I had the good fortune to grow up (many years ago, I might add) in a very Catholic home. I went to Catholic elementary school, Catholic high school, and Catholic college.  My father was a lawyer, a professor, and a deeply believing Catholic. He was what you might call an intellectual because he spent his every available moment studying the Bible, Thomas Aquinas, and the Church Fathers, always seeking opportunities to share his knowledge of what he called “our beautiful faith.” He traveled frequently to give lectures, and when he was at home, priests and professors would come to our house for Sunday dinner and discussion.  He was definitely “other worldly.”   Thank God he married Grace, my mother, who looked after all the practical aspects of raising me and my five siblings.

I am telling you all this because my father’s example inspired me with a great love for Christ and all that He taught.  I, too, believe that Christ’s teachings are beautiful and necessary, laying out the way for all of humanity to become the best that He created us to be. So, over the years, I spent my spare time trying to share the teachings of our Catholic faith... And then I encountered ChristLife, where I experienced a great epiphany.

I discovered that loving Jesus is not primarily about the mind -- it is about the heart. It is all about an encounter with the person of Jesus – allowing the touch of His immense love, experiencing it intimately inside my heart and emotions, recognizing His unfathomable patience as He waits for me to turn back to Him after each failure.  And I learned that I don’t need to know lots of doctrines in order to find Jesus. True, if you love someone, you want to know what is pleasing to him; but what I came to understand is that there are no entrance tests or prerequisites for Jesus to love me.  Most of all, I learned that I don’t have to pursue Jesus to find Him because He is pursuing me.  He is right here beside me, loving me, supporting me, waiting for me to come to Him. All I have to do is open my heart to Him.

The central reality of our faith is Jesus’ shining love and infinite mercy for every single one of His flawed creatures – that means us, you and me, distracted and overwhelmed people who despite our confusion and selfishness are nevertheless beautiful because He made us and loves us. And when we open ourselves up to Jesus, we reflect His great beauty and love and become capable of doing the great and noble things, big and small, that our Catholic faith asks us to do for Him and for others. Yes, this life can be hard – whether it’s learning the virtues, studying for an exam, earning a living, loving our spouse, or facing the reality of death -- but Jesus entered this world to help us through it all. He knows every single thing we face in this life because He Himself experienced it all, pain, sadness, loneliness, grief, even temptation, -- everything, except sin.  If we permit ourselves to be touched by Jesus, to feel the healing love of the Holy Spirit throughout our day, then everything changes; everything is different; everything is better.  That is when you discover Christ.