Encounter with Jesus

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whichwaytogo47

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When we have an “encounter” with the Holy Spirit, should it transform our lives? Should we quit trying to do works on our own and allow the Holy Spirit to guide our works, our loyalty, and our faith?

Can the encounter lead us to be saved (not thru the encounter but being a new creation in Christ) that was started in baptism? What’s the fruit of a saved Christian, i.e. loving God & loving neighbor? Should we start doing monthly or weekly confession if we’re Catholic or attempt to repent often if a Protestant (so-called Perfect Contrition)? Did anyone encounter Jesus on a retreat or at a vulnerable moment? Does our loyalty and love for Christ mean praying the Bible daily, going to daily mass, praying the liturgy of the hours, doing daily or weekly adoration, or becoming a priest/nun/deacon? Does it help us disdain and repent of our sins?

In Protestant faith, it’s about faith and solo scripture not works but the fruits of your salvation can be shown in your works. In Catholicism, it’s faith and works but your faith and works are inspired by the Holy Spirit. It’s been interesting to be a cradle Catholic but exposed to both worlds. It can be confusing at times, but the similarities and attempt to follow Christ are awe-inspiring even with the various differences & worldview.

I have struggled to amend my life since being so-called saved. I have not read the Bible daily and I barely make it to Catholic confession monthly. I cannot remember when I’ve last made it to Eucharistic Adoration and while I attend weekly mass, still need to be better while on vacation. I have potential mortal sins that I confess monthly instead of it just being a dedication confession which would be preferable. I also have sins I go to confession repeatedly instead of breaking me of those sins, some intentional and some unintentional, some with control and some with impulse.
 
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This reminds me of the talk we had the other day @whichwaytogo47.
Love you brother!
 
I guess I’m trying to ask can a Catholic who’s been baptized be born again either by having some type of encounter or by reaffirming their faith because of such encounter?

How do we cooperate with the grace that is given to us by God?
 
In short…no, you have already been born anew, or born again, in baptism when through the sacrament of baptism you are cleansed of original sin and brought into the mystical body of Christ. With that being said, as Christians we are called to a life of continuous conversion. What that means is that we constantly will make mistakes and sin sometimes willingly and sometimes accidentally. It is God’s love for us that draws us back to Him, as when the Holy Spirit compels us to contrition and we seek the sacrament of reconciliation (going to confession). We hope to grow in holiness as our lives go on, often rededicating ourselves to God. Our spiritual lives will ebb and flow but we can always rejoice that the Holy Spirit continues to call out to us, drawing us back to seek God more fully and with greater love. Pax Christi!
 
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What you’re talking about is ongoing conversion, and that’s the process we work through with God’s grace. In short we try to fight and root out sin, cultivate virtue, pray and serve.

An encounter with Christ will change you, but it’s not automatic or maintained without our effort. Like getting a tan, you have to keep going out in the sun. As we fight sin and cultivate virtue it gets easier to cooperate with grace. Just keep at it!
 
Conversion is a process not a quick moment…as I remember it took Apostole Paul three years,keep confessing,trying to attend Mass and such stuff,fighting with sins
Try to pray,Rosary is very helpfull when a person is bad at praying or cant focus.
Congrats 🙂
 
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When we have an encounter, we use it to move in the right direction. But we’re still imperfect. We backslide— but we keep going. And we use that encounter to fortify us to keep on persisting in our efforts to transform our lives so that we become the people God intended us to be.

But just having an encounter isn’t going to magically cure us of our faults.
 
I had an encounter with Jesus Christ and it lead me to become a Christian. Those “mountain top” experiences definitely take us to greater spiritual heights. But alas, we must always come back down into the valleys and deal with the pains and sufferings of this life. Someone mentioned the ebb and flow, it is totally like that. We have successes, we have failures, however if we can stay strong despite it all, no matter how we may feel, we can learn a lot. Paradoxically, we grow the most in the valleys. I don’t always like this, I wish I could stay on the summit the whole time, but that doesn’t come until the end. Keep your eyes on the greater prize which is to come.

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:12-14

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

Philippians 3:20-21

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Romans 8:18
 
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