Personal Relationship with Christ

[mattp0625]

Hello everyone, as you can probably deduce from the title, what I am about to ask you has to do with my relationship with Our Lord. I personally feel, that this is one of the weakest parts of my faith. I just happen to find it hard to have the same relationship with Christ that I see many of you have. I will perfectly honest with you here my friends, but seeing Protestants speak of their relationship, and even some Catholics, has discouraged me somewhat. If you can by any chance reply with some advice that would be extremely helpful.

God bless you.

There are many things you can do to have a closer relationship. Be careful here - Protestants speak of their relationship, which is great, but it’s also an implicit rejection of the Church, its tradition, and the magisterium at the same time. There is a reason they focus on that particular language.

Here are some devotions and practices to think about:

-Louis De Montfort - True Devotion to the Blessed Virigin (as a way to come closer to Jesus) or 33 Days to Morning Glory.

-The writings of Saint Therese of Lisieux (the Little Flower of Jesus)

-Read Matthew 25 and then do something with that in mind. Think about joining a church ministry or Legion of Mary. Donate to a Christian food pantry or shelter to honor Jesus’s words.

-Pray the Divine Office or the Little Office

-Read the diary of Saint Faustina and pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Get yourself a Divine Mercy image, too.

-Read the writings of Padre Pio or his daily devotional. Watch the movie too (he was a stigmatist).

-Receive the sacraments

-Pray the Jesus Prayer often

-Read about a Benedict cross.

-Read about the name of Jesus as used by priests to expel the enemy.

 

[fisherman_carl]

Hello everyone, as you can probably deduce from the title, what I am about to ask you has to do with my relationship with Our Lord. I personally feel, that this is one of the weakest parts of my faith. I just happen to find it hard to have the same relationship with Christ that I see many of you have. I will perfectly honest with you here my friends, but seeing Protestants speak of their relationship, and even some Catholics, has discouraged me somewhat. If you can by any chance reply with some advice that would be extremely helpful.

God bless you.

No one has the same personal relationship with Christ. You have your relationship. I have mine. Others have theirs. Because we are all different. Some of us are more abstract. While others more concrete. Some are more introspective while others need to be around others in order to think.

We should not compare ourselves to others. That is easier said than done. But God does not compare us to others. He won’t judge us by comparing us to others because he knows it is not a level playing field. Some things are easier for some, while for others the same thing can be extremely difficult. God knows each of us and what we are capable of. All he asks us to do is to try. Not to be exactly like others, but to follow him in our own unique way, and according to our own unique capabilities and gifts that he gives us.

God has given you your own unique capacities and gifts. It’s important to learn about ourselves and to accept ourselves as we are. We all have limitations. We should not let these limitations keep us from attaining our unique and authentic Christian ideal in life. But our ideals need to be attainable and realistic, according to our abilities.

We are all in different stages of our journey and we don’t all progress at the same rate in our journey. And our journey is unique because we are unique. Again I say this so that we do not compare ourselves to others. I say this for myself as well as often make the same mistake and find myself feeling bad about myself when I compare myself with someone who may seem gifted more than me in some area.

The fact is that God loves us all the same. But the kind of relationship we have with him is going to be different than what someone else may have because we are different. Perhaps the person you are thinking of has that kind of relationship because it is what they need. While you may need something a little different. Instead of looking at others and comparing yourself perhaps ask yourself are you satisfied with your relationship. If not ask yourself why. Only you and God can really answer that question. Perhaps you need to spend time in prayer. Or perhaps you need to go into and be a part of a good Christian community. I recommend going to a cursillo where you can experience God through others. You need to try different things until you find something that works for you. Don’t just copy someone else expecting the same results since you are not exactly the same as them. Don’t give up but keep seeking.

 

[Austere]

There are many things you can do to have a closer relationship. Be careful here - Protestants speak of their relationship, which is great, but it’s also an implicit rejection of the Church, its tradition, and the magisterium at the same time. There is a reason they focus on that particular language.

Here are some devotions and practices to think about:

-Louis De Montfort - True Devotion to the Blessed Virigin (as a way to come closer to Jesus) or 33 Days to Morning Glory.

-The writings of Saint Therese of Lisieux (the Little Flower of Jesus)

-Read Matthew 25 and then do something with that in mind. Think about joining a church ministry or Legion of Mary. Donate to a Christian food pantry or shelter to honor Jesus’s words.

-Pray the Divine Office or the Little Office

-Read the diary of Saint Faustina and pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Get yourself a Divine Mercy image, too.

-Read the writings of Padre Pio or his daily devotional. Watch the movie too (he was a stigmatist).

-Receive the sacraments

-Pray the Jesus Prayer often

-Read about a Benedict cross.

-Read about the name of Jesus as used by priests to expel the enemy.

Oh, please do not take that statement about Protestants as an endorsement of their heresy; if there was anybody who was in total opposition to Protestantism, it’s me!

 

[mattp0625]

Oh, please do not take that statement about Protestants as an endorsement of their heresy; if there was anybody who was in total opposition to Protestantism, it’s me!

Just making sure! Glad to hear it