We welcome to this page those of you called to give your whole life to God whether through the vocation of Holy Priesthood or various forms of Consecrated life. What a high calling we have been given, to witness to the espousal union with God to which we are all ultimately called.

It is a challenge for us to live in this world, but of the next; to live the “already, but not yet” (CCC). It is a profound calling for which few are chosen… but a calling that must be nurtured and fostered daily. In order to do this we must exercise our spiritual senses, and be among the blessed who “do not see but believe.”

Just as with an earthly vocation, our calling must be built on a solid foundation: knowing our true dignity and identity first as children of God, then brothers and sisters of Christ, then spouses of Christ (and of His Church for Priests); and from there, Mothers and Fathers of all humanity.

We are called to live the Heavenly reality, “the Wedding Feast of the Lamb,” here on earth, as a sign

of great hope to all, of our ultimate calling; and a sign that this life is very short in comparison to Heaven, and but an anti-chamber, a preparation for eternal life to come.

As with so many saints who have gone before us, we are meant to fall so deeply in love with Christ, Our Father, the Holy Spirit, that others can encounter God when they see us. Just as St. Maximillian Kolbe spoke of Mary as “like the Holy Spirit Incarnate;” through her intercession, we are called to “incarnate” God’s presence in the world. We are called to “decrease” with St. John the Baptist, “that He may increase.”

Fellow brothers and sisters called to give your whole selves to God in the consecrated life, let us unite, pray for and encourage one another in this very high calling. Satan is rampant in our day, in attempt to distract us from our missions as brides of Christ and Priests “en persona Christi.”

But we have been given a tremendous aid in our journey, which allows for great protection, grace, and stability. “Behold your Mother!” Jesus says to all of us, His beloved disciples.

May we all allow ourselves to be fully open to receive this gift, that we may not miss out on all the graces available in making the journey much quicker, easier and smoother. May we let Mary take us by the hand, clasp us to her heart, and never let us go. May she truly be our spiritual Mother in a deeply intimate and bonding way, as Vatican II encourages. (refer to Mary page).

Human/Spiritual Integration

There is great woundedness among us in the times in which we live. And, so, there is a danger, as Pope St. John Paull II tells us, of tending toward either over-spiritualizing OR giving into the flesh in a disordered way. He said there is a dualism among some Catholics, where we can lack a human/spiritual integration. We can tend toward angelism –spirit good, body bad; or animalism – if it feels good do it. And, in either extreme, we lack the integration spoken of by St. Paul, of our call to be “transformed” from within.

Pope Benedict XVI continued to reiterate St. John Paul II’s TOB teaching:

“Eros, at its deepest level, is the desire within us that ‘seeks God.’”

Raniero Cantalamessa explains further:

“In the world we find eros without agape; among believers we often find agape without eros.” The former “is a body without a soul” The latter— agape without eros—“ is a soul without a body”; it’s a “cold love” in which “the component linked to affectivity and the heart is systematically denied or repressed.”

Jesus and Mary were perfectly integrated humanly and spiritually. They knew deeply Their dignity and identity as “children of God.” We on the other hand, all grew up with imperfect parents to varying degrees; and often we can find ourselves lacking in our openness and receptivity to God’s unconditional love and acceptance of us; when we find ourselves in those rooms of woundedness in our hearts.

The danger comes, for us as religious and priests, when we enter the consecrated life without first having contentment and security in who we are as “children of God”. We may have head knowledge; but if we haven’t opened our hearts to receive this knowledge, we lack a solid foundation upon which to build our espousal relationship with God (and His Church for Priests.)

And this is where things come out side-ways. We then need to find our identity and security in something other: what others think of us, how successful we can be, material pleasures, disordered relationships, sexual promiscuity, alcoholism, food, WHAT WE DO, and the list goes on.

But, there is great hope for one who finds themself in this category, in which many of us probably do find ourselves to one degree or another; though some to a much greater degree if there has been a lack of emotional bonding and affirmation in our earlier formative years (See Dr. Bob Schuchts -JPII Healing Center, or Suzanne Baars – Affirmation Deprivation Neurosis).

If we find ourselves stuck in the spiritual life, not moving forward, this is a sign that Jesus is knocking at a room in our heart that He wants to come into. But, we are having a hard time hearing Him and inviting Him in if we are escaping into disordered or worldly ways.

So often we hear in the spiritual life that a primary virtue is humility; that it is the root virtue that allows for all the others to flourish. Humility is truth. We must be open and honest with ourselves and with God about our struggles, longings, aches and desires in life… be they rightly ordered or disordered. Jesus can only come into those rooms and areas in our hearts and lives - where we are in need of His redeeming: graces, light and truth -  if we invite Him in. We must be real and vulnerable with Him about who we are. He already knows, but we need to know that He knows, and commune with Him about it. And, how powerful the Sacramental life becomes when our hearts are disposed to receive Him fully into those rooms in which we find ourselves most needy, struggling or ashamed.

“Oh that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort… that you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts… When you see this your hearts will rejoice, and your bodies flourish like the grass!”

St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Christ nursing at the breast of Mary/Mother Church.

Are we who are consecrated to God, and called to profound communion with Him, allowing ourselves to be still enough to receive His nourishing love and grace?

We are being called to “suck fully” of the nourishing milk of the Holy Spirit that flows forth from Mother Church and the spiritual breasts of our Holy Mother. May we have the grace to go beyond sexualizing this image, to enter into the profound mystical graces available as we transcend the natural to the supernatural senses.

How can we nourish others if we are not first nourished ourselves?

May we all heed St. Peter’s call:

“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation; for you have tasted the kindness of the Lord,” (1Pet 2:2).

Let us nurse at the BREAST OF GOD, as we enter deeply into the the Sacramental life of the Church; where our Eucharistic Lord is the nipple with which we bond deeply, and the Holy Spirit is the milk which fills and nourishes us. And, Mary is the perfect Mother who reflects to us the maternal aspect of God’s infinite love.

His Wounded Bride!

I speak in this article primarily about His consecrated ones: consecrated men and women who represent the espousal union to which we’re all ultimately called.

Those of us us who have given our lives fully to Him in the consecrated life, are called to continually foster an ever-deeper communion of life with our Beloved; — an intimacy that reaches ever-deeper into the core of who we are: in particular our deepest longings and desires; — an intimacy that invites Him into every part of us: our physical, sexual, emotional, mental make-up, as well as every stage of our lives from the moment of conception.

In order for us to be true witnesses to all of the espousal union with God to which we are all ultimately called, we must continually dispose ourselves more and more to this profound communion. We must allow the reality of the mystery of His Incarnation to penetrate deeply into our humanity, in order that we might become one. We must allow our Incarnate Lover to embrace every part of us.

Pope St. John Paul II says in his teachings on Theology of the Body, “Continence…has acquired the significance of an act of nuptial love, that is a nuptial love of the Redeemer…On the basis of the SAME DISPOSITION of the personal subject, and on the basis of the SAME NUPTIAL MEANING OF THE BODY, there can be formed the love that commits man to marriage for the whole duration of his life, BUT THERE CAN BE FORMED ALSO THE LOVE THAT COMMITS MAN TO A LIFE OF CONTINENCE FOR THE KINGDOM.”

He goes on to say, “[Continence for the Kingdom] comes about on the Basis of FULL CONSCIOUSNESS OF THAT NUPTIAL MEANING that masculinity and femininity contain in themselves. If this choice would come about by way of some ARTIFICIAL PRESCINDING from this real wealth of every human subject (meaning, repressing our sexuality), IT WOULD NOT APPROPRIATELY AND ADEQUATELY CORRESPOND TO CHRIST’S WORDS…” (Apr 26, ’82).

Not light words spoken by our Holy Father. They clearly express that we are called to live, as celibates, in the full reality of who we are meant to be as sexual beings, male and female. Of course we are called to sublimate the sexual energies used in the marital vocation, allowing our sexual desires to transcend from the natural to the supernatural level, in order to be empowered to grow in a deep and profound union with Christ our Bridegroom; and for priests en persona Christi with their bride the Church, beginning with Mary, Spotless Bride.

If the deep passion of our heart is dormant then John Paul II’s statement can never be lived out. It is only through the calling forth of our own entombed ”Lazarus,” a circumcision of our own hearts, that we can truly begin to connect with our Divine Lover heart-to-heart; that we can allow the most sensitive parts of us to be touched, loved and embraced by Him (Something that Mary did most perfectly).

And, it is only then, in the joy of such communion of hearts, that others can be drawn in as well, to the “Wedding Feast of the Lamb.”

SO IF ONE’S HEART is in need of awakening, what first must take place is an honesty with God about it; an honesty about who we are before Him, with no mincing of the truth.

What is the greatest longing and desire within us?… Are we even in touch with it, or are we medicating ourseves with a lukewarm/compromised Christian life?…

“I have come to set the earth on fire and oh how I wish it were already blazing!” Jesus laments.

He wants to ignite our hearts ever-more deeply, until the flames of His love so permeate us that there is no distinction between us… we are one (as Jesus and Mary’s Hearts were/are one). And, we "become fire," as the desert fathers encouraged.

But this can only happen if our hearts are brought to Him, surrendered to Him; and we are fully open and honest about everything, including our disordered longings and inclinations. It is in fact especially in being open about the things we least like about ourselves and of which we are most ashamed, that His fire can be invited in. It is in being real and honest about these deeper core areas within us that we can experience the truth of the words of our Lord, “I came that you might have life and have it to the full.”

Spiritual Motherhood

All women are called to motherhood, whether on the physical or spiritual realm. We were created to be nurturers. Those who have consecrated their lives to God as his bride, are called in a very real way to be spiritual mothers; and if this doesn’t take place, something inside dies, never flourishing as it was intended.

Following is a personal sharing from one who has given her life to Christ as His bride:

"To be a spiritual mother is so profound… it encompasses my whole being at times when I sense my spiritual children are longing for the milk of comfort.

It is one of the deepest experiences for me that could seem a scandal to many I’m sure…

But I can at times experience an intense longing to nourish the one in need of the nourishing, bonding love of God, especially with and through our Holy Mother… She who is the ultimate nurturer of all of humanity, in drawing us to the love of God.

Many would not understand this sharing in its purity because we live in such an over-sexualized, lust-ridden society, but were one to transcend all of the fleshly interpretations of such a sharing, they would see that we as the people of God are called to something so profound and all transcending, that draws us deeply into the the womb, the all nourishing and embracing love of God…

And, this, a love so intimate and profound that it touches the deepest fibers of who we are as His children, loved by Him in a way that words could never accurately express.

I can especially experience this longing to nourish humanity when I become one with Mary at the Birth of Jesus as she nurses Christ, and spiritually draws all of humanity into this stance of “suck[ing] fully of the milk of comfort.”

“Be as eager for the spirit as new born children for milk,” St. Peter tells us… But do we really allow ourselves to go there with God? To invite His love to penetrate the deepest core of our aches and longings… or do we allow other things of this world to take the place.

I can especially experience the desire to nourish my spiritual children in the mystery of the decent of the Holy Spirit, where the Spirit of God, the “milk of His comfort”, is flowing in a profound way to His people.

I can especially experience a longing for humanity to be nourished (or “sated” as JPII says it) by the Eucharistic love of Jesus especially expressed at the last Supper, and prefigured at the Wedding Feast of Cana; when He gives Himself totally to us, inviting us to literally take Him into us as He penetrates the deepest core of our being if we allow Him to.

I especially experience a longing for humanity to by “sated” at Calvary where the Sacred Heart of Jesus is pierced by a sword and blood and water flow out to bring nourishing life and love to all of humanity… That we might drink ravenously from His side, receiving the graces of the living waters of Baptism and the New Wine of His espousal, Eucharistic love deeply into us, as would a nursing child for its mother’s milk.

+May it be so oh Lord! May You be consoled in the Garden of Gethsemane as your Divine Love is deeply received and loved in return.+

+Lord, I long to be a nourishing spiritual mother to all of humanity! May I decrease, that the nourishing love of your Spirit may flow through me to all of your children. May I keep nothing for myself but be a “living sacrifice” of love and total self-gift to all of your children.+

+Mother, take over! Possess me and draw me deeply into your disposition of nourishing love for all of humanity, after first being a ravenous child in your arms, in search of the “milk of comfort” myself.+"

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GOD HAS SET A BANQUET BEFORE US AS CHRISTIANS, IF WE BUT DISPOSE OURSELVES TO RECEIVE IT!

Is Our Sexuality Repressed In Our Relationship With God, Or Are We Receptive Bride?

SOME WOULD THINK OUR SEXUALITY SHOULD BE REPRESSED when it comes to our spirituality and our prayer life. And that the two should not be together “in one room.” In fact a wife once told me that her husband didn’t want a Sacred Heart of Jesus picture in their bedroom because he didn’t think Jesus should be a part of their sexual encounters. (Whereas, God is meant to be at the center of nuptial union between spouses.)

As well, I’ve known religious and priests who, in entering the consecrated life, have closed off with lock and key their sexuality; lest it rear its ugly head in a disordered fashion. And, we see where that has gotten many: the pedophile scandal; other hetero and homosexual scandals; a lack of joy in vocation; a prudish, self-righteous or judgmental attitude…

Well, in fact, our brilliant Pope St. John Paul II knew of this “dualism;” and of the great need for Catholics to fully expose to God who we are in our sexual make-up; that He might redeem and restore anything that is out of order, and satisfy our deepest “eros” longings in a holy and sacred way, with His infinite love, sensitivity and attentiveness to every part of us.

ST. TERESA OF AVILA

And, in fact, her full openness to God is what allowed St. Teresa of Avila’s transverberation to take place:

“I saw an angel close by me, on my left side, in bodily form… He was not large, but small of stature, and most beautiful—his face burning, as if he were one of the highest angels, who seem to be all of fire…

“I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the iron’s point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God. The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it. The soul is satisfied now with nothing less than God. The pain is not bodily, but spiritual; though the body has its share in it, even a large one. It is a caressing of love so sweet which now takes place between the soul and God…” (St. Teresa of Avila, The Book of Her Life, Chapter XXIX.)

ST. CATHERINE OF SIENNA

St. Catherine of Sienna’s vulnerable disposition before God is what drew Jesus to appear to her and allow her to nurse at the wound in His side, when she was so thirsting for communion with Him. Keep in mind in the below sharing, however, that in St. Catherine’s time daily receiving of Holy Communion was not allowed; even if one were to attend Mass.

St. Catherine’s spiritual director says:

“One day during Mass, Catherine was weeping so loudly (in ecstasy) that the priest told her to move away from the altar because she was so distracting. While she remained there, a long way from the altar, thirsting for the adorable Sacrament, saying in a low voice, but loud in spirit: ‘I want the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ,’ lo, as so often happened, the Lord Himself appeared to her, determined to satisfy her, and, drawing her mouth towards the wound in His side, made a sign to her to sate herself to her heart’s content on His body and blood. She did not need to be invited twice, and drank long from the rivers of life at their source in the holy side; and such sweetness ascended into her soul that she thought she must die of love” (Raymond, Life, 149).

Another Sharing about Catherine:

“The image of the nursing Christ is one of her favorite metaphors and is closely associated with the Eucharist. …” (Bynum, Holy Feast, 173).

Such sharings may seem odd, but Catherine was seen as a very holy woman, who lived off of the Eucharist alone for 7 years. She was eventually given permission to receive the Eucharist whenever she wanted.

ST. BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX

St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s pure and receptive disposition before God is what allowed Mary to expose her breast to him in a holy and maternal way, allowing a stream of milk to flow into his mouth in a supernatural vision; symbolizing the Scripture, “Oh that you may suck fully of the milk of her* comfort; that you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts” (Is 66:10). (*her refers to Mary and Mother Church)

The following gives a little more detail:

“In 1174, St. Bernard was canonized by Pope Alexander III, and in 1830, declared “Doctor of the Church” by Pope Pius VII.

Exact details of the vision(s) known as the “Lactation of St. Bernard” are unclear. One account indicates a statue of the Virgin Mary came to life while Bernard was praying. The animated statue of Mary sprayed milk from her breast onto the parched lips of

St. Bernard had a vision of Mary holding Jesus; and Mary squirted milk into his mouth, symbolizing her role as spiritual Mother and Mediatrix of all Grace.

Bernard, forever proving her status as the Virgin Mother of God. Another account tells of a dream in which the Virgin Mary came to Bernard after he fell asleep between prayers. In this vision, Mary pressed her breast against his lips in order that he may receive the Wisdom of God, (or Divine Enlightenment). ” (La Virgen de la Leche fb)

Again, such an analogy could seem odd, but let us not forget what St. Peter tells us:

“Be as eager for the spirit as new born children for milk,”  (2Pet 2).
(for more on “suck[ing] fully of the milk of comfort” GO HERE)

THESE THREE EXAMPLES COULD SEEM SCANDALOUS, if one were not seeing them through the filter of a pure heart. But the very exciting news being conveyed in this sharing, is that God has set a banquet before us as Christians, if we but dispose ourselves to receive it.

And, I didn’t mention the many other stories of canonized saints in the Church, who experienced profound intimacy with God; which pierced to the core of their “eros” longing, sating them with His infinite love. I can think of St. Thomas Aquinas who wrote such lofty theology; and then experienced God in a deeply profound way, and said of all of his writings, “all is straw” compared to who God really is and his love for us.

ST. CLARE

Another story I’d like to share, is of St. Clare of Assisi. This dream was found in the collection of testimonies used for her beatification. It is from Sr. Philippi, from the 13th century, and confirmed by 3 others who gave testimony as well. It is said that St. Clare didn’t want this dream to be shared until after her death.

“Lady Clare also related how once, in a vision, it seemed to her she brought a bowl of hot water to Saint Francis along with a towel for drying his hands. She was climbing a very high stairway, but was going very quickly, almost as though she were going on a level ground. When she reached St Francis, the saint bared his breast and said to the Lady Clare: ‘Come, take, and drink.’ After she had sucked from it, the same admonished her to imbibe once again. After she did so what she had tasted was so sweet and delightful she in no way could describe it. After she had imbibed, the nipple or opening of the breast from which the milk comes remained between the lips of blessed Clare. After she took what remained in her mouth in her hands, it seemed to her it was gold so clear and bright that she saw herself totally in it as in a mirror.”

Some scholars have said the golden nugget represents Jesus in the Eucharist; which seems a good possibility. In my own experience, gazing upon the Consecrated Host has been as though gazing into a mirror, and coming to know my true identity in Christ.

In summary, it seems this mystical dream confirms the key role St. Francis played in St. Clare’s life, in drawing her into a deep bond and intimacy of life with Christ; which allowed her to know her true identity.

Some may find it odd that Saint Francis would be in a motherly role with Saint Clare. But even St Paul says of his ministry,
 

“We proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.” (1Thes 2:7,8)

AND EVEN AFTER SHARING ALL OF THIS, I still haven’t mentioned the most famous of all acts of one fully disposed and receptive bride to our Divine Lover.

MARY

“Mary said to the angel, ‘how can this be, since I have no relations with a man?’ And the angel said to her in reply, ‘the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.’…

Mary said, ‘behold I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.’” (Lk 1)

Mary opened and surrendered the Garden of her womb, the Garden of her whole being and sexuality as woman, to God. And thus we have the Incarnation of Christ; Emmanuel – “God is with us.”

“In the fullness of time” Christ was conceived in Mary’s womb through her nuptial union with God. This is why the church speaks of Mary as “Spotless Bride.”

This mystery of what took place at the Annunciation, could seem to have similarities to what St Teresa of Avila mentioned earlier, “it was not bodily, but spiritual; though the body has its share in it, even a large one.”

Mary was sated in her soul during her life here on Earth, because she allowed God the Trinity to permeate and possess her totally throughout every moment of her life. This doesn’t mean she was constantly experiencing consolation. She suffered much in a way we can’t even imagine. And yet she was in profound communion of life with God, and this sated her soul.

WE ARE ALL CALLED AS WELL

AS SCRIPTURE TELLS US, we are called to:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mk 12:30)

But also:

“We love because He first love(s) us.” (1Jn 4:19)

Thus, we must first become receptive to His Love… Not just in our spiritual life, but in every area and aspect of who we are: Our physical makeup, our psychological makeup, our personality with all it’s quirks and qualms, and, last but not least, our sexual makeup.

IN MY OWN LIFE GROWING UP, I OFTEN FELT THE NEED TO HIDE THINGS ABOUT MYSELF that weren’t perfect or were disordered, or that just had to do with my sexual make-up in general; because I would be embarrassed or ashamed of them. And, as well, I didn’t feel worthy of being loved, unless I had a reason for others to love me: if I was pretty, smart, funny, good at something I did, etc. It was all about externals, I didn’t know that I was loved at the core of who I was created to be.

My identity was clearly dependent on what others thought of me. But, then I discovered the Gospel, the Good News that Christ had come to bring… That I am unconditionally loved and accepted by God just for who I am.

I no longer had to keep a mask on, sharing only the good things about myself, to try to gain the love and approval of others (though much of this was done subconsciously). I had come to realize the heart of the Gospel message — of God’s great and tender love and mercy.

And, so began my journey toward healing and wholeness. And, up till today, I continue to strive to be real with God about who I am; and I invite Him in, to love and embrace me there. The “there” that I might share with Him could be feelings of consolation and love for Him; or disordered inclinations that might be stirring; or aches and longings for something more, which have surfaced; or just the burden of being my own greatest cross, due to the various ways I can feel lacking in my love for God and neighbor.

I now understand the deeper meaning of the Scripture: “I will take you from your foreign land and bring you back to your own land” (Ezekiel 36:24). Because this is what Jesus has been doing with me through the years… taking me from the “foreign land”: of trying to be someone other than I am, and being enslaved by the spirit of the world, flesh and devil — and bringing me back to my “own land” of resting in my deeper heart of who I am, and who I am created to be, with Jesus.

I’m reminded of what Leanne Payne would say, that many people are “walking beside themselves” and not living from the core of who they are. That was me before, in the “foreign land.” The key is, though, that when we return to our own land, it must be with God and in the fullness of His Truth, or, it isn’t truly our own land.

ALWAYS, WHEN I AM REAL WITH JESUS and invite Him into the room in which I find myself, in the end I experience joy and peace. And, what a beautiful, tender and sensitive lover He is. He is always faithful in filling me with His redeeming graces, and satisfying any of my deepest aches and longings; including those that flow from my sexual make-up.

We were all created with a deep “eros longing” as Pope Benedict wrote about in “God is Love;” from which our prayer and communion with God must flow, in order to truly encounter God in our deeper heart.

We were all created with a deep ache for communion: to be deeply known and loved by another; to have another be present to us in the deepest most sensitive parts of who we are.

And, this ache is at the heart of our sexual make-up. It is not created ugly or impure. It is not created to be hidden from God. It is a legitimate longing within each of us that very often either gets repressed, or comes out sideways (disordered) – in ways that we seek its fulfillment in the finite natural realm by other creatures or things.

In Genesis we read, “male and female He created [us]…and He saw that it was very Good.” We were created for communion… not primarily with one another, but with God, and with one another in God.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were in communion with God and thus their relationship with one another was in Divine Order. When we fell, we lost that Divine Order, but in Christ, the “New Adam” and Mary the “New Eve”, we find it again.

There are so many divorces, and there’s so much disordered sexual promiscuity in our world today. And, this is because we all have those deep, legitimate, “eros” longings, which we often close off to God, and seek to have fulfilled in finite ways. And, never the two shall meet. Our deepest core hunger can only be sated by God’s infinite Love, not any finite creature or thing.

There are those who aren’t acting out in disordered ways of sexual sin, but doing the opposite; repressing their sexuality, as St. John Paul II says. They are saying, spirit good, body bad, and repressing their humanity; trying to “suck it up,” and pull themselves up by the boot straps… to become holy with willpower alone. And, in so doing, it comes out sideways in a self-righteous, judgmental or prudish disposition, as I mentioned earlier; which lacks joy and a true living of the following Scripture:

“I came that you may have life, and have it to the full” (Jn 10:10).

In my own life, I have been in both camps to varying degrees, at different times and seasons of my life. And thus I can give testimony to His grace and mercy.

SOME OF US HAVE DISCOVERED the “Pearl of great price,” and invited Him in as our Divine Lover, to sate our deepest “eros” longings that surface throughout our journey of life. And, this is our true calling. For, Jesus is alive and in our midst, and He is longing to draw us back to the Divine Order that we had before the fall; but also, to something even greater still. Because He who is God has become “our Husband;” and, we the Church are His Bride, invited to begin living the Wedding Feast of the Lamb here on earth. Are we receptive Bride? Opening ourselves to nuptial union with God?

I was speaking to a young man recently, with a homosexual orientation, who was living with his “lover”. He was very open to healthy dialogue with me, as, he was grappling with it all. And, so I shared with him a revelation that has come to me, to get his thoughts on it. And it is this:

What men with homosexual orientations are really longing for in their deepest core, is to live out their role as the “bride of Christ.”

After pausing for a moment of reflection, his response to me was,

“that could work!”

ON THE OTHER HAND, SO MANY MEN HAVE “man-ed up” so much that they have lost sight of the sensitive heart of Christ, and their call to be receptive bride to God. I really can understand those in the gay community in their struggle with having a place to share the sensitive parts of their heart. I see a need for integration on both sides.

Many of the “manly”, “Alfa” men, who don’t struggle with homosexual orientations, are either deeply into pornography, masturbation or some other sexual impurity; and/or, they are self-righteous, judgmental and/or insensitive. Certainly there are as well many holy men who have a human/spiritual integration.

Pope John Paul II said of the hierarchical leaders of the Church that they must be “Marian” before “Patristic”. They must be receptive be-ers, before active do-ers. This is often harder for men to do than women, because they are meant to be the “head”.

But, Mary is the way. “Behold your Mother!” Mary (and all women who seek to emulate her) is the one who teaches men to take on their role as receptive bride before God – “and your maker will be your husband.”

Certainly such a role transcends the consensual sexual union that is limited to earthly marriage. But it is meant to engage the deep eros longing at the core of us all, with an encounter with the sensitive, loving hearts of Jesus and Mary.

Christ and our Heavenly Father are meant to aid men and women in coming to know the love of a perfect Father, brother, or lover; to heal any wounds brought on by fathers or other men.

And as well, God has ordained that Mary, the New Eve, would be the “Woman” that would sate our deepest needs and longings for the love of a perfect mother, sister or lover. This is why the Most Holy Trinity crowned her as Queen of Heaven and Earth. She is all holy, pure and beautiful and only leads one to the infinite, unconditional love and acceptance of the Trinity, and in a special way, the Eucharist, through her maternal Heart.

Women who struggle with homosexual orientations are no doubt longing for the tender, motherly (or sisterly) love of a woman; and then this legitimate longing and need so often becomes distorted by the deception of the evil one.

Men who struggle with heterosexual pornography, masturbation, and promiscuity, are really longing to enter into the “womb” of a perfect mother, a perfect woman; to experience profound bonding of the deeper heart. And, again, they are often deceived by the evil one as to where they will find their fulfillment.

This is one of the many reasons why Jesus said “behold your mother.” He knew of our great need for the love of a perfect mother. Our bond with our earthly mother is the deepest, most fundamental relationship in our lives (our relationship with our fathers is there as well); and none of our earthly mothers have been perfect. So we all have mother wounds to varying degrees (and father wounds).

Is this possibly one key reason why God sent Mary to Fatima; and why Jesus told us through Lucia in 1925, “I want my Mother’s Immaculate Heart placed beside my Sacred Heart?”

Are we allowing the deepest cries and longings of our hearts to surface before God? Or, have we pushed them down, due to a faulty formation in our so broken world, that is molded by a Manichean spirit, and that of the world, the flesh and the devil?

POPE JOHN PAUL II SAID TO US, in one of his latest writings:

“Is this not the greatest of human longings?…[for] a profound and mutual abiding [with Jesus].”

In full he tells us,

“Receiving the Eucharist means entering into a profound communion with Jesus. ‘Abide in me, and I in you’ (Jn 15:4). This relationship of profound and mutual ‘abiding’ enables us to have a certain foretaste of heaven on earth. Is this not the greatest of human yearnings? Is this not what God had in mind when he brought about in history his plan of salvation? God has placed in human hearts a “hunger” for his word (cf. Am 8:11), a hunger which will be satisfied only by full union with him. Eucharistic communion was given so that we might be “sated” with God here on earth, in expectation of our complete fulfilment in heaven ” (Mane Nobiscum Domini, 19).

May it be so! May we as “Bride the Church” have the grace to become one with Mary, Spotless Bride, spoken of in Revelation, in order that we can be “sated” here on earth and beyond by God’s espousal love; that all will be drawn to Mother Church, to eat from the banquet at the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb.” (Rev 19:7)

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away,… And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” (Rev 21:1-4).

And, “the spirit and the bride say come!…come Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22: 17,21)