January 7, 2006

Advent

Advent has become a strange time, difficult to really live.
That is so because it is a time of waiting.
And we are not used to waiting anymore.

We try that everything is done as quick as possible. We fill our schedules until there is no free time. Sometimes until there are overlaps. We even come to a state in which we feel weird everytime we simply have a time to stop. The young mothers no longer wait for their babies, they just make a stop in their frenetic life when it really has to be, a few weeks before labour. ... And to speak about waiting in the context of dating is almost sarcastic.

However, some things have more value when they are waited for.
A wide range of things, from the ones I mentioned above to the meal who was cooking for hours and filled the kitchen with a delicious smell which opened our appettite. In the eagerness of wanting everything right now, I am afraid we have lost much of the flavour of life.

I will certainly be accused of machism and of being reactionary beyond any possible defense, but I am convinced that one of the reasons for this lack of the capacity to wait, as well as for the frenzy the world has become today, is in the lack of the feminine element. The subject would deserve a blog of its own, or a small book, but truth is I believe there is a lack of feminine in the world because women quit being feminine.

I am not going to defend the position that women belong at home, on the contrary. I am stating the much more subtle claim that the role of women in society should be found in such a way that would allow women to remain feminine. And that remaining feminine implies admitting that there is a fundamental and most valuable role that they have in the families, that no one can do instead of them.

But here perhaps the best thing to do is to shut up and let them do the talking: I have found this couple of blogs, which say what I would like to say, only much better than I actually could.

http://www.amodaantiga.blogger.com.br/2005_03_01_archive.html#35703169
(translation to english soon)

http://okiehillgirl.blogspot.com/2005/12/it-aint-snow.html

And in order to be capable of waiting again (now, specifically we men), we could follow the invitation done by the Pope last sunday:

"Let's allow ourselves to be "infected" by the silence of St. Joseph! It is so lacking in this world which is often too noisy, which is not favorable to recollection and listening to the voice of God. In this time of preparation for Christmas, let us cultivate interior recollection so as to receive and keep Jesus in our lives.

1 comment:

okiehillgirl said...

i'm flattered that you linked to my blog. thank you.