Relationship with God

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It seems to me that Protestants push the idea of a relationship with God and Catholics are clueless about it.

I ask my bible study teacher about it and she said ‘Catholics have devotions to God’. I am a bit confused.

I have searched high and low and the only books I can find on how to have a relationship with God, in the present day to day life are written by protestants.

So does anyone know what the Catholic church teaches about a relationship with God. As much as I am all for praying, there seems to be times in life that we need to hear what God is saying to us and I can never seem to hear that

THanks

CM
 
cmscms said:
It seems to me that Protestants push the idea of a relationship with God and Catholics are clueless about it.

I ask my bible study teacher about it and she said ‘Catholics have devotions to God’. I am a bit confused.

I have searched high and low and the only books I can find on how to have a relationship with God, in the present day to day life are written by protestants.

So does anyone know what the Catholic church teaches about a relationship with God. As much as I am all for praying, there seems to be times in life that we need to hear what God is saying to us and I can never seem to hear that

THanks

CM
Click to expand...
Devotions to God? Do not the protestants have devotions to God. I married one. She is now Catholic and would say yes, they do. That is a parsing. Do Catholics have a relationship with God, personal and unique to the individual creature? I have been Roman Catholic for 48 years. I have only once heard direct communication from God. He once told me to go to sleep because it was 2:30 AM. It was more important to me then than it sounds. My point is, if I believe what the Catholic Church teaches me, I must have a personal relationship with God. He is my adoptive Father, I his adoptive son. Jesus, the second person is my brother, my dearest friend. How can he not be?!? He paid a debt he didn’t owe because I owed a debt I couldn’t pay. I know something of personal sacrifice. I served in the Marines and knew some heores who did that. Besides my wife, those were the most intimate human relationships I ever had. Because of his utter and total self-giving to me, Christ is the MOST intimate relationship I’ve ever had. It is not something I got from a book, excepting Sacred Scripture or some of the works of Doctors of the Church like Ste. Therese or John of the Cross. It is a lifetime work of seeking him out as I would any friend.

Hear a gentle voice now CM. Think about your prayer habits. Do you take 35 minutes to an hour each morning to meet with him in prayer and meditation? I used to pray for about 10 minutes. I had a very shallow relationship with Him. Now, I spend an hour praying, reading and meditating in the mornings. My prayers are not just telling him stuff he already knows. I ask for things of God. I tell him what worries me and what I fear and what I’ve done right and ask him to help me remember what I’ve done wrong (sadly I have a quick forgetter). I ask for courage and strength to be not anonymous in my faith. I ask him for clarity to know whom he has sent to me to serve that day. Christianity is a faith in action. My prayers really ought to be a seeking to become closer to God by finding out how to be closer to my brothers. Bl. Teresa of Calcutta said all are Jesus in disguise. St. Matin de Tours met, as a catachumen, the living God in the form of a freezing beggar in southern Gaul near Narbo Martius. St. Thomas of Villanova said, “If you want God to hear your prayers, hear the voice of the poor. If you wish God to anticipate your wants, provide those of the needy without waiting for them to ask you. Especially anticipate the needs of those who are ashamed to beg. To make them ask for alms is to make them buy it.”
All the reading, all the time spent on knees is only wasted if I don’t walk out from prayer and BE a Christian. In those works, I feel the same divine Presence I get when I am returning to my seat from receiving Christ’s body and blood to nourish me in those works. I touch the poor and I am touching God. That is where my personal relationship with him exists. He is in my heart. I try to pour ( I am no saint. I fail miserably and often) my heart out to those in need, whatever the need, whomever the needy; and remember a rich man needs God’s love perhaps more than a poor man; and I am in his will, in his love at the exchange.
God bless you for your very pertinent question. I hope you can see past my verbosity to any Truth that may have been inserted in my post:blush:.
 
cmscms said:
It seems to me that Protestants push the idea of a relationship with God and Catholics are clueless about it.

I ask my bible study teacher about it and she said ‘Catholics have devotions to God’. I am a bit confused.

I have searched high and low and the only books I can find on how to have a relationship with God, in the present day to day life are written by protestants.

So does anyone know what the Catholic church teaches about a relationship with God. As much as I am all for praying, there seems to be times in life that we need to hear what God is saying to us and I can never seem to hear that

THanks

CM
Click to expand...
i believe you have missed all the good stuff, wow! Catholic really believe in having a relationship with God (or maybe devotion as you friend call it), what is christianity about if not a relationship with God? Even devotion is a relationship. Some years ago i read a beautiful book on the subject, “IN SILIENCE WITH GOD” it was called, i would recommend it to anyone.
Peace
 
I can’t really explain this all that well so I’ll try to toss out some quick thoughts that, if you feel they are worthwhile, we can fill them out.

The “personal relationship” view is a more modern one and is based on a more on the “Democratic” (governmental form - Not the party) view of things.

“Devotion” is an older view which stems from the system, common in the first century and for much of the Christian era of a king and his subjects…A subject is less likely to have a “personal relationship” with his king, but is still expected to serve and to love his king and be devoted to him…

Each view has it’s advantages and it’s pitfalls…

Peace
James
 
cmscms said:
It seems to me that Protestants push the idea of a relationship with God and Catholics are clueless about it.

I ask my bible study teacher about it and she said ‘Catholics have devotions to God’. I am a bit confused.

I have searched high and low and the only books I can find on how to have a relationship with God, in the present day to day life are written by protestants.

So does anyone know what the Catholic church teaches about a relationship with God. As much as I am all for praying, there seems to be times in life that we need to hear what God is saying to us and I can never seem to hear that

THanks

CM
Click to expand...
I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume you don’t know about the nine levels of prayer (hint: Centering Prayer and Holy Yoga aren’t part of them ;)), the Dark Nights, etc and are for the most part are only doing vocal prayer. I’m am by no means an expert on this, as I was only aware of vocal prayer and unaware that my contemplations throughout the day are were actually meditations (I’m a very contemplative person and have a contemplative temperament- melancholic/choleric), which are the first two levels of prayer.

Each level of prayer is meant to bring us closer to the beatific vision (ie: Union with God), so the only way for us to increase and develop out relationship with God is by going through these levels of prayer. You can’t skip levels, and vocal prayer is the lowest level of prayer, which is where a lot of people seem to get stuck, thus don’t find their relationship with God all the satisfying.

I recommend reading the works of St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. They explain this in far greater detail, but despite seeming simple, they’re pretty complex so you might want to seek the assistance of a priest to help you get started. As you get further up the levels, and start the first dark night you’re going to need a spiritual director.
 
It’s easy, Catholics believe we have access to Christ through Priest , Pope etc as taught in tradition and Jewish teachings of old testament.

Protestants believe as bible states there is no mediato to Christ, its a direct relationship, the infallability of the bible they claim.
 
LynJohn1023 spoke my thoughts very well, “It is a lifetime of work seeking Him out as you would any other friend”. As a Catholic I am not clueless about my relationship with God, I have been working on it for years. As I devote more time to developing it I feel I have grown so much closer to Him. Reading books could possibly help but what helped me was determining that I was going to live in faith and give up the questioning. Then, it all fell into place and a great peace entered my life. Now I share my ups and downs with God as my friend and giver of the great blessings in my life. If you want to hear what God is saying, be still and listen.
 
The LORD says:

“Come now, let us reason together.” - Isaiah 1

(Before the Crucifixion) “I no longer call you servants, but friends.” John 15

(After the Resurrection) “Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God.” John 20

God our Heavenly FATHER, especially in His New Covenant with us, does not only love us as subjects. First we are His Son’s servants, and then His Son’s friends, and then even His Son’s brethren: under one Father and in one Spirit of love.

To say that the Protestant idea of “relationship” with God is clueless or wrong, is going maybe a bit too far. As confusing as protestantism is, it did get a few intimate things right in my opinion. We seriously need to look up to the far-away light on High, the day-spring who visits us from the eternal East, and say “my Lord, my God, my friend, and my brother”. The Spirit is the Comforter as well as the Advocate.

We must never emphasise God’s LORDSHIP so much that we cower away from His friendship; we must never recognise God’s FRIENDSHIP so much that we stand proud and haughty before His lordship. 🙂
 
JRKH said:
I can’t really explain this all that well so I’ll try to toss out some quick thoughts that, if you feel they are worthwhile, we can fill them out.

The “personal relationship” view is a more modern one and is based on a more on the “Democratic” (governmental form - Not the party) view of things.

“Devotion” is an older view which stems from the system, common in the first century and for much of the Christian era of a king and his subjects…A subject is less likely to have a “personal relationship” with his king, but is still expected to serve and to love his king and be devoted to him…

Each view has it’s advantages and it’s pitfalls…

Peace
James
Click to expand...
I reflect, about fifty fifty, Jesus sitting on the right side of the Father and Jesus washing his disciples feet. Either way it´s a relationship. Personal relationshiip? Can´t get more personal than eating Someone´s body and drinking His Blood.
 
👍
LynJohn1023 said:
Devotions to God? Do not the protestants have devotions to God. I married one. She is now Catholic and would say yes, they do. That is a parsing. Do Catholics have a relationship with God, personal and unique to the individual creature? I have been Roman Catholic for 48 years. I have only once heard direct communication from God. He once told me to go to sleep because it was 2:30 AM. It was more important to me then than it sounds. My point is, if I believe what the Catholic Church teaches me, I must have a personal relationship with God. He is my adoptive Father, I his adoptive son. Jesus, the second person is my brother, my dearest friend. How can he not be?!? He paid a debt he didn’t owe because I owed a debt I couldn’t pay. I know something of personal sacrifice. I served in the Marines and knew some heores who did that. Besides my wife, those were the most intimate human relationships I ever had. Because of his utter and total self-giving to me, Christ is the MOST intimate relationship I’ve ever had. It is not something I got from a book, excepting Sacred Scripture or some of the works of Doctors of the Church like Ste. Therese or John of the Cross. It is a lifetime work of seeking him out as I would any friend.

Hear a gentle voice now CM. Think about your prayer habits. Do you take 35 minutes to an hour each morning to meet with him in prayer and meditation? I used to pray for about 10 minutes. I had a very shallow relationship with Him. Now, I spend an hour praying, reading and meditating in the mornings. My prayers are not just telling him stuff he already knows. I ask for things of God. I tell him what worries me and what I fear and what I’ve done right and ask him to help me remember what I’ve done wrong (sadly I have a quick forgetter). I ask for courage and strength to be not anonymous in my faith. I ask him for clarity to know whom he has sent to me to serve that day. Christianity is a faith in action. My prayers really ought to be a seeking to become closer to God by finding out how to be closer to my brothers. Bl. Teresa of Calcutta said all are Jesus in disguise. St. Matin de Tours met, as a catachumen, the living God in the form of a freezing beggar in southern Gaul near Narbo Martius. St. Thomas of Villanova said, “If you want God to hear your prayers, hear the voice of the poor. If you wish God to anticipate your wants, provide those of the needy without waiting for them to ask you. Especially anticipate the needs of those who are ashamed to beg. To make them ask for alms is to make them buy it.”
All the reading, all the time spent on knees is only wasted if I don’t walk out from prayer and BE a Christian. In those works, I feel the same divine Presence I get when I am returning to my seat from receiving Christ’s body and blood to nourish me in those works. I touch the poor and I am touching God. That is where my personal relationship with him exists. He is in my heart. I try to pour ( I am no saint. I fail miserably and often) my heart out to those in need, whatever the need, whomever the needy; and remember a rich man needs God’s love perhaps more than a poor man; and I am in his will, in his love at the exchange.
God bless you for your very pertinent question. I hope you can see past my verbosity to any Truth that may have been inserted in my post:blush:.
Click to expand...
As Catholics we are called to a personal relationship with Christ AND a community of believers
 
Deo_Gratias42 said:
I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume you don’t know about the nine levels of prayer (hint: Centering Prayer and Holy Yoga aren’t part of them ;)), the Dark Nights, etc and are for the most part are only doing vocal prayer. I’m am by no means an expert on this, as I was only aware of vocal prayer and unaware that my contemplations throughout the day are were actually meditations (I’m a very contemplative person and have a contemplative temperament- melancholic/choleric), which are the first two levels of prayer.

Each level of prayer is meant to bring us closer to the beatific vision (ie: Union with God), so the only way for us to increase and develop out relationship with God is by going through these levels of prayer. You can’t skip levels, and vocal prayer is the lowest level of prayer, which is where a lot of people seem to get stuck, thus don’t find their relationship with God all the satisfying.

I recommend reading the works of St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. They explain this in far greater detail, but despite seeming simple, they’re pretty complex so you might want to seek the assistance of a priest to help you get started. As you get further up the levels, and start the first dark night you’re going to need a spiritual director.
Click to expand...
A fairly recent book that ties together and explains the Carmelite spiritual understanding - which is really traditional Catholic spirituality - is The Ordinary Path to Holiness. It’s in paperback, and ebook for the Nook and the Kindle.
 
cmscms said:
It seems to me that Protestants push the idea of a relationship with God and Catholics are clueless about it.

I ask my bible study teacher about it and she said ‘Catholics have devotions to God’. I am a bit confused.

I have searched high and low and the only books I can find on how to have a relationship with God, in the present day to day life are written by protestants.

So does anyone know what the Catholic church teaches about a relationship with God. As much as I am all for praying, there seems to be times in life that we need to hear what God is saying to us and I can never seem to hear that

THanks

CM
Click to expand...
Hello CM. A personal relationship with Christ begins (by His grace) with first meeting Him. He can work in different ways to cause such a meeting, but the Church traditionally points to two ways: Scripture, which is His living and active Word, and the Sacraments (especially the Eucharist) in which He is present.

Between these two - Scripture and the Sacraments - it must be said that Scripture presents Christ in an intelligible way, in a way that allows us to grow in our understanding and relationship with Him after meeting Him (or first discovering Him) there.

Hence I recommend a place to start - Scripture. The Church has traditionally recommended a method called “Lectio Divina” to facilitate both the meeting and the growing. It must be said that Lectio Divina has variations - somewhat differing interpretations of exactly how to “do” the method. I recommend a short e-book called “Encountering Christ in Holy Scripture with Lectio Divina” - for the Kindle HERE, and for the Nook HERE. It is brief, but if you actually DO the method seeking Him, you will find Him. And if you continue, you will grow in Him in that “personal relationship” of knowing and being known.

Encountering Christ in Scripture is only by grace, but Lectio Divina is a way to best cooperate with His grace so as to meet Him, and not something less than Him. One can find merely oneself even in Scripture, if the heart is not in truth seeking Him. The necessary desire in the heart to find, and meet, and come to know and to be known by Him is something that no man can give another - it has to be there, in sincerity. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
 
I have heard protestants and non-denominal church people go on about this “personal relations hip” with God. I was with some friends, all of them are from the non-denominal church. One asked me if I had a “persoanal relationship” with God? I just replied “Oh yeah, most definitely. I love God and he loves me.” I had this big grin on my face whilst I was saying it. Because I felt a surge of love. Guess what? There were no more questions after that. 😃
 
cmscms said:
It seems to me that Protestants push the idea of a relationship with God and Catholics are clueless about it.

I ask my bible study teacher about it and she said ‘Catholics have devotions to God’. I am a bit confused.

I have searched high and low and the only books I can find on how to have a relationship with God, in the present day to day life are written by protestants.

So does anyone know what the Catholic church teaches about a relationship with God. As much as I am all for praying, there seems to be times in life that we need to hear what God is saying to us and I can never seem to hear that

THanks

CM
Click to expand...
I think I can relate to your question, as I am often struck by Protestant declarations about “a personal relationship with Jesus Christ”. In my experience the Catholic relationship with God tends to be very intimate, almost private, and thus it does not get the “big billing” that Protestant descriptions seem to evoke. Although we are called in the Catholic church to be one with the Body of Christ as a community, our Lord wishes to know us intimately, personally, and individually as unique persons. Look no further than the saints. Each of them had very strong relationships with God, otherwise they would not have become saints. I find them to be the best examples of developing that relationship, whether it be in certain charisms or devotions, or just simple prayer. Their lives became living prayers. The key is in remembering that Jesus wants YOU, you where you are right now, you with all your imperfections and talents. As your creator he is most interested in fostering a deep relationship with you, if only you will turn toward him and give him the love and attention he longs for. 🙂 Although you may not hear him in the sense of hearing a voice, the closer you become to him by experiencing the Sacraments, prayer and charitable actions, he WILL make himself and his will known to you! God Bless
 
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