The Enclosed Garden Heart: Living as a Bride of Christ in the Midst of the World

“She is a garden enclosed, my sister, my promised bride; a garden enclosed, a sealed fountain.” Song of Songs 4:12

The Catechism of the Catholic Church #1617 states, “The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church. Already Baptism, the entry into the People of God, is a nuptial mystery; it is so to speak the nuptial bath which precedes the wedding feast, the Eucharist.” And Pope John Paul II wrote in Mulieris Dignitatem, “In the context of the ’great mystery’ of Christ and of the Church, all are called to respond – as a bride – with the gift of their lives to the inexpressible gift of the love of Christ, who alone, as the Redeemer of the world, is the Church’s Bridegroom.”

In other words, we are all called to belong first and foremost to Christ as His bride. Living one’s life in spousal relationship with Christ, we must discern all things with and in Him, and bring Him into all our other relationships. At Hope’s Garden, women are coming to know and fall in love with Christ the Bridegroom as He heals their broken hearts and reveals Himself to be the Spouse of their souls. In response to Jesus’ love and tenderness, they are committing to live as His brides in the midst of the world.

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