Deus, in adjutorium meum intende. Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina.
O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me.
February 6, yesterday, was the Feast of St. Titus, a Bishop ordained by St. Paul, who's See was in Crete. He died in 101 A.D. Paul wrote a letter to Titus about Christian life. It is included in Holy Scripture. Part of it (2:1-15), is read as the Epistle for the Mass of the day. I share here.
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But speak thou the things that become sound doctrine; That the aged men be sober, chaste, prudent, sound in faith, in love, in patience. The aged women, in like manner, in holy attire, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teaching well: That they may teach the young women to be wise, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, sober, having a care of the house, gentle, obedient to their husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Young men, in like manner, exhort that they be sober. in all things shew thyself an example of good works, in doctrine in integrity, in gravity, the sound word that can not be blamed: that he, who is on the contrary part, may be afraid, having no evil to say of us.............For the grace of God our Savior hath appeared to all men, instructing us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world, looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and might cleanse to Himself a people acceptable, a pursuer of good works. These things speak, and exhort and rebuke with all authority. let no man despise thee.
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As often happens, I found something that in a way, speaks to what St. Paul wrote. Rifling through papers in an old folder I came across a newspaper article, dated May 26, 1952. "The Los Angeles Examiner" had been doing a series of interviews with students on different Southern California college campuses. This was during the Korean War.
The statement was: "In these days of turmoil, with the world beset with countless fears and tensions, it is evident that the problems of today will be inherited by America's present-day generation of college youth.
How well equipped are they to handle these problems: Are they a discouraged, pessimistic generation, or are they facing the future with confidence and intelligence?"
My college, Mt. St. Mary's, was 13th in the series. The Mount was the first four-year Catholic college for women in the Los Angeles area, high in the Brentwood hills, now a beautiful view from the J. Paul Getty Museum, perched on a nearby hill. MSMC was, and probably still is, one of the country's most beautiful campuses, it's 56 acres terraced and featuring buildings with Spanish Renaissance style. It was founded in 1925 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, under then Archbishop John J. Cantwell. In 1952 there were about 600 students. The standards of education ranked among the highest in the U.S. with one of the best schools of nursing in the state. The educational aim, at the time, was to give its students the culture which would enable them to "think, judge and act constantly and consistently in accordance with the example and teaching of Christ."
That quoted statement seems sadly lacking today. When I read the promotions, information on the college, etc., I find little that makes it a Catholic college. It has fallen into modernism and relativism with so many other "Catholic" institutions of higher learning. However, the full page of interviewees' answers in the 1952 paper, were consistent with Catholic teaching . I can imagine the smiles and snickers as I put down some of the quotes. I was among those students in the interview, a junior at that time. So, here they are.
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First, the subject had to do with modern-day (at that ancient time, now) women seeking to "attain equal footing with men in the once-masculine domains of business, politics, industry and the professions." Was that a mistake? We mostly concluded that it was. Family life then, was already showing signs of instability, divorce increasingly easy, women not giving their husbands the support they needed, forgetting the importance of motherhood. Of course, men were at fault also. One observation was the lack of real religious conviction in men, spiritual indifference and "too tolerant of corruption." Some of this sounds as if it could be today. We felt that the main challenge was to be able to restore the family as the backbone of America's society. It doesn't seem that we were in any way successful, does it?
One response," We must realize that, if our families do not function properly, it affects not only us as individuals but the entire nation. If we can bring about a return of strong family ties, we will do much toward solving many of the present problems of moral and spiritual disintegration."
It was noted that it was difficult to remain women and still fulfill a modern destiny. "Much of our training today has been aimed at our getting out in a masculine world and competing with men on an equal basis. This is not a womanly characteristic, and we must be careful not to lose sight of our basic responsibilities as wives and mothers."
As to making use of our education, if not to make a success in the world outside the home,"An educated wife and mother will be able to build a stronger family life and instill in her children sound Christian principles and an awareness of the world around them."
Again,"It will be our responsibility to maintain the dignity of womanhood. Even if we are working for careers, we must realize that our ultimate goal is motherhood - that a strong family life is the backbone of our nation."
It was common for women in my generation of Catholic graduates to marry, with the intention of raising their families before seeking to work outside the home, except for part-time endeavors which did not interfere with the care of husband and family. It was a sacrifice, yes, when some of these women were gifted in science, sociology, etc. But it was a time when we saw what was already happening to the nuclear family and wanted to preserve it. Women already were downplaying the role of men as breadwinners. As we see today, men, having lost their role as family head, protector and provider, find it easy to abdicate the roles God meant them to have.
Times have not changed in another regard, and are worse than ever, because they were not checked in the beginning. Movies, TV, radio, magazines, newspapers (and now the internet and video games) "have been pulling down the ideals of the nation through exploitation of trash, crime and sex. It is time for us to demand higher, more wholesome standards of these mediums."
I found one comment interesting, because, it too, applies today."The young men of our generation are confused. They have no fundamental principles; they don't know where they are going." That's a pretty general statement. While a lot of young men are shallow and drifting, in life and relationships, it doesn't universally apply. "More and more, the young people of our generation are realizing the need for spiritual and moral values. They're aware of the pressures of a materialistic society and are searching for true values..." And someone added, "but...don't know what those values are."
We all noted a lack of maturity in young people who "are running farther and farther from truth, seeking escape in material comfort instead of turning to the word of God."
We also were worried about the country because of "the poor caliber of people who represent us in public office," and whose dedication was to "selfish interests."
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So, Paul's letter to Titus, on the rules for Christian life, was reflected in what we had learned in our religion, philosophy and history classes, and what we observed of the life of our times. We at least had a grounding and a firm belief system which was to sustain us through the years to come. While we didn't change the world, and were not able to preserve even our own families in many instances, we at least knew the difference between what was important and what was dross.
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