St. Gianna Beretta Molla is a popular saint, not only
because she was so profoundly pro-life as to give up her own life in order to
save her unborn child, but also because she was a modern woman and a working
mother. She is someone mothers of today can relate to and aspire to imitate as
we carry out our own vocation. “Journey of Our Love: The Letters of St. Gianna
Beretta Molla and Pietro Molla” allows us an intimate look at the relationship
between husband and wife as they sought to establish and nurture their domestic
church. While her letters were previously published, this is the first time the
letters of both have been published together as Pietro Molla requested that his
correspondence not be published until after his death.
As editor Elio Guerriero states in the introduction, “These
letters are a convincing proof that the way of holiness does not necessarily
pass through religious life or the priestly ministry, but can unfold in the
midst of the world, living one’s own vocation as a Christian called to holiness
with Christ in married life.”
The book offers a short biography of both St. Gianna and her
husband, who met when he was 42 and she was 32. Their friendship quickly grew
to love and they married in September of 1955. Their marriage would last seven
short years until Gianna died soon after giving birth to their fourth child.
They packed a great deal of love and joy into those years which is revealed in
their letters.
“Journey of Our Love” includes letters from their dating and
engagement period as well as their marriage. They were separated frequently due
to Pietro’s work travel as well as during vacations. While they did have access
to the telephone and made use of it, they often wrote each other every day
during these separations, leaving a wonderful record of their relationship. The
copious footnotes provide the reader with background information and allow for
a greater appreciation and understanding of the text.
In the days of their courtship and engagement, we see two
people who want to make each other happy and who delight in each other. As
Pietro wrote on September 6, 1955, “Your love makes everything more beautiful
to me.” Their love, even in its infancy, was always rooted in prayer and
references to God and the Catholic faith are frequent in their epistles. This love, centered on God, made their relationship
more blessed.
During their married life, they shared the joy and
expectation of the birth of their children and their struggles in caring for
them when they were sick. The couple comes across very human as they discuss
the early hour their daughter awakes, Gianna’s fear of airplanes, Pietro’s need
to have teeth pulled, their in-laws, work issues, financial matters, and the
simple missing of each other. These were two people living married life, coping
with all the everyday matters that entails. Where their holy virtue is evident
is that all of this daily living was deeply rooted in God. In addition, their
love for each other always shines through.
“Journey
of Our Love” is a beautiful book for anyone who has a devotion to St. Gianna
and who wants to learn more about her married life. It also provides a
wonderful look at the beauty of a married life rooted in the love of God, the
ideal to which Catholic married couples should aspire.
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