Man learns to love.

Every person who tries to love in some way opens themselves to God. It is better to love badly than not to love at all. Living without relationships is the worst thing that can happen. When a person remains alone, does not want to see anyone, does not want to live with anyone, does not want to live for anyone, does not want anything from anyone, that is a betrayal of life. However, through many sufferings that purify them of their selfishness, a person who strives for love will eventually come to God’s love. A person makes many mistakes and errors in this natural development from human love to divine love.

Nevertheless, they grow. And it is important that as adults, they realize that behind every love is God’s love. And then they understand what it means to live with God in love. The growth of the human personality, the capacity for self-giving, is the greatest thing a person can give. So those human abilities a person gives of themselves ultimately lead to that final devotion. A mother gives herself to her children. If she stopped there, it would not be good, but by learning to give, she grows. When people give themselves in the sacrament of marriage, it is a great thing when they want to live for each other. But they must not stop there. All these abilities, these expressions of devotion, must lead to the ultimate devotion, which is the first and most extraordinary devotion that a person gives himself to God. And that is the goal of spiritual life, which we are learning to grow towards.

A few more words about what is related to the maturing of the human personality: it is the kind of higher abilities dominating the lower ones. By higher abilities, we mean reason and will, which influence our instincts, moods, and emotions. A person is a person when they act based on rational consideration and decisions of the will. Emotions color this human behavior, motivating and influencing it. However, a person who is driven by their instincts is not yet a mature human personality. Such a person will stumble in their life because they will pray only when they feel like it and do good only when they have slept well. They will go to work only if they are well paid. Such a person will be motivated only by how they feel. Not only is it challenging to live with such people, but they are incapable of achieving anything in life. It is not a matter of suppressing the emotional component of a person, but of guiding them in the right direction.

Another characteristic of an adult capable of love is the ability to take responsibility. Parents gradually teach their children to take responsibility for their actions and draw conclusions from them. People who constantly make excuses and say, “I didn’t mean it,” “I didn’t want to,” have not yet reached maturity. We are responsible for our actions. If I did something wrong, I regret it and look for a way to make amends. I am weak and need to know the consequences and what I will do about them. But honesty with oneself and responsibility for one’s actions. Children cover their eyes, thinking that if they cannot see, others cannot see, and that the problem will somehow resolve itself. This is related to a person’s ability to face reality. Not to live in illusions. Look at how many people, at an age when they should be adults, are still dreaming, have their ideals, but think that the whole world is so ideal, and when the first difficulties come, they are entirely lost. They cannot distinguish between how things should be and how they are, and accept this difference. The priest should be perfect. Is he perfect? No, he is not ideal. That person is on a path of growth.

Nevertheless, he fulfills his mission, and God works through him. How many people enter into marriage with such an illusion that they cannot distinguish between the ideal and reality? They cannot accept reality, and they cannot accept the contradiction between our desires and reality. I must know who I am and keep my feet on the ground.