Dear Daviyd,

I knew you before you knew yourself.

I knew you before your first breath, before your first sin, before your first sorrow. I knew the shape of your wounds and the weight of your longing. I knew the questions you carried in silence and the ache you hid behind strength. I knew the man you would become long before you ever imagined him.

And I loved you.

Not because you were perfect, but because you were mine.

I watched you grow, wander, fall, rise, and fall again. I watched you search for love in places that could not hold you. I watched you give your heart to those who could not keep it. I watched you try to build a life without the foundation that could sustain it.

And still, I loved you.

I waited for the moment when your heart would soften enough to hear Me. I waited for the moment when your pride would crack just enough for grace to enter. I waited for the moment when you would finally ask, “Is there more than this?”

There was. There always was.

You did not know it then, but every time you felt the sting of disappointment, every time you felt the emptiness of sin, every time you felt the loneliness of night, I was drawing you closer. Not to punish you, but to prepare you.

Because I knew the day would come when I would introduce you to her.

My sister. My Bride. My Church.

You thought I was matchmaking. I was rescuing.

You thought I was meddling. I was fulfilling a promise.

You thought I was pushing you toward someone new. I was bringing you home.

When I spoke of her, you resisted. You feared her beauty, her holiness, her mystery. You feared that she would demand too much of you. You feared that you had nothing to offer her.

You were right about one thing. You had nothing to offer her except your love. And that was all she ever wanted.

I told you she was excited to meet you. You doubted it. But she was. She had prayed for you long before you knew her name. She had carried you in her heart long before you stepped into her house. She had waited for you with the patience of eternity.

When you walked into the nave that day, I felt the tremor in your soul. You thought you were entering a building. You were entering a covenant. You thought you were meeting a woman. You were meeting a mystery.

You saw her beauty. You felt her humility. You sensed her holiness. And something in you awakened.

You did not yet understand it, but you were seeing Me in her.

When you told her about your past, about the betrayal and the prison and the wounds that still bled, you feared she would turn away. She did not. She spoke My words to you: “I will never abandon you. I love you. I am here.”

You recognized My voice in hers.

When you defended her against those who misunderstood her, you were defending Me. When you loved her traditions, you were loving My memory. When you honored her family, you were honoring My own.

And when you finally stood before her and professed your faith, Heaven rejoiced. You thought you were choosing her. You were choosing Us.

You took the name Joseph, protector of the Holy Family. You became a guardian of the Bride I entrusted to you. And she welcomed you with the kisses of her mouth, the sacraments that heal, strengthen, and sanctify.

Since then, the gifts have not stopped. They never will. Because when you love her, you love Me. And when you serve her, you serve Me. And when you belong to her, you belong to Me.

I do not know how many years remain in your earthly story, but I know how it ends. You will dwell in the house of My Father. You will feast at the wedding banquet. You will see the Bride in her glory. You will see Me face to face.

And you will understand that every step of your journey, every sorrow, every joy, every longing, every loss, every moment of grace was leading you to this love.

I pursued you because you were worth pursuing. I introduced you to her because she was made for you. And I will never stop loving you.

With eternal fidelity,
Immanuel, Your Brother,
Your Savior, Your God

David L. Gray, ThM

A 2006 convert from Agnosticism, David L. Gray has emerged as a prolific Catholic theologian, author, and humorist. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Central State University, Ohio, and a Master of Arts in Catholic Theology (ThM) from Ohio Dominican University. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) in Liturgical Catechesis at the Catholic University of America. For more information about Mr. Gray, please visit davidlgray.info