The Family: Not for Production or Consumption, But Joy, by Dr. Jeff Mirus

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture, March 10, 2023

In his comments on industrial accidents on March 9th, Pope Francis mentioned that “the clear separation of family and work environments has had negative consequences not only on the family, but also on the work culture.” The Holy Father made the point that the sharp separation between the two has reinforced the idea that the family is the place of consumption and the enterprise the place of production.

This observation is right on target. In a rural economy of small farmers, for example, the family flourished in an atmosphere of shared responsibilities and benefits which encompassed the whole of life—a life more often than not rooted in prayer for what God alone could control (such as the weather) and lived out through hard work and shared leisure in a deeply familial setting. If we compare this pattern with that of an industrial society, we find intense pressures in precisely the opposite direction. …

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