Developing a personal relationship with Jesus & Mary

[Oumashta]

Whenever I see a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus my heart is filled with such overwhelming joy. I feel as if my heart has just burst open with torrents of love. Whenever I pray I feel so close to Jesus. I will tell Him all my problems, thoughts, sorrows, joys, and basically everything in my day that has happened. I love to pray the Rosary and each time I finish praying it, I feel as if Jesus and Mary has poured oceans of joy and grace on me. It’s so much easier to love and help other after the Rosary. I can’t help but smile when I see a Rosary or an icon I feel as if Jesus is my best friend, and I could not imagine my life without Him. I long to go to Eucharistic Adoration, and when I do I am filled with such reverence and Adoration that I can’t help but fall down on my knees and bow my head to the ground. I find such joy in praying, reading the Bible, and singing hymns all day. The more I grow closer to Jesus and Mary the more strength I have to endure suffering…

A. Is this what you would describe as a personal relationship with Jesus? How do you feel about a personal relationship with Jesus, how do you feel about Mary?

I know I should live my faith by reason and faith and not emotions.
B. Is it ok to embrace these feelings of joy and love? Are there any books on this subject, or are there any Saints that have written books on this subject??

Thanks so much for all your help
God bless.

 

[Scoobyshme]

You know, I think sometimes we get caught up in our culture, repeating things without thinking them through all the way as to what they really mean.

Isn’t the very nature of any relationship which we have with another person (Divine or human) “personal” by definition anyway? If it’s not personal, then it’s not a relationship. The notion that we have a relationship indicates that it is, by definition…personal.

Or am I missing something here?

 

[_L]

admittedly whenever i see the words “personal relationship” I begin to cringe, because it calls to mind the various time i have experienced protestants claim it doesn’t matter what personal beliefs you have in regards to what doctrine are true in Christianity all that matters is that you have a personal relationship with Christ.

But i consider a relationship with God to be one of the more basic aspects of our faith, that God cares about us and wants to raise us up, He is a personal God, so personal that He became man to be one of us.

I really do not understand what you are saying by “getting closer to Mary” How can you get closer to her? Its not as if she is God whereas with God, when we sin we distance ourselves from Him and when we repent and try to live holy lives we get closer to Him. I don’t believe this sort of relationship applies to Mary or any Saint.

I would consider a personal relationship with Christ to simply be that you treat Him as a personal God, rather than a distant and uncaring God present in many other religions and in deism.

 

[MariaTheresa]

Hi Oumashta,

Yes its OK to embrace feeling love and devotion to Jesus. But remeber this is not a sign of faith or holiness on your part rather of a temporary gift of love like a hug on God’s part. We call these sweet feelings spritual consolations. They come and they go. They are not what faith is built on. Thank God for them while they are present and remember how you do not deserve such feelings and when they are absent pray just as fervently to the Lord adoring Him just as you do now even without those sweet feelings. (easier said than done). They you and He will both know you are trying to love Him for Who He is and not for His favors.

There are many books on devotion and spiritual progress. I highly recommend The Interior Castle by St Teresa of Avila . If you are not ready for that just ask at your local Catholic book store for books on devotion and books on spritual growth.

And always remember that " we walk by faith and not by sight"

Any relationship you have is by definition a “personal relationship” because you are a person and the other party is a person or Person in this case.

God Bless
-Maria

 

[T_Hope]

Whenever I see a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus my heart is filled with such overwhelming joy. I feel as if my heart has just burst open with torrents of love. Whenever I pray I feel so close to Jesus. I will tell Him all my problems, thoughts, sorrows, joys, and basically everything in my day that has happened. I love to pray the Rosary and each time I finish praying it, I feel as if Jesus and Mary has poured oceans of joy and grace on me. It’s so much easier to love and help other after the Rosary. I can’t help but smile when I see a Rosary or an icon I feel as if Jesus is my best friend, and I could not imagine my life without Him. I long to go to Eucharistic Adoration, and when I do I am filled with such reverence and Adoration that I can’t help but fall down on my knees and bow my head to the ground. I find such joy in praying, reading the Bible, and singing hymns all day. The more I grow closer to Jesus and Mary the more strength I have to endure suffering…

A. Is this what you would describe as a personal relationship with Jesus? How do you feel about a personal relationship with Jesus, how do you feel about Mary?

I know I should live my faith by reason and faith and not emotions.
B. Is it ok to embrace these feelings of joy and love? Are there any books on this subject, or are there any Saints that have written books on this subject??

Thanks so much for all your help
God bless.

It IS wonderful to feel love for our Lord and for His Holy Mother, Mary.

Last night at RCIA one of my fellow classmates told me of a wonderful experience she had in the past week that has caused her amazement. Hearing of it made me smile.

These gifts are new to us, and they do fill us with a joy that perhaps we’ve never known before. God our Father does love us! And we should love Him. I hear what you are saying.

I think the “relationship” you are seeking with the Lord has always existed. You and I, and others just coming to the faith are only now realizing it and that is what fills our hearts with such overwhelming joy.

As I’ve prayed the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary recently, my meditations on the resurrection of Jesus have changed. I learned during this past Easter Season that after His resurrection and prior to His Ascension into heaven, our Lord spent 40 days with his disciples teaching them. I’ve tried to imagine what it would have been like to have been taught personally by the resurrected Lord. No books at the time … just the Lord Himself.
Now that was an overwhelming thought!! And one day I realized He is everywhere I am through the Holy Spirit. He is my teacher. Of course, I have our RCIA director, a wonderful sponsor, some new acquaintances in the parish, and this forum, but the Lord knows me better than those people. And time spent in prayer is as much a time for me to offer thanks and praise, as it is to listen to what He wants me to understand. And the thoughts He gives to me are not always easy to hear. I have a lot of work to do. A lot of things to change. But I also have the help of God and others.

What I am trying to say is that relationship is a two way thing. When the work begins, will you be willing to listen and to follow Christ?

Yes, embrace what you are feeling. But understand that there is work to be done as well.

As for books, I recommend the Bible. It is filled with praises to God. The Bible will feed you. There are daily readings in the Church. That is where I began.

May God bless you in your journey. Do let us know how things are going.

Hope

 

[T_Hope]

Hi Oumashta,

Yes its OK to embrace feeling love and devotion to Jesus. But remeber this is not a sign of faith or holiness on your part rather of a temporary gift of love like a hug on God’s part. We call these sweet feelings spritual consolations. They come and they go. They are not what faith is built on. Thank God for them while they are present and remember how you do not deserve such feelings and when they are absent pray just as fervently to the Lord adoring Him just as you do now even without those sweet feelings. (easier said than done). They you and He will both know you are trying to love Him for Who He is and not for His favors.

And always remember that " we walk by faith and not by sight"

-Maria

Thank you, Maria for this post. I’ve experienced the coming and the going. And yes, it does feel like a hug from God! It’s encouragement. And it reminds me that God is still there, though I am admittedly undeserving, He is guiding me now. And knowing that I do not deserve such love seems to be one reason the joy I feel at those times is so overwhelming. He loves us anyway and always.

Hope

 

[Loboto-Me]

I haven’t read through the posts yet, except for the second post. Maybe we need to change the word “Personal” with the word “Intimate”? That’s what I’ve discovered that I have with Jesus… not so much personal but intimate. There’s a slight difference, I think, with the definition of these two descriptive words. I feel that intimate is even closer than personal… yet intimacy can be shared but personal is just you and me and no others

 

[Student09]

It is important not to become attached to sweet feelings and consolations. We can be grateful to God for them but we should not cling to them; rather, we should keep seeking Him and look for ways to serve Him better. Our relationship with Jesus is not based on feelings but on faith, hope, and love which consists in keeping the commandments: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” (1Jn. 5:3). “All who keep his commandments abide in him, and he in them” (1 Jn. 3:24).

 

[Monica4316]

Whenever I see a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus my heart is filled with such overwhelming joy. I feel as if my heart has just burst open with torrents of love. Whenever I pray I feel so close to Jesus. I will tell Him all my problems, thoughts, sorrows, joys, and basically everything in my day that has happened. I love to pray the Rosary and each time I finish praying it, I feel as if Jesus and Mary has poured oceans of joy and grace on me. It’s so much easier to love and help other after the Rosary. I can’t help but smile when I see a Rosary or an icon I feel as if Jesus is my best friend, and I could not imagine my life without Him. I long to go to Eucharistic Adoration, and when I do I am filled with such reverence and Adoration that I can’t help but fall down on my knees and bow my head to the ground. I find such joy in praying, reading the Bible, and singing hymns all day. The more I grow closer to Jesus and Mary the more strength I have to endure suffering…

A. Is this what you would describe as a personal relationship with Jesus? How do you feel about a personal relationship with Jesus, how do you feel about Mary?

I know I should live my faith by reason and faith and not emotions.
B. Is it ok to embrace these feelings of joy and love? Are there any books on this subject, or are there any Saints that have written books on this subject??

Thanks so much for all your help
God bless.

Hi

yes this is perfectly alright, and that is wonderful that God is giving you these consolations (that is what they are called, i believe). There’s nothing wrong with embracing them, just don’t get attached to them. If God takes them away (which He does, at times) - keep on loving Him the same way. But it seems like He is trying to draw you closer to Himself

God bless!

 

[Student09]

There’s nothing wrong with embracing them, just don’t get attached to them.

What do you mean by embracing, if not being attached to them? Gratitude and a desire to please God, arising from and/or strengthened by these feelings and consolations, should spur us on to seek God and His will - which means it should push us beyond the feelings and the consolations. I wouldn’t call that “embracing” them but perhaps I am misunderstanding your use of the word.

 

[Oumashta]

I really do not understand what you are saying by “getting closer to Mary” How can you get closer to her? Its not as if she is God whereas with God, when we sin we distance ourselves from Him and when we repent and try to live holy lives we get closer to Him. I don’t believe this sort of relationship applies to Mary or any Saint.

Sorry if you misunderstood me What I meant by “getting closer to Mary” is trying to know her better and do things through her. Such as asking for her intercession more often and thinking about her life and holiness. Of course I know that she’s not a god I should really be more specific on my posts sometimes.

Hi Oumashta,

Yes its OK to embrace feeling love and devotion to Jesus. But remeber this is not a sign of faith or holiness on your part rather of a temporary gift of love like a hug on God’s part. We call these sweet feelings spritual consolations. They come and they go. They are not what faith is built on. Thank God for them while they are present and remember how you do not deserve such feelings and when they are absent pray just as fervently to the Lord adoring Him just as you do now even without those sweet feelings. (easier said than done). They you and He will both know you are trying to love Him for Who He is and not for His favors.

There are many books on devotion and spiritual progress. I highly recommend The Interior Castle by St Teresa of Avila . If you are not ready for that just ask at your local Catholic book store for books on devotion and books on spritual growth.

And always remember that " we walk by faith and not by sight"

Any relationship you have is by definition a “personal relationship” because you are a person and the other party is a person or Person in this case.

God Bless
-Maria

Thanks so much for your help I know that I shouldn’t base my faith on emotions, but I should base it on living my faith. I was just really wondering about embracing these feelings.

Maybe we need to change the word “Personal” with the word “Intimate”? That’s what I’ve discovered that I have with Jesus… not so much personal but intimate. There’s a slight difference, I think, with the definition of these two descriptive words. I feel that intimate is even closer than personal… yet intimacy can be shared but personal is just you and me and no others

Sorry for my poor choice of words. I know whenever we hear “Personal relationship” we think about protestant ministers asking this question

Ok, maybe I should change it to “intimate relationship with Jesus”

Thanks everyone for your help on this subject!
God bless.

 

[Monica4316]

What do you mean by embracing, if not being attached to them? Gratitude and a desire to please God, arising from and/or strengthened by these feelings and consolations, should spur us on to seek God and His will - which means it should push us beyond the feelings and the consolations. I wouldn’t call that “embracing” them but perhaps I am misunderstanding your use of the word.

sorry I don’t think I chose the right word, I meant it’s alright to accept the consolations as something from God… just let them point you to Him, as you said

God bless!

 

[Monica4316]

Sorry for my poor choice of words. I know whenever we hear “Personal relationship” we think about protestant ministers asking this question

Ok, maybe I should change it to “intimate relationship with Jesus”

Thanks everyone for your help on this subject!
God bless.

I think that “intimate relationship with Jesus” probably does sound more Catholic:thumbsup:

but I knew what you meant!!

God bless