This “Open Letter to a Disgruntled Reader” by Mary Beth Bonacci was written in April. It and other examples of her work with Real Love Productions are on the Internet at www.reallove.net.
Why on earth am I, as a single woman, so enthused about the subject of sexuality? Why have I essentially given my life to helping people understand God's plan for human sexuality, when I have no direct experience with the expression of that plan?
First of all, it's beautiful. So beautiful that is simply must be shared. When I first read John Paul II's Theology of the Body, I was flat-out overwhelmed. (John Paul II. See, there's another celibate who spends a whole lot of time talking about sex.) This is not the meaningless, body-centered activity that popular culture has taken to crassly glorifying at every turn. This goes the very core of who we are as human persons. It is the centerpiece of his plan to “fill the earth and subdue it.”
It is his love, reflected in the self-donating, life-giving love of a husband and a wife.
I can appreciate the beauty of that plan, even if I don't participate directly in its expression. And, second, God's plan for sexuality is about me, in more ways than I can enumerate in a single column.
Sexuality isn't just about intercourse. It's about who we are, as male and female, in the image and likeness of God.
My capacity to give myself in marriage teaches me about myself, whether or not I ever actually make that gift.
It teaches me that my sexuality is sacred. It is not to be thrown around carelessly. It teaches me how to keep my dating relationships healthy. It teaches me to really love, by setting aside a sometimes very strong and insistent drive for the sake of what is best for myself, for my date and for my relationship with God.
Respecting the gift of sexuality helps keep me healthy, happy and sane as a single person.