St. Anthony of Padua And Love: By: C.C.

``Everyone longs to give himself completely to someone, to have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God, to the Christian says, "No, not until you are satisfied with living for Me and being loved by Me alone and having an intensely personal and unique relationship with Me alone. I love you my child, and until you discover that only in Me is your satisfaction, you will not be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you.`` (St. Anthony of Padua)
     How silly it is for us to think that to love another is something we undertake alone. How comforting to recognize that it is in loving the Lord who is the source of all love, that we begin to understand what it truly means to love another. It is only until we give ourselves fully to God and recognize His love for us that we are truly ready and capable of offering ourselves as a gift to another. When we resign to His will, even with our matters of the heart and human relationships we come to experience a sense of how our Lord desires us to live in relationship with one another. It is only then, as St. Anthony of Padua reminds us, that we will be capable of the perfect human relationship.
      This idea and possibility of  a "perfect human relationship" is one that may cause many confusion. The clarity comes in recognizing and accepting the fact that only in God will we ever find complete satisfaction. A distortion of this understanding is by placing this expectation upon another. Naturally, doing this will only lead us to heaviness, unrest, and a sense of disappointment
     It is only through continuously offering up our need, our thirst, and our hunger to the Lord that we will ever be replenished and fulfilled enough to share in the experience of the human relationship He has planned for us. Today, more than ever, we see the disintegration of so many marriages, families, and "loving relationships" . There is a constant seeking and yearning for "something", or "someone" who will fulfill our deepest desire and need. Often people are sadly used and abused as one seeks for this false ideal. For us as believers, we recognize that this yearning can be fulfilled only by our all loving God.
     Despite the fact that we may have this awareness, it is still difficult to constantly work for a complete reliance and dependence on God for our needs. However, as we rise and then fall we will be guided back to this unavoidable truth. We will be able to accept the failing of another, their lack of being able to live up to our every expectation, and see instead this shared human imperfection that is true of all of us. Let us find comfort through our prayers and may we rest well in knowing that our Lord is there whispering into our ear and the silence of our hearts " I love you my child."  (C.C)