Love is a many splendored thing !!

Real love takes WORK. Infatuation ("falling for someone") is easy. In our fast food world with instant access to life's pleasures, infatuation satisfies our emotional hunger pangs with a flood of good feelings. Unfortunately, it is no substitute for the lifelong "good nutrition" of real love.

"So many singles concentrate all their efforts on perfecting the outside trappings and strategies of singleness, in order to stand up to the scrutiny of the mating game, while their inner selves remain unexamined and neglected. They want to find the perfect partner, get married, and then worry about being happily married."

I believe that much of what we've been led to believe about dating is wrong. We've been led to believe that dating is about finding the perfect man or woman. It's not. Does that surprise you?

Dating is NOT about finding the perfect partner.
It's not about finding your soulmate.
It's not about stumbling upon Prince/Princess Charming.

It's rather about DISCOVERING more about yourself through relationship with others. It's about BRINGING OUT THE BEST in yourself and others through exercising that most beautiful of all human muscles: the Heart. The more you love, the more you succeed.

Think about it. Really, it's not about getting the greatest looking guy or girl, or the richest guy, or the guy that every other girl wants or the girl every guy wants. It's about getting that person who makes your best TEAMMATE in the harsh obstacle course of life.

But to get a great teammate, you've got to be a great team player. And to be a team player, you've got to learn how to work WITH your partner … not against them, and not for them.

In most relationships, partners compete against one another to get their needs satisfied. You want Chinese, he wants Mexican, and both of you argue in an attempt to get what you want.

In other relationships, one partner does everything for the other partner. She tries to make him so happy that he won't leave her. She's committing an equally grave error: that of doing everything FOR him rather than WITH him.

Your goal in a relationship is not to make him or her want to stay with you. Your goal isn't to be the best girlfriend he's ever had. It isn't even to make him or her happy.

Nor is it the opposite. If you're in a relationship for your own sake—to keep from feeling lonely, to feel the status of having a great boyfriend/girlfriend, or to get an engagement ring–-then you're also missing the point.

The point of a relationship is THE RELATIONSHIP. That's right … the bond, connection, and interaction between you and your partner. Both of you make up the whole.

It isn't about him. It isn't about you. It's about WHAT YOU CREATE TOGETHER.

When you value what you create together over your individual needs and desires, you can make healthier decisions about love. You'll be able to make better decisions about when you should keep a relationship and when you should let it go.

For example, say that you fall in love with a man who, for whatever reason, clashes with you everywhere but the bedroom. If you realize that the point of a relationship is the RELATIONSHIP, not the good feelings you get by being with him, you'll be able to let him go with strength and grace. You deserve a relationship that is greater than the sum of its parts.

So love is possible when you are aware about who you are first and what you both can give 'together' to create a loving relationship. Again its not about you or him, its about both of you.

To better understand the "Dynamics of Love" do visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_theory_of_love

So heres wishing you all the 'Love your heart can hold', for truly 'Love is a many splendored thing'. !!

The Grace of Obedience

I think the love of the Traditional Catholics for, and fascination with the Tridentine Church has caused them to forget that all the rites and liturgical traditions were standardised after the council of Trent...before that for 1500 years there were a multitude of traditions n all within the Latin rite of the Church too. Besides, when Christ established His Church, He gave the power of the keys to Peter, so it is upto his successor to excercise that responcibility...of course guided by the Spirit. So it basically boils down to a rejection of authority in the Church.

The words of St Teresa come to mind when she got a vision from God telling her to open a monestry, but was rejected permission from her confessor, she gladly gave up her plan. When later questioned about it she replied "with regard to private revelations I may be mistaken, but i cannot go wrong by obedience".

I feel this is the kind of trust we need to place in the guidance of the Papacy...that no matter what happens the Spirit will finally work everything out for the greatest good, but its our job to be totally obedient.

God has not called us to be successful but obedient - Mother Teresa

If we asked the Lord to teach us all the truths we needed to know about this world and the moral principles we should follow...He would reply that,"for this very reason, on the rock (Petrus) I have founded my Church and the gates of hell cannot prevail this Church,I have also given it the keys of the kingdom of heaven so that what it binds on earth will be bound in heaven and what is looses on earth He will losed in heaven - Matt 16:18-19. This Church is also the pillar and bulwark of the truth - 1 Tim 3:15", we could then go on to ask Him what is the authority of the shepherds of this Church, and He would reply that,"those who welcome them welcome me, and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me" - Matt 10:40.