together and celebrate the various feast and holy days throughout the liturgical year, attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation, have a joyful celebration when someone in the family receives a sacrament for the first time.  Fill your home with good books and movies. Talk and debate about social issues with your children and teach them what the church teaches about these. Do what good  families have done for millenia and have faith in God.


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“Hell Burns” As The Summer Movie Season Heats Up

Sr. Helena Burns fsp

Meet Sr. Helena Burns, media nun.  She writes the cleverly named “Hell Burns” blog.  Her “about me” intro begins “I was going to be an ornithologist, but God zapped me and I now belong to the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of religious women dedicated to spreading God’s Word through the media.”

Earlier this year, I signed up to receive notification of new posts to her blog.  What I like about her movie reviews is that they are well thought out and give an honest Catholic perspective mostly from Saint John Paul II’s Theology of the Body.  As a mom of teen girls, I appreciate having this perspective before allowing them to see certain films.  I also appreciate it for my own movie watching.

Her most recent review is from the new Pixar movie Inside Out.  Two of her thoughtful points were

“As far as the message kids might get about emotions? I’m sorry to report that the emotions are completely in charge. It’s unclear where cognition and willpower come in. Riley never takes the reigns of her emotions (OK, she’s only 11)–instead, they control her. We are made to see the worth of each emotion and the purpose they serve and how well things work when they all work together, but Riley seems like an automaton, simply and only driven by events, memories and feelings. Any kind of thought process (notwithstanding the “train of thought”–the main means of transportation in Riley’s noggin) is really beside the point.”

Maybe I’m asking too much of this kid’s film. Maybe the film had to focus on one aspect of the human person (emotions). Maybe the interplay of mind, will and heart (affectivity) is too complex for an child’s animated film. I’m sure parents and kids are having great conversations about emotions, and I will bet my bottom dollar that at Junior’s next meltdown, Mom and Dad are appealing to “Inside Out”: “Junior, remember in the movie when….”

Magic Mike II is also another film coming to theaters this summer and while she hasn’t done a review on it, she did write about the original Magic Mike. (Don’t worry.  As a nun, she didn’t see the film and I have no inclination to see it either.   However, that didn’t stop her review from having many good points, such as:

“Chippendales were established in 1979. Geez, why did it take so long? Because the Sexual Revolution of the 1960’s ushered in the fallacy that men and women are EXACTLY THE SAME. Women can objectify men now, too! Wow—what progress!”

” The Sexual Revolution told women that they can now “have sex like a man.” Because, you see, the male paradigm is the only good paradigm! Feminists, in wanting to be just like men, “have what men have,” unwittingly labeled women’s ways as inferior, and set about obliterating the feminine. But it gets worse. Women imitated BAD MEN. (If we wanted to be men, at least we could have imitated good men.) We imitated men who were cads, tools, players—promiscuously using/abusing women. But we turned the tables and did it to men, doing extreme violence to everything feminine in us, shutting off all our feminine voices and instincts and wisdom. “

“It’s not natural for men to exhibit themselves in a sexual way as the “prize” to be gained.”

“Men’s temptation is to lust after women, and women’s temptation is to want to/let themselves be lusted after. “The mission of every man is the dignity of every woman. The mission of every woman is the integrity of every man.””

“Women emphasize the emotional in a relationship, and are wired to be sexually stimulated first by the emotional. (Hooking-up is THE most unnatural thing in the world for women, who automatically/naturally evaluate a man’s character over time before they are comfortable enough to let their guard down.)”

“There is such a thing also as “emotional chastity” which women in particular need. Women fantasize in order to get an emotional high, but we often create incredible worlds of drama and unrealistic expectations that dribble into and disrupt our actual lives.”

“The “gift” of “Magic Mike” is not a true gift. It is not a “sincere” gift of self. It requires no sacrifice. There is no nourishment given. It is anti-fruitful. It is withholding. It is not real. It is a tease. It doesn’t satisfy, but only torments and frustrates. It is empty calories. It is a chimera. It is toxic. It is poison.”

““Magic Mike” further legitimizes and normalizes (male) stripping, exhibitionism, public nudity, hypersexuality, depersonalization, anonymity, separating sex and love, separating love and life, everyone belongs to everyone, the body as plaything.”

I encourage you to read the whole post.  It is chock full of really good theology and explains that Male Stripping is Unnatural, If Women Can Be Sexually Aroused Visually, Women’s Fantasy Lives, Why Women Are so Depressed Today, The Difference Between Porn and Art, How Sleeping Around is Preparing for the Opposite of Marriage

Other recent movies reviewed are

Jurassic World

“The battle for the upper hand winds up being between commerce (the Park must go on!) and utilitarianism (war for the sake of war). And both have one thing in common: human life is cheap. The body count isn’t extremely high or graphic, but those bodies are some people we’ve gotten to know. The goreless gore and constant frights might be a bit intense for little ones.”

Mad Max: Fury Road

“One reviewer noted that there’s “no sex.” True, no sex (the verb). But there is so much about the sexual difference and procreation standing at the crux of the film. This is also a film about life and hope and the rawest of human survival. Furiosa and the women are heading to a garden that once existed, the land of greenery, the land of “mothers.” The women are the keepers of seeds of all kinds. Indeed, so much of women’s heroism involves living things, growing things, giving “the new person” a chance, protecting life, cherishing life, carrying life, nourishing life, bringing life to birth and fruition. These tasks are not presented as “women’s burden” in “Fury Road,” in fact they are presented as extremely valuable and privileged, simply that women should not be treated as “things,” as the women’s rebellious graffiti declares: “We are not things!” “Our babies will not be warlords!””

50 Shades of Grey

“What might be new is this phenomenally warped idea that as long as women CONSENT to participate in their own degradation, it’s EMPOWERING. Sorry, honey. It doesn’t work that way. Degradation is degradation, and we must always afford ourselves and others our human dignity even if we/they don’t want it. But this idea is not totally new. Lena Dunham of “Girls” (HBO) and other feminists of the hour think, live and create their media this way also. AND just about every young woman who engages in drunken, anonymous sex every weekend on college campuses (to a lesser degree). The layers and entanglements of LIES here is staggering.”

“”My girlfriends and I are all in sexually degrading relationships with men. But we consider ourselves feminists.” –Lena Dunham (who, I believe sees the inconsistency, but can’t quite comprehend it, doesn’t quite know what to do about it–because she doesn’t know Theology of the Body!)”

Do check out her blog. (link above) She has reviews for many recent movies and older ones.  It may help you find something to rent or download on a rainy summer afternoon or evening, as well as determine if spending your hard-earned money at the theater is worth it.

 

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