In this weekend’s second reading we hear: “All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father” (James 1:17). To say “God is love” is the same as saying “God is gift.” For to love is not just to give a gift, but to be a gift: the gift that love gives is the gift of self. Of course, as John Paul II observes, “the concept of ‘giving’ cannot refer to nothing. It indicates the one who gives, and the one who receives the gift, as well as the relation established between them” (TOB 13:4). The one who gives the gift is God, the one who receives the gift is man (all of us, male and female), and the relationship that is established between them is “spousal.” In this relationship, God is always “masculine” and man (all of us, male and female) is always “feminine.” Why? Read the language of our bodies and we see readily that it is the masculine principle that first gives the gift and it’s the feminine principle that first receives it. We say “first” gives or “first” receives because, as John Paul II also observes, the giving and receiving of the gift interpenetrate in such a way that the very act of giving becomes receiving, and receiving becomes giving (see TOB 17:4). The sexual difference tells this story. It’s not just biology. It’s theology. Lord, give us eyes to see your Mystery revealed through our bodies!