Embarking the Life of a Homemaker

As I prepared for marriage with my, then, fiancé we were given a reading assignments by our priest. I was suggested to read “The Mirror of True Womanhood: A Book of Instruction for Women in the World”. In this book women of virtue were showcased in a collection of short stories to inspire the modern reader to mirror a life of beauty, truth, and goodness. The essence of a homemaker was revered, honored, and cherished in all the stories recounted by the author. Insight into the lives of these women were shared with such magnificent lessons of sacrificial love that emulate the true love of Christ’s mother, Mary most holy.

In this book it was uplifting to read “how every woman, can in like manner, make of her home a paradise, and be the loved and worshipped queen of [her] little kingdom which no one can take from her”. Having this level of respect and honor for traditional homemaking rightfully praises the woman’s efforts to labor lovingly, forget oneself, and be mindful of the welfare of others. Thus encourages her to grow in her own beauty, truth, and goodness. This is the outlook that encouraged me to commence my role as a devoted homemaker. I desired to nourish my feminine heart with a spirit of royalty that exhibits a rich, bright, blissful, and lovely energy to share with my home.

The common message in all of the stories were true charity. And as I read more of these virtuous women, I was able to clearly recognize that “labor of love” was the base of their home life, marriage, and motherhood. It was their habitual servitude towards their family that brought them joy in life and to feel fulfilled. The fruits of their labor were greater than what physical deed was accomplished; the more they served the richer they grew in their spirit.

The royal pathway to goodness and greatness starts with forgetting oneself. We must first forget one’s own comforts/sufferings and make efforts to devote ourselves to the labor of making every person with whom we live with happy, so that we may be rewarded by interior satisfaction and joy. The more often this is practiced, the greater sense of peace and comfort is cultivated in the home. This is sacrificial love; the kind of love that makes our hearts and spirits thrive with fulfillment. Love is transformative, and we have the opportunity to give it freely every moment of the day.

Blessed is the mother who knows how to make their home bright and warm for those around her.

It is with great honor I start my journey in becoming the best homemaker I can be and invite you all to also consider the lifestyle of a homemaker…

xx, Cielo Cesare