“We need to rediscover the deep and sometimes buried roots of our attraction. We need to celebrate romantic love. It is, after all, our calling.”
– Valerie Schultz, Closer, page 83
– Valerie Schultz, Closer, page 83
Each page of Valerie Schultz’s Closer: musings on intimacy, marriage, and God takes you into deeper understanding of the mix between passion, routine, and grace that makes up marriage. Sometimes books that intend to guide their readers come across as a rulebook or a lecture. Schultz avoids that from the very first page by making it clear, “God is reminding me that I am no expert” (pg 1). Closer is authentic and doesn’t shy away from the gritty details. That is what makes this book so powerful. Schultz touches on the details of marriage that people wonder and know about but rarely speak of. |
I think this book is brilliant. As a 19 year old, who has felt that the time to discern my vocation is closer than I thought, I’ve struggled with understanding marriage. Schultz’s openhearted experiences helped me to realize how romantic love is a divine gift. Too often the idea of vocations and discernment is only linked to the holy orders and consecrated life. I struggled with understanding how wanting to spend my life with someone I love could measure up to devoting one’s life to Christ. It’s similar to the guilt that Schultz described Catholics tend to feel towards sex in marriage, “[we have] the sneaking suspicion that something this good must be bad” (pg 37).
Then the more I read, the more I realized that God is in those little experiences, things that seem just ordinary. Schultz’s tells story after story, highlighting different areas of marriage, and how God is actually there through it all. She calls out the fact that many of us, herself included, think of God and prayer as belonging on a “higher, more spiritual level.” |
Now that I’ve finished the book I wonder…
What could our churches do for couples? I’m still dating, but I know I’d be really interested in a workshop or a faith group that supports and guides couples.
How can we, as a Catholic culture, provide a better understanding of what marriage and intimacy should look like? I thought that one of the most refreshing parts of this book was how Schultz embraced the fact that intimacy in the right context is a holy thing.
Is there anything you thought was interesting or thought provoking in the book? Did you love it? Hate it? Felt embarrassed or inspired? Did it make you change anything in your relationship? Or made you appreciate something that you didn’t before?
Let me know in the Bookshelf feed on Talk Story :)
What could our churches do for couples? I’m still dating, but I know I’d be really interested in a workshop or a faith group that supports and guides couples.
How can we, as a Catholic culture, provide a better understanding of what marriage and intimacy should look like? I thought that one of the most refreshing parts of this book was how Schultz embraced the fact that intimacy in the right context is a holy thing.
Is there anything you thought was interesting or thought provoking in the book? Did you love it? Hate it? Felt embarrassed or inspired? Did it make you change anything in your relationship? Or made you appreciate something that you didn’t before?
Let me know in the Bookshelf feed on Talk Story :)