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Author: Br. Ken Apuzzo, BH, from The Brotherhood of Hope, a community of Catholic Brothers radically consecrated to Jesus by vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience in a common fraternal life.

The One Thing Necessary

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul says, “I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided.” (1 Corinthians 7:32-34)

Here Paul is not saying that married people are somehow doing something wrong! In fact, to be faithful to their vocational call as parents and spouses they must engage the world and care their families. Rather, Paul contrasts the concerns of a married couple with the concerns of an unmarried person. This is not primarily an issue of time or resources but actually of the heart. What matters most to us claims the center of our hearts.

Paul is teaching that for the single person there should be only one “deep-hearted” desire and concern – and that is a concern for Jesus! When lived well, the Joy and power of living single for the Lord comes from the possibility of being in direct continual communion with the Lord first and alone. As Jesus says to Martha in the Gospels. “Martha you are anxious about many things but Mary has chosen “the one thing necessary.”

Ask yourself today: Do I desire the “one thing necessary”? How can I grow in desiring God alone?

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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