Over the past few years, and especially the last year, I have grown in my faith and come to a deeper relationship with Christ. There are so many reasons for this growth, but today I wanted to share with you all the top three things that I believe have truly helped me the most over the past year.
1) Adoration
Since going to youth group in high school, Adoration has become a big part of my faith journey. While overall it is the Eucharist that is the constant theme in what has taught me to love my faith the most, it is also the practice of Adoration that has helped me tremendously in developing a personal relationship with Him. During my first few years of college, I had gotten away from going to Adoration, but this past year I had the opportunity to adore the Blessed Sacrament at least once a week, each time reminding me that I am loved by an amazing Father.
Adoration is truly a time when I can come face-to-face with Jesus Christ. I get to be there and look at my forever Father, the man who created me. During Adoration, it is a time to cast away all my worries, fears, struggles, and sorrows, but it is also a time to share my joys and to thank Him for all that He has done for me.
"Adoration outside the Holy Mass prolongs and intensifies what has taken place in the liturgical celebration and makes a true and profound reception of Christ possible."
-Pope Benedict XVI
2) Becoming friends with priests/religious
After becoming heavily involved at the Newman Center just over a year ago, I quickly developed friendships with a handful of priests. Forming friendships with these priests has been a reminder that they are normal people just like you and me, but God has called them each to serve The Church through their vocation to the priesthood, just like we are each called to a specific vocation. Throughout the past year, I have also had the opportunity to interact with religious sisters. I remember when I first met them, their joy and happiness was radiating. You couldn't help but notice that they loved The Lord in every moment. Developing friendships with these holy people has reminded me that even though they are called to fully serve the Church, they still face the same up and downs of life that you and I face.
It's friendships like these that help us each to continuously (and constantly) grow deeper in our faith and our understanding of the teachings of the Catholic Church.
"God sends us friends to be our firm support in the whirlpool of struggle. In the company of friends we will find strength to attain our sublime ideal."
-St. Maximilian Kolbe
3) The Sacrament of Reconciliation
Because of the friendships I have developed with a handful of priests and some of my closest friends, I found the desire in my heart to overcome a fear in my faith life: that of going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I can remember the first time I went after several years away from the sacrament: I was terrified--to the point of almost making my self sick. But after I stepped into the confessional and made the sign of the cross, all of those feelings went away...because God doesn't just push our sins to the side; He washes them away.
A priest once told me: "God forgives, as long as we act."
This message holds near to my heart still today, because when we act on our wrong doings by seeking God's mercy through the sacrament, we are coming to know God's love, mercy, and desires at a deeper level. Without acting, we cannot expect forgiveness; we can't expect the desires in our hearts to change. God expects us to wrestle with our faith from time to time, and that is when we must look to Him for guidance instead of turning away.
"Confession is an act of honesty and courage - an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sing, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God."
-St. Pope John Paul II
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Together these three things combined have helped me to fall even more in love with my Catholic Faith over the past year. There have been ups and downs. There have been fears and doubts that I have had to overcome. But God has shown me His guidance to get me where I am today.
It has truly been an incredible journey, and I know that it is just the beginning of the even bigger journey that God is calling me to.
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