Maternity is not a career, aptitude or inclination. Maternity is a gift and a call from God. Through maternity and paternity, God shares with us his creative power. Psalm 139:13 states, “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb.”

Parents participate with God in renewing humankind. Thus being a mother and being a father is a sacred action of life and love throughout their children’s life.

Some mothers, along with their husbands, make the decision to remain at home to care for their children. They are not better or worse than those mothers who decide to bring their children to day-care facilities, hire nannies to take care of their children, or those who have older or unemployed family members take care of their children while they go to work.

Both stay-at-home mothers and working mothers have the same dignity because of their participation in God’s plan.