With the ever-rising crisis in the world of true fatherhood and motherhood, and the growing confusion of what masculinity and femininity inherently entail, the respective roles of men and women have become distorted and, in turn, the beauty and wholeness of the family has been stripped. Yet, the world is a battlefield, and each mother and father is given different, though complementary, weapons to fight in the same battle— working together to protect and preserve the family. Conveniently, we have two perfect exemplars of true fatherhood and motherhood to look up to and to help us see the innate beauty and power in the role of men and women.

 

The left painting of this diptych, Terror of Demons, is based on St. Joseph and represents

true fatherhood and masculinity— as St. Joseph is the epitome of what it means to be a father. A sword is chosen for fatherhood because such a weapon is used in direct combat in battle; in the same way, the role of a father is to be on the “frontlines” in the battle waged against the family, active in combat and willing to lay down his life for his wife and children. At the same time, the sword illustrates St. Joseph’s “Sword of Purity,” which every man is called to wield against the attacks of the Enemy…

 

The right painting of this diptych, Protectress of Humanity, is based on the Virgin Mary, Our Blessed Mother, and represents true motherhood and femininity— as Mary is the epitome of what it means to be a mother. A bow and arrows are chosen for motherhood because such a weapon is used indirectly in battle, from afar; in the same way, the role of a mother is to participate in the battle waged against the family in such a way as to assist and direct the father. From a higher plain, the mother is able to stand guard and both attack and watch for approaching enemies in the distance, and so help direct the husband who is on the frontline…

Read more here: https://www.aveentoma.com/post/terror-of-demons-and-protectress-of-humanity