Cultural Clash in Pictures
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Masculinity & Extravagance in the
Modern Female Profile
Above, we have three modern ladies who have already reached a mature age... a very mature age. On the whole there is something masculine about them – a robustness, a self-sufficiency, an air of imposing one's own will, a prominent self-assertion in public, a boisterous and triumphant elation – that somehow reminds one of the swollen-headed self-made man who became rich and likes to show off... the more the better.
Besides their masculine air, it is also remarkable that they are acting like "girls." While a certain gravity of semblance and manners is the proper backdrop for old age, even in hours of leisure, these ladies laugh, eat and enjoy themselves with the garrulity of three young women. The showy patterns of their dresses and, especially, the festive extravagance of their hats, accentuate this impression.
How charming were the elderly of past decades! How much confidence and respect they inspired!
In brief, everything in this picture that can be called typically modern tends to despoil old age of its authentic charms and replace it with false attractions.
How charming were the elderly of past decades! How much confidence and respect they inspired! They did not disguise their physical decrepitude nor were they ashamed of it, for they knew that, over and beyond the outward appearance of a natural deterioration, the moral apogee of a soul that had reached the fullness of its worth shone forth.
Who feels inclined to help the self-sufficient "girls" of our picture? Who can imagine receiving from them a counsel full of gravity, deliberation and serene elevation of soul?
Oh, those affable, solicitous and wise counselors who in each family were the grandfather and grandmother of old, having no other pleasures but those of the home nor any other concerns except for meditating on life and preparing for death!
An extreme example and, therefore, a sublime one of what the Church accomplishes in this respect is the recollection, austerity, the incommensurable elevation of sights to which the Rule invites the Carmelites, even the young ones.
Our picture at left presents a partial view of the Carmelite refectory on Via Borgo Vado in Rome. The nuns who appear in it have their faces covered by veils due to the presence of the photographer. They are about to start their meal. The reader is in the pulpit to entertain the community with a pious reading.
Catolicismo n. 95 - November 1958
Posted April 9, 2018
Posted April 9, 2018
______________________
______________________
 Volume I |
 Volume II |
 Volume III |
 Volume IV |
 Volume V |
 Volume VI |
 Volume VII |
 Volume VIII |
 Volume IX |
 Volume X |
 Volume XI |
 Special Edition |