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Normally “prayer, sacrifice and devotion” while convincing others to consecrate themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is, after all, women’s work.  We men are made of sterner stuff.

Dear Lady,

Thank you for your polite consideration.  Of course women have a natural tendency to piety and men must make much greater efforts in order to fulfil their duties of prayer and sacrifice.  Most assuredly none can reach our common goal of perfection without constant prayer and sacrifice.  But for men this is often more complicated and gradates off into more hard work in studies and the more public sacrifices of work and combat.  Your estimate of 10:1 for the relative values of piety between the sexes makes perfect sense.  That is about the standard ratio that has been reached by the general consensus on that topic.  (Although the much greater perseverence of feminine piety and devotion goes far to balance the scales.)  What this writer was trying to refer to was essentially the tendency of hypocritical men to use what are often called “mincing devotions” and “oily unction” as plagiaries of genuine devotions and real piety among Catholic men.  There are always all too many Tartuffes among us and that obnoxious male character is never far to seek, most notably at present nearby in Boston, Kentucky.

Prayer and sacrifice are different for laymen, laywomen, women religious and clergymen.  Of course prayer and sacrifice are crucial for every Catholic, but we are extremely unequal in our talents and duties.  Prayer is most important for the clergy while women are called much the most to self-sacrifice and men are called to greatly emphasise the masculine virtue of magnanimity.  Laymen would usually be more bold and militant in the performance of their religious duties but also focus much more on their military duty and their obligation to earn a living while laywomen should be morally much freer to pursue and enjoy the many benefits of Christian civilisation, including the fulfillment of their duties of religion in more beautiful and civilised ways than would be proper for the men.

In general Catholic fathers should be examples of dutifulness and heroism to their sons and the boys’ connection to the Holy Ghost and practice of the Faith would be best maintained through the men’s hard struggle to provide for their families and the willingness to shed their own blood in the fulfillment of military duty.  Catholic laymen have always excelled in their military prayers, such as in the chanting of the Psalms when going off to battle.  That is the way laymen might best connect with the Holy Ghost in their prayers and maintain the Faith.  Military song and epic should always be integral to the prayer life of Cathollc boys and laymen; the men should pray and perform devotions, but not in the manner that the women should do them.  For example, the rosaries of men and boys should have dignified black beads, not lovely pastel ones.

The standard religious practice of our contemporary Marxist world is to listen to the God within one’s own Self (in other words, to Oneself) and never to the Just God of the Roman Catholics.  Whereas the Catholic approach has always been to have the Roman discipline to take a part in the Christian Drama and discover what we can do to increase the external Glory of God.  Catholic men are meant to be magnanimous and when no ruckus is raised around them, then Catholic men should worry what is wrong with them.  How does a lightning rod not attract lightning or the war songs of Catholic warriors not echo loudly?

Catholic laymen are born to be heroes.  Heroes don’t surround themselves with drama and constant action; such drama and action is simply the air they breathe, the inevitable effect of their existence; Christ is invariably soon heard and seen loud and clear.  How would He not be?

As for the absolutely essential level of peace within our souls that you mention, for we men that is usually first and foremost the Mother of God in our lives.  And then that level is in accord with how well the Catholic women in our lives faithfully reflect her.  She and they are our main personal connection with the Holy Ghost.

It is you, dear lady, who have brought the Holy Spirit of Christ into our humble discussion.  We men contribute the glorious sound and fury, but it is for you Catholic women to maintain that level of peace you gently mention, whether inside or outside our souls.

Franciscan, we can not raise soldiers from a culture which has lost the spirit of militancy for God.

Saint Marco D'Aviano pray for us