Hello everyone. My name is Josh; I'm a Roman Catholic; and Jesus did save me from a life of despair. That was roughly 3 years ago. My goal (mission) now is to develop a very personal relationship with Jesus. I go to Mass; I listen; I pray. But my relationship with Jesus, along with my concept OF Him, is very generic. I want to put that generic concept of Jesus- the one that I grew up with- out of my mind in order to get closer to Him.
I'm having trouble and thought that maybe someone could point me in the right direction on my journey to truly know Jesus. Maybe somebody has been in my situation.
Thank u & God bless!
Welcome! You will get a lot of advice here, some of it conflicting. Nang's recommendation is sound - you have to seek for yourself.
However, here is my two cents:
Augustine describes an encounter in his
Confessions (perhaps as metaphor or from a vision) with Lady Continence. The insight that he attributes to her is a profound understanding of what it means to be a child of God. He recorder her saying, "Why are you relying on yourself, only to find yourself unreliable? Cast yourself upon him, do not be afraid. He will not withdraw himself so that you fall. Make the leap without anxiety; he will catch you and heal you." Augustine may have assumed that he would fall and perish if he did not cling to the cliff face of the old life, arduously climbing his way to the Savior. However, he discovered through the revelation of this "dignified and chaste" Lady, that it the way to Christ was not in the climb, but in the fall.
Perhaps add 1 John to your initial readings, when you get the time.
