We are Espoused

“I will espouse you to me forever:

I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy;

I will espouse you in fidelity,

and you shall know the LORD.”

Hosea 2:21-22

Today we remember and celebrate St. Maria Goretti, a young girl who was killed because she refused to sin. A young man had asked her for sexual favors and when she repeatedly said no, he became more forceful. He finally got fed up and stabbed her 14 times. On her deathbed, Maria forgave the young man. Maria Goretti knew that she was espoused to the Lord and that she belonged to Him, and so any acts of infidelity would be out of the question, even at the cost of her life.

We belong to the Lord. We are His. We are espoused to Him. Because we have been so loved, we ought to love others with this same kind of a love – a disinterested, non-possessive kind of love, a love that wants only the good of the other. We can and are called to love this way because the Lord has loved us with that kind of love. In having received it, we can now give this love to others. However, if we haven’t received it, we ought to ask the Father to open our hearts and give us the humility and desire to receive this love. It is only in receiving that we will be able to give.

When she struggled and refused the give in to the young man, Maria Goretti exclaimed, “No! It is a sin! God does not want it!” She did not cave in not only because she knew it was culturally wrong but because it would offend God. May all of our thoughts, desires, and actions be determined by God’s love and fidelity towards us so that all that we think, say, and do be a reflection of His love and fidelity.