Sure, Rub It In

During the intentions at Mass this week, there was a special Valentine's Day prayer for couples who were in love.  I had never heard of such a thing before but it was yet another painful reminder of how singles are excluded from parish life.  This was the same church where I asked why nobody prayed for lonely unattached people like me.

Sitting in the row of pews across from me was a very pregnant young woman and her husband.  (Now that was just throwing salt on an open wound!)  I started to wonder if the guy really knew how lucky he was.  So often, I will see married people who take each other for granted and it seems like the longer people stay together, the more adversarial they are toward each other.  These couples don't give a second thought to something I have desperately longed for.

One of my close friends from high school will celebrate his 20th wedding anniversary in a few days and it has me thinking about all the time I lost by not finding a good woman to marry.  He met his spouse in college and they have so much shared history:  The honeymoon phase, that carefree time when they were a couple without kids, apartment living, renting and then later buying a house, starting a family, new and more successful jobs, moving to a different part of the country, etc.  Throughout all those stages in life, my friend has had someone to offer him comfort and support.  He admitted to me he's a much better man because of her.  I have none of those experiences under my belt.  Do people who dismiss Catholic singles think about these things?

At work, there are a large number of Valentine's Day decorations hanging up.  Everything from candy to cards to stuffed animals.  For couples, these things are cute reminders of the love they share.  For singles like me, they only serve to underscore how much we have missed in our lives.