Relationships
by Fr. Adrian Farrelly
There are times in life when we feel confused and lost. Our lives sometimes lose meaning and we feel adrift, we feel empty. In our search for meaning in our lives, one thing that really helps is the others: the people around us; those we enjoy a healthy relationships with. We are affected and influenced by relationships. They remind us that we are not alone; that others share life with us and we ourselves have a role in their lives too. Relationships can be healthy or unhealthy. Healthy relationships are good and encouraging because they nourish us and give value to our lives. They help us to see our potential and our talents. They help us see what others see in us, things that we might not notice in ourselves. They build up our self-esteem and bring us peace. They also help us to see the good in others and their own potential.
Good Relationships
We need those around us, friends and people who respect us and care about us. We need people to affirm us and encourage us. When we feel down, if we have good people around us they can encourage and lift us and help us to have confidence in ourselves, again and again. Good people around us can help us to be positive and to have hope. Good and healthy relationships help us grow in love and understanding. They help us to understand ourselves and how we relate to others. For many people, friendships and relationships are a great tonic against loneliness and isolation.
Relationship with God
Relationships have their origin in God. The God we believe in is the God of the Trinity, a God who is not alone but is “caught up” in the relationship between the three persons in the Trinity, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Relationship between them is what makes the three persons - one God. Relationship is at the heart of God. That relationship is based on pure love. Relationships in our lives help us to see what God is like and how love is at the very heart of the existence of God. The essence of God is love and that love is sustained in the love between the persons in the Trinity.
Good relationships have their foundation in love, too. The more we have love in our lives, the more we will be able to see the face of God and experience His love, the more we will understand the depth of God’s love. When we have a relationship with God we can understand Him and be aware of His presence. We are drawn into His presence and nourished by His love.
Divine Mercy in Relationships
Relationships and mercy are inter-connected. Mercy flows when relationships are strong. Mercy brings people together and enables love to grow in a relationship. Being in relationship helps us to see and experience mercy. Mercy builds us and nourishes a relationship, making it durable and strong. Mercy therefore, creates good relationships, bringing forgiveness, respect, patience and tolerance. A relationship where there is mercy is a healthy relationship.
The most important thing in our lives is our relationship with God. We need to be in communication with God and what develops that relationship with God is the time we spend with Him in reflection, prayer and good deeds. In a relationship, there is respect and we feel comfortable and at ease with the other person: we are at peace. When we are with God, we enter into the deepest relationship we can possibly have. It is a time when we can be ourselves and totally at peace. It is a time when we can listen and hear how much we matter to God.
Relationships with others draw us deeper into God. We come to understand God’s love for us in the love expressed in other people. At the heart of a good relationship is love and we see that it is love that is at the heart of God. Treasure your relationship with God. Treasure the time you spend with God. No matter how you are, where you are, how old or young you are, you can still make time for God and there is nothing that can compare with that time you make to be with God.