Witnessing the Body of Christ in My Own Body

One year ago, as I left home for Mass to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi (Latin for the Body of Christ), I had no idea that my life would change: later that day, I met the woman who is now my fiancée.

Until then, my romantic life had often alternated between, on the one hand, short relationships with overwhelming women whom I mistrusted and therefore found difficult to commit to and, on the other, even shorter relationships with other men from whom I expected to obtain the male affection I lacked while growing up. Not surprisingly, I never seriously thought that getting married could be part of God’s plan for my life. But thankfully, He thought otherwise. Over these past twelve months, I slowly rediscovered the inherent beauty, truth and goodness in woman. I felt clearly the call to become the man I am designed to be. And I finally understood what the Church—the body of Christ—teaches about how the spousal union between a woman and a man reflects Christ’s ultimate act of love for us. I am now seeing the fulfillment of much of what I have learned in Living Waters and Theology of the Body, both of which were deeply transformative. Naturally, the enemy, who is all too aware of our wounds, tries time and again to sow doubts in our hearts. Is it not too late to start anew? Won’t my past stand in the way of our future? Do I have what it takes to meet the profound needs of this woman deeply marked by her own brokenness?

But the One who gives us our identity also gives us the answer to our doubts and questions. Love is the answer. He, who loved us first and will love us until the end, is the answer.

Contemplating at daily Mass the broken body of Christ, I am often reminded of my own: broken, but like Him, also redeemed, His redemption securing my own. He kept visible the scars of His wounds even after the Resurrection, and thus, my own healed wounds bear testimony to His healing wounds.

Jesus surrendered to God’s will and laid down His life out of love. In every Mass, He does so again and again, His broken body offered in love to all who believe. In light of such a Savior, the thought of giving my broken body to my future wife doesn’t just feel good—it feels right. I have been transformed by the love of Christ that makes such a sacrifice possible. I look forward to becoming one body with her, and with her, becoming one with the Body.