This week in Mass I was thinking about how interesting it is that our churches are full of faithful little old ladies. I would be willing to bet that if you had to take the demographics of the average daily Mass at any Catholic church in the U.S. (and maybe the whole world), you'd find an average age of 60 and about a 4:1 ratio of women to men.
Why?
Well, for one, most daily Masses are early in the morning when it's unrealistic for people in the working world to make it. Secondly, men die before women, on average, so maybe after these women's husbands die they just spend all their time with the Lord. Hm, could be. But I think there's something else too.
Look at demographics among FOCUS Missionaries and the size and success of Bible Studies, and even their national conferences. Women outnumber men by far.
I think it has to do with the way that the Lord pursues us. Men are built to be the pursuer, rather than the pursuee. (That's a word now.) So for a man, it's got to be difficult to be receptive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and to allow himself to be loved and pursued by God. On the other hand, for women, the Lord's pursuit of our hearts is all that we long for. It's the perfect fulfillment of our deepest desires to have someone yearn for us, chase us, tell us we're loved and worth loving.
Recently I've been asked a few times why I don't date. (Until then I didn't realize that I "don't date" I just thought I happened to not be going on dates... I didn't know it had become a thing that people noticed.) The answer to that question makes me sound like a snob, but it is honest: I "don't date" because I haven't been asked out by anyone who is worth dating. I'm very decisive so I know a lot about what I'm looking for. Since working at Fidelity I've been asked out a few times, but I'm just not interested. It's nothing against the individuals, it's just that they don't know anything about me, but I know enough about them. You might be thinking: Brittany, you're being too hard on these people. You should at least go out with them once, dating is meant to be for getting to know each other. I get that, and previously I might have argued that every man deserves a first date. A girl I know actually told me that I'm never going to get married or date or be happy if I don't lower my standards. But I'm not going to waste my time or his when I know it would never work out. I want someone to know me before dating me. I'm a handful and I want someone to at least have a glimpse into what they're getting themselves into before asking me out.
I think very highly of myself and lowering my standards is just not an option. I don't need someone to be perfect, I don't need someone who has a certain hair color or job or 5 year plan or anything. I just need someone who is faithful to the Lord and open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. And someone who is willing to go out on a limb to pursue me the way that my heart desires to be pursued. I'm worth it!
St. Joseph, pray for us. Little Flower, pray for us.
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