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Isaiah 62: 2-5 Hosea 2: 21-22 Luke 1: 26-38
This thought always leaves me in awe when I remember it: God wants to espouse me to Himself forever. In fact, He wants to espouse you too. Every woman and man is called by God into a loving relationship with Him. It is a love that is so self-giving, so tirelessly passionate that the best image we have for understanding it is the union of husband and wife.
“As a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry you.”
Yet the beauty of the nuptial union is pale in comparison to the glorious union of love between God and the soul. Our eyes have not seen and our hearts have yet to imagine the love that awaits us in heaven.
But God is so good, He gives us little “previews” of such love here and now. We all live the reality of being part of the Church, the mystical Bride intimately united to Her divine Bridegroom, Christ Jesus. Then there are consecrated men and women who, by their vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, become visible signs on earth of the heavenly union with God. They make the glorious future of all humankind mystically present for us to witness now.
The “preview” that gives me the most hope of our future union with God is Mary, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Mary, we know and believe is the Beloved Daughter of the Father, Beloved Mother of the Son, and Beloved __________ of the Holy Spirit. One may be tempted to fill in the blank with “BFF” or “really close friend”. But God called the Blessed Virgin Mary to much more than friendship. “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
St. Maximilian Kolbe teaches us very clearly about the nature of this uniquely divine spousal union, first by the analogy of two human spouses. “
Holy Scripture affirms that ‘the two of them become one body’ [Gen. 2:24],
and Jesus insists,
"Thus they are no longer two but one flesh’ [Matt. 19:6].
In an incomparably more rigorous, more interior, more essential manner the Holy Spirit lives in the soul of the Immaculate, in her very being, and makes her fruitful from the first instant of her existence and throughout her life, that is, forever.”*
Meditate on this truth often and your heart cannot help but draw closer to God’s heart.
You are invited by Him, my dear sisters, to realize and accept His divine proposal in whatever state of life you are living. This is not often easy, but it is surely possible. We always have recourse to Mary, Spouse of the Spirit. May she intercede for each soul to be faithful to God and His covenant.
Please pray for all consecrated men and women, united to the Divine Spouse in a particular way, to grow in love and fidelity to Him. The stronger the bond of love between God and his consecrated persons, the more brightly do they shine as beacons of hope for you, for each other, for all humanity.
Finally, you are invited also to ask Mother Mary to intercede for the entire Church, the Bride of Christ, that She may draw nearer to her Divine Spouse in purity and self-gift, for the spiritual renewal and life of the world.
You and I, WE are the Church, His Bride. We all await with joyful hope the future glory of Love in heaven.
*Romb, Fr. Anselm W. The Kolbe Reader. Libertyville, IL: Marytown Press, 2007. p 212
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