Like A Virgin

I missed the 80’s, I was doing unvirgin things like getting married and having babies. I have never listened to Madonna, not familiar with her songs. In fact, I don’t even remember the 80’s, sleep deprivation can be a beautiful thing. I had not even paid much attention to the “singing nun” from Italy, Sr. Christina, until last night.  Sleep deprived with a foster puppy, I was trying to stay awake until 10 pm to take her out one last time in hopes of maybe getting to sleep until 4 am. She came across my newsfeed on Facebook and so I watched her cover of “Like a Virgin,” then I watched a couple more of her videos and I found myself smiling. Smiling at this beautiful young woman so full of life and joy. So gifted and exuberant. I wasn’t troubled by her singing one of Madonna’s songs, even with the title being perceived as controversial. For a culture that is obsessed with sex, we still don’t like to talk about, well, sex. Or sexuality, or sensuality, or anything that happens between sheets, on sheets, or even near sheets.

I was surprised at the flurry of comments directed at this young woman, this nun, who dared to sing this song from a different perspective. Why is it wrong for her to sing of being touched for the very first time? Is not the experience of being touched by Jesus what evangelization is all about? Scripture is full of the nuptial imagery, deeply sensual imagery – go read the Song of Solomon. She sings of being shiny and new – Jesus says He makes all things new. Hold on to that last thought, we will come back to it.

I remember many years ago when I was studying Theology of the Body and all that sex stuff, that it was thought we carried around with us every person we had a sexual encounter with, carried them around for the rest of our lives. Makes for a crowded bed. I accepted that reasoning, but it never resonated with me. It planted one of the first seeds of doubt in my mind about the power of Christ actually. Jesus said He makes all things new. Jesus said come to Him. Jesus said “I forgive you, go and sin no more.” He didn’t add and for the rest of your life you are carry this burden with you. No, not there. I looked. So is He the Christ or isn’t He? Look at the confusion we cast on our young adults. Go to Jesus, go to Confession, you will be made whole and clean. But oh, you had sex, sorry about your luck – yeah, you need to go to Confession because you are in mortal sin, and oh by the way, now you are burdened for life with that memory and that person. And don’t tsk, tsk, me. I had young adults and they talked to me. We tie them in knots about their own sexuality. Allow me to clarify, yes, sex is for marriage, please do not misconstrue what I am saying here.

We all can experience being a virgin whether we are sexually active or not. The word virgin is not solely a word to describe an individual that has not had sexual relations. I am going to link to the dictionary so you can see the multiple meanings: virgin. Did you see, virgin to sorrows, virgin wool, virgin forest, and yes, a maiden. Here is a virgin experience, approaching the marriage bed after the death of a child, yeah – quite a bit like a virgin. We live the cycle of virgin experience our entire life, but our narrow view refuses to accept it and we see only the sexual experience. More the pity to us to be missing out on the constant renewal of our being.

I thought last night as I listened and watched this young nun sing of being made new, saving her love, being touched, that I could hear many of the female mystics brought forth in her song. They wrote of a mystical union, she sings of a mystical union. She shares a window into the dynamic life of a religious woman, celibate does not mean asexual, chastity does not mean absence of sexuality. It is the integration of the two that create – yes, create, so it is even fruitful.  I think we all hunger to go back to our original innocence, isn’t the Joy of the Gospel is that we can, and part of that joy is that what is restored to us and in us is even better than that original innocence because we have been brought into relationship with Christ?

All humans need human touch. Whether religious or not, humans need to be touched. Not all touch is sexual, there is no shame in singing of being touched. Babies die without human contact, children need hugs, and even us grown ups need human contact, we shrivel and die without a touch, a hug. We lavish on our companion animals more affection than most people receive in a lifetime. It is sad.

So sing Sister Christina, sing and be not afraid. Show the world your relationship to Christ, sing of His presence in your life. Don’t let your joy be stolen.