Lenten Reflection Series, 21 March 2009

CHOOSING

"A woman I know tells this story: She married a man she loved but was immature. One night she went to a party with her husband, drank too much, and left the party with another man. Her husband demanded neither explanation nor apology. He simply said to her: "I'm going away for a few days so that you can be alone because you need to decide who you are: Are you a married woman or are you something else?" Now, years later, she is inside a solid marriage and infinitely more aware that the pearl of great price comes precisely at a price.

Every choice is a series of renunciations: If I marry one person, I cannot marry anyone else; if I choose a certain career, that excludes many other careers; if I have this, then I cannot have that. To choose one thing is to renounce others. That's the nature of choice.

For what are you willing to renounce other things? What is our own pearl of great price? Are we willing to give up everything in exchange for it? Are we willing to live with its limits?"

--Ron Rolheiser, OMI