How did you find Jesus?

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Nightfly

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This weekend I heard several messages that were essentially the same. The message was the only way to be truly happy and at peace is to find and know Jesus. I heard it on the radio, a tape given to me and then at Mass. The radio was unusual as I usually don’t listen to the radio and I was just scanning by. For me it takes work and I get sidetracked. Perhaps I am like the seeds that are laid in shallow dirt only to die when trouble or outside influences hit. I want to find the right way to be happy as Jesus is the only way. It won’t be money or any other goal attained. How do you do it personally? For me it is work but I am curious as I sometimes feel that there is a “trick” that I am missing. Writing this I am reminded that it does take effort as a relationship.
 
The first place to find Jesus is in the Sacraments.

He is also found

In prayer and Adoration.

In reading Scripture.

In fellowship with fellow members of His Church.

In sacrifice and suffering.
 
Nightfly said:
How do you do it personally? For me it is work but I am curious as I sometimes feel that there is a “trick” that I am missing. Writing this I am reminded that it does take effort as a relationship.
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no trick, just the basics, Mass, the sacraments, esp. frequent confession and the Eucharist, prayer, service and discipleship. Take up your cross and follow Me, he says.
 
IMHO I don’t agree that you will find Jesus in the sacraments. You can’t pray God to you or into you. It doesn’t work, though from my experience that is what is taught. Knowing God is a gift from God. He makes Himself known to you. Perhaps take time to relax, open yourself to God and tell Him to come to You and find You. He will do it. Every relationship with God is a miracle that exists by the power of God’s grace (merciful love). Ask Him to find You.

That’s my lil bit of advice 🙂
 
uglygal said:
IMHO I don’t agree that you will find Jesus in the sacraments.
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so you are saying Jesus lied when he instituted the sacraments as means of His grace? he lied when he said “this is My Body and This is My Blood” and he lied when he said “I am the living Bread that comes down from heaven?”
 
i found Jesus when i was baptized as an infant (Catholic). Of course, it isn’t the same way an adult “knows” Jesus but it is very real nonetheless.

Were you baptized Catholic??

When i was young, i went through a heart-breaking experience and felt the need to turn to God. I was filled w/ the Holy Spirit. I fell in love with Jesus… and He never left me…
But i left Him… not deliberately or anything… but i gradually, little by little got caught up in the world…
The rosary brought me back. The rosary is incredibly powerful…
Do you pray the rosary?

I also like to just talk to God as though he were human… because in Jesus, He is…
 
Yes, baptized Catholic but my adult relationship has been different. I was praying the rosary and need to start again. I left him, or at least became preoccupied. For me at least it takes effort. I envy the people it seems to come naturally. I have been through some difficult times and really need to open my eyes. I am fortunate and am only reminded of that through reading the bible and feeling The Lords presence. Everything else is so short lived.
 
Jesus found me.

But I experience his earthly grace through the sacraments! 👍
 
Faith is a gift from God. It is His revelation of Himself to us, however that may happen.

For me, it wasn’t through the Sacraments, because I had left the Church beforehand. However, once I received the gift of faith in Jesus Christ, I hungered for more and as a result, I returned to the Church and yes, the sacraments fed me, but so did Scripture and of course, prayer. In fact, Scripture was more important in my journey of faith in the early days, than it is now. Now, prayer and the sacraments are the source of grace for my faith.

The bottom line, you want to know God, do as Archbishop Fulten Sheen said, “get on your knees and pray to him.”

Jim
 
Through my wonderful girlfriend. Was baptized anglican in 96 and never went back. She brought me back into church 😃

Jesus came to me in the bottom drawer of a work space at school 7-8 weeks ago when I was looking for a hole puncher. I opened it up, and there neatly shrink wrapped was a copy of the new testament, and a copy of a book on the historical basis for the bible. So, I read both of them. At first the gospels scared the life out of me, all this about gouging eyes out and what not.

Then I got a scapular medal from my gf’s mom as a random gift, and when blessed the priest told me to say 3 hail Mary’s a day. The very first one of my whole life brought me right into His presence, and that was it!

During this time there was a moment i remember vividly of turning on the car and the radio came on with a classic rock song that was singing “my Lord will come again…”…not christian rock we dont have that in montreal…I thought that was kind of cute, even if it just were a coincidence 🤷

Jesus brought me back in the best way, and now I stop off to visit him every morning for some one on one time. My life is completely changed.
 
I didn’t find Jesus, Jesus didn’t find me. God didn’t find me.
No ! it is written that "before time was I knew you says our Father in Heaven, and I have you carved on the prints of my hand.
Jesus tells us that “We didn’t find God, nor did God find us. God chose us before time was, least we should boast about our good deeds”.
How could we who are humans made of dirt decide on God?

I came as a dirty, filthy person, for I look not at my abilities, or my human deeds. No I look to God’s LOVE, and I see my sinfulness and on my knees I cry out Father forgive me for I am a sinner.

It was then that Jesus picked me up of the floor, and said, “come to me, you who are hungry, come to me you who are thirsty, come to me you who have nothing, for I am a God of compassion, I am a God of mercy , I am a God of everlasting LOVE. And I fill you with a love that this world can never ever take from you, a love that this world has never know, for you have come with your emptiness as a smashed vase, worthless and having nothing, that is how I want you so that I can be glorified. Come to me your God of compassion little one for I have been waiting for this time. Come

God bless…
 
Jesus I think has always been with me from my most earliest memories and Mum always said I was religious from the moment I opened my eyes…a mother’s exaggeration and poetic licence I think.
I went through tremendous struggles with my Faith in my teens while in College until I read that Josephus, or Josephat or something like that who was a pagan historian wrote simply these words “Jesus of Nazareth was crucified in Jerusalem today” and on reading those words my struggles with Faith came to an abrupt ending, like switching on a light switch so sudden did my struggles end. Rather funnily I think, our school chaplain commented “So you came to Faith through a pagan”, to which I replied rather limply and no little confused “Yes Father”.
I had another experience again during my teens while I was in the Convent. Back then the Divinity of Christ was greatly emphasized and on Holy Thursday Night at the commencement of my Adoration period before the Altar of Repose, I knelt down and it suddenly hit me that Jesus Present in The Monstrance was really and truly human (as well as truly God). It was a little more than that but impossible to describe since suddenly I became aware my novice mistress was shaking me…my hour was up and I thought I had only just knelt down. Actually I was in trouble over that for making an exhibition of myself and singularizing myself - and a trifle confused over all the trouble I was in and why.
I recall too that our Confessor in the Convent had me reading “The Imitation of Christ” during my private prayer time. This I thought was terribly rude and recall reading for a bit and then pausing to apologize to Jesus for being so rude as to read in His Presence…and then go on with my reading. This was the procedure for my half hour prayer time during the whole time I was in the Convent in my teens. The Imitation of Christ incidentally scared the wits out of me.
Ahhh memories and memory lane:) …
 
For me… Jesus wasn’t lost. I was and then I opened the door and he forgave me.

My son was going to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation because he was going to receive 1st Communion. I had been going to mass participating but to afraid to go to confession. All of the children had gone to confession and then we, the parents, were invited to go to confession if we felt the need. Well did I open up and let the Lord in. After that I my husband and I had our marriage convalidated and then were asked to be come catechists. Sacraments, Mass, Daily Prayer, the Rosary, & the Divine Chaplet all help me to be closer to Jesus.
 
Nightfly said:
This weekend I heard several messages that were essentially the same. The message was the only way to be truly happy and at peace is to find and know Jesus. I heard it on the radio, a tape given to me and then at Mass. The radio was unusual as I usually don’t listen to the radio and I was just scanning by. For me it takes work and I get sidetracked. Perhaps I am like the seeds that are laid in shallow dirt only to die when trouble or outside influences hit. I want to find the right way to be happy as Jesus is the only way. It won’t be money or any other goal attained. How do you do it personally? For me it is work but I am curious as I sometimes feel that there is a “trick” that I am missing. Writing this I am reminded that it does take effort as a relationship.
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Hi Nightfly…I dont think there is any ‘trick’…it is hard work and most lives of the saints do attest to this. We are all on a journey and at times it is going to be hard work, jolly hard work to avoid sin and resist temptation. Other posters have mentioned the Mass and The Sacraments and also Prayer…these do need to feature as prime in our lives as we undertake that great work and at times hard work of loving God and each other and saving our souls. We really do need The Mass, The Sacraments and Prayer to be of paramount number one importance in our daily living. There may be times when we seem to ‘run’ along in our journey and all is easy and sweet consolation…and then there are times when it is hard work, jolly hard work, and we need to struggle on some level or other with sin and temptation. There may be times in Confession when we seem to have nothing at all to confess really…there may be times when we seem almost to break with the weight of our sinfulness and remorse. No matter where we may be in our journey God is there with us with His Peace if we will humbly accept it.

Blessings - Barb:)
 
Nightfly said:
Yes, baptized Catholic but my adult relationship has been different. I was praying the rosary and need to start again. I left him, or at least became preoccupied. For me at least it takes effort. I envy the people it seems to come naturally. I have been through some difficult times and really need to open my eyes. I am fortunate and am only reminded of that through reading the bible and feeling The Lords presence. Everything else is so short lived.
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I don’t think it comes naturally to anyone. Okay, Catherine of Siena maybe. Walking doesn’t come naturally either, though. Effort is the least we can give to Him, don’t you think? Not to put down your quest – I would love to get to a point where the first thing I think on getting out of bed is “Jesus” rather than “Folgers” – and I understand that you may want some of these things to be routine. Maybe God is trying to teach you to not take Him and devotion for granted, to not make it just part of your routine. Does that make sense?
 
I originally found Jesus when I was baptised as an infant. I went to CCD, Catholic high school and Catholic college, received Communion and Confirmation; but I did not really understand. I thought church was just “a bunch of rules”, so when I was living on my own, I stopped going. Other than Christmas with my parents, I did not attend Mass for 5 years and did not practice any religion. A friend of mine had a friend who was in a Christian rock band. The band was playing at a local Christian music festival. My friend asked me to go, and I did. There were volunteers from many different churches at the festival (Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist). One of the Baptist volunteers gave me a Bible (KJV). I had never read the Bible previously, and since I was looking for meaning in my life at the time, I decided to actually read it. I read it all the way through, and after reading it, I understood what I had been taught as a child. I repented of my sin first to God and then to my priest in Confession. Since then, I have been going to a Catholic Bible study at my parish, volunteering at an ecumenical mission meal for the poor, become an EMHC, and joined the evangelisation committee at my parish. I also read the Bible daily on my own, in addition to the reading for the Bible study class. In my case, the Holy Spirit used the Baptists to bring me back to the Catholic Church.
 
It is rather true that “practise makes perfect”…although in my long winded way I would say that “practise with God’s Grace will undoubtedly lead towards perfection”. What we need to practise faithfully is Mass and The Sacraments and Prayer with the avoidance of sin and resistance of temptation - to strive to Love God and others…and we are not always successful, at least I am not for sure. And this is why I love abundantly the Sacrament of Confession which is the place of guarantee of the Loving Mercy and Pardon of Jesus for a truly sorrowful and regretful burdened heart by sin. St. Peter I think thought he would give Jesus the perfect answer - the spot on answer - by asking should we forgive seven times, which in his day was a pretty big number. But Jesus tells Peter to forgive seventy times seven - which is an infinite number of times in their language. This is the number of times God is prepared to forgive me.

The important thing is to persevere even if it is a “fall down get up, fall down get up and so on” type of journey. Given time this does develop a habit or habitual state of persevering.
I said to my parish priest one day “I think I might get an A for effort, Father” and Father replied that God has a real soft spot for those who are all effort…regardless of success or failure which is in God’s hands only. After a while the penny dropped after long pondering and chewing and chewing on Father;s statement. This line from a Psalm in the Divine Office means much to me “that you be without reproach when you judge, see Lord, a sinner was I conceived”. And St. Paul said “why is it that I find myself doing the very things I have made up my mind not to do” and I reasoned to myself that if a saint of St. Paul’s stature could make such a statement…then I had better start thinking about myself realistically:o …
Blessings - Barb:)
 
Meximo said:
For me… Jesus wasn’t lost. I was and then I opened the door and he forgave me.

My son was going to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation because he was going to receive 1st Communion. I had been going to mass participating but to afraid to go to confession. All of the children had gone to confession and then we, the parents, were invited to go to confession if we felt the need. Well did I open up and let the Lord in. After that I my husband and I had our marriage convalidated and then were asked to be come catechists. Sacraments, Mass, Daily Prayer, the Rosary, & the Divine Chaplet all help me to be closer to Jesus.
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I love that and although you might not have been as bad as me it is good to read your note.
Godbless
 
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