“Your lips cover me with kisses;
your love is better than wine.
There is a fragrance about you;
the sound of your name recalls it.
No woman could keep from loving you.”
– Song of Solomon 1:2-3, GNT
More and more, I think that God is not only helping me to affirm my single vocation but also helping me see how it is possible to be His spouse and beloved even if I’m not a professed nun or religious.
Whom Do I Love?
I can’t help but wonder when people ask,
“Whom do you wish to love?”
For they cannot understand,
Why I’ve waited for too long.
They say time is running out,
They ask me why I’m still free.
But how do I even begin
To say who’s the one for me?
For though they think I am alone,
I know my heart has found a home.
And though they think I’ve failed to live,
I’ve spent my days as I believed.
O, if only they could see,
See the one who’s meant for me,
I’m sure they’d all agree,
I’m as happy as can be.
“Who is it that you love?”
They may ask of me.
“Perhaps he is someone who is rich
Or one as fair as can be.”
“Perhaps one who’s strong and tall,
Or one whose fame is wide.
Perhaps one whose power is sure,
Such a one who need not hide.”
To these, I can only smile,
For I know whom I hold so dear,
There is only one for me,
One whose face I’ve yet to see.
But I do know Him from His touch,
A touch so warm and true.
And I know Him from His scars
Scars He need not hide from me and you.
To Him alone I give my heart,
To the One whose love is sure.
To Him alone I give my life,
To the One whose hands are scarred.
“Celibacy is not the absence of a passion; it is rather the intensity of a passion.”
– Fulton J. Sheen, Treasure in Clay: The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen
“Don’t be afraid, for you will not be ashamed.
Don’t be confounded, for you will not be disappointed.
For you will forget the shame of your youth.
You will remember the reproach of your widowhood no more.
For your Maker is your husband; the LORD of Armies is his name.
– Isaiah 54:4-5, WEB-BE
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"