Single women, married women, women religious…. We all have in common our desire to give and receive love, to image the eternal Love who has made us, daily nourishes us, and forever calls us to himself. Our hearts are arenas for the drama created by the struggle between love and lust. The beauty of love, the loveliness of giving life, wrestle with the down-and-dirty aspects of making a living alone or with a husband, raising a family, and just the narrowing of our horizons that results from keeping our nose to the grindstone. We lose touch with the divine drama that is our birthright! So here are some key thoughts to keep you clear about who you are and what you are about.
Some key aspects of the body’s theology:
1) The Church reminds you to keep your head high so you can see your own God-like dignity. The love you’re created for is woven into the very fibers of your body and soul. Jesus through his Spirit makes it possible to become this love.
2) Satisfy your genuine desires for love. How do you know which desires are genuine and which are a smoke-screen that is distorting and deluding your heart? Genuine love images God’s love, and God’s love is free, total, faithful, and fruitful.
3) Love is a mutual self-gift where two people freely give themselves to each other and accept one another in love. That statement should blow our minds and make us tremble! There is no way that two people on their wedding day can love like that: offer a completely free, total, faithful, and selfless gift and be able to receive the gift of the other. Love is a task,which we begin as a single adult woman and develop throughout our lives, whether we remain single, marry, or become a consecrated religious woman. The daily hassles, arguments, discouragements, and joys are also sacred because they are taken up in this horizon of love. They are the means by which love grows. Every situation in our lives is just that one great task of love broken down into doable chunks. Each situation met with courage and kindness can be transformed into love, creating in us character, maturity, and a deep loveliness.