This summer, I was reading a book full of letters from St. Gianna Beretta Molla to her husband Pietro when he was away on business trips. My heart couldn’t help but be lit on fire by the raw love that she was pouring out into those letters, but they weren’t cheesy, gushy letters like you would find in a stereotypical romance movie or novel. Her heart was broken open by the absence of her husband, especially during difficult times of illness in the lives of her children, and my heart couldn’t help but ache for her suffering. But she lived out her vocation with such great love and joy that she derived from her relationship with the Lord. Gianna lived her life as a beautiful witness of sanctity in her vocation, and as a result, she was rewarded the gift of eternal life in Heaven.
I could write pages about Gianna’s holiness and how she is so important when it comes to the topic of sanctity found in the lay vocation, but I’m not going to. Something that struck me while reading the introduction to this book of letters was a line written by Elio Guerriero: “Urged on by love, Gianna wanted another child” (Love Letters to My Husband, p. 13). That blew my mind! At this point in her life, Gianna already had her husband to pour her love into, plus her two children, Pierluigi and Mariolina, not to mention her patients and other family members—but she had such an overflowing of love that she desired to have another child. I loved that Guerriero chose to describe her disposition in this way.
In order to contemplate this properly, I think I would first need to question what the source of this love is. This book of letters holds many examples of piety from both Gianna and her husband Pietro; therefore, it’s safe to presume that the source of the love that Gianna continuously pours out on her husband and children is that of her Lord.
We love because He first loved us.
-1 John 4:19
What strikes me about Gianna’s story is how deeply and selflessly she loved, even in the midst of her own suffering. As I’m writing, I’m looking back on a tough, tough week. I felt burdened and overwhelmed by so many things. It’s difficult to be engaged in coursework, knowing it’s the last semester of classes for my undergrad and most of them are, to be quite frank, boring. It’s hard to go to prayer when my mind is constantly racing with all of the things I have to get done. It’s frustrating to watch the To-Do list continue to grow, even though I’m frantically checking things off. Something that I’ve often forgotten on my life journey, and especially during this past week, is my Why. Why do I continue to go to classes that are seemingly a waste of my time and hard-earned money? Why do I drive myself mad by partaking in numerous extra-curricular activities and jobs that take up the remainder of my time? Why did I decide to take on a challenging diet in the midst of everything else?
This phrase that my Bible study leader introduced to us last year hit me over the head:
for love alone.
Why do I continue to study, go to class, go to work, go to Bible study, lead a Bible study, go to Honors, eat according to Whole30, and invest in relationships with those closest to me? For love alone. For no other reason would I be able to do all these things. Each day, I have encountered this whisper of encouragement that pushes me on, through the struggles and hardships. Day by day, I am urged on by love for education and the possibility of being a communication professional in the real world in less than six months. I am urged on by love of the discipline and obedience that is required to succeed in a diet that doesn’t allow you to eat anything good (just good for you *rolls eyes*). I am urged on by love for those incredible people that the Lord has placed in my life to be in relationship with. Ultimately, I am urged on by love for our Lord—the same God who generously poured out His love on St. Gianna—love for Him in whom I find my strength, hope, and courage.
What is your Why? How often do you respond to aspects of life with a disposition of love?
May St. Gianna, and all those who have entered into Paradise as a result of being urged on by love of our God, pray for us on our journey, that we, too, would be inspired to do what we are called, if for no other reason than love alone. And may we never lose sight of that love.