I think Adam is to blame. It’s he who first felt something was amiss. He was supposed to be in paradise. I don’t understand why he should be missing something. Does that mean a man must have a woman because even paradise isn’t what it suggests itself to be – a land of eternal bliss – unless a woman is in it?

Well, if we have to go by the story, it has got to be that, otherwise there wouldn’t be a single woman standing today.

What a dreary world it would be, I imagine. So there, I just gave myself away. I’m man and I just said the world’s a far livelier place because there’s woman in it.

The implication of this? Every man needs to find his missing rib to feel complete, as Adam felt wanting even in paradise, and had to have a rib taken from him, from which Eve was fashioned.

I said that already in my previous column. So why should I repeat it now? I actually feel bothered by what I wrote. That’s why I’m making this encore.

I went to mass last Sunday with my daughter Sara who was celebrating her 6th birthday that day and I’m not sure if I was imagining things but the priest seemed to have read what I wrote because his homily was progressing in more or less a similar manner as my previous column.

Some men, like priests, chose to be single and celibate the rest of their lives. That’s a tall order, I suppose. And if it’s unnatural, should it then be stopped?

My brother is to be ordained a missionary priest this June and the question bothers me even more. I wrote sometime ago I wanted to be a monk at some point in my life, but admitted I couldn’t hack it. I can be like Josh Hartnett in 40 days, 40 nights.

It may not be for me, but I still felt inclined to find the answer. Maybe it’s just the big brother in me. I wanted to be able to say something when I need to say something although I trust my brother can handle it better than I. Also, I don’t want to be at the other end of a pointed accusing finger if priests are suddenly looking for their missing ribs or nuns for the man from whom they sprang (I have such a fertile imagination).

So, have I figured it out? I suppose for my own purpose, I have.

I understand to live a spiritual life, one must be free from all hankerings, from all desires, and that includes women (I’m talking for the men here). It can be very liberating, I suppose. That way, a man is freed from longing for a woman, from trying to get her approval.

How can God not be sufficient? Adam sure had everything he needed. Same with us modern day men. We should be able to see that.

Should a man not feel complete unless he finds his missing rib? Is that how it should be?

I once had a cute, little book by Anne Morrow Lindberg, wife of the legendary pilot who first flew across the Atlantic. She said every man and woman is an island. We need to be. But that does not mean we are alone. There are waves lapping on our shores, and we’re not completely apart.

One can be happy alone. Not everyman needs to seek his missing rib. God is sufficient. It’s Adam’s legacy that one feels incomplete just like his apple stuck in every man’s throat. One need not be like Adam. God is enough.