Recently researchers studied the age old mystery of what makes people happy.  Their answer is not what you might expect.  What appears consistently at the top of the charts is not success, wealth, achievement, good looks, or any of those enviable assets.  The clear winner is:  RELATIONSHIPS!  Close ones.

Nothing reaches so deeply into human personality, tugs so tightly, as relationships.  Why?  For one reason, it is only in the context of connection with others that our deepest needs can be met.  Whether we like it or not, each of us has an unshakeable dependence on others.  It’s what philosopher John Donne was getting at when he said so succinctly, “No man is an island.”  We need comaraderie, affection, love.  These are not options in life, or sentimental trimmings;  they are part of our species’ survival kit.  We need to belong!

WELCOME TO SAINT MARY’S …  A PLACE TO BELONG