In my work with our parish’s Confirmation students, I try to convey that Jesus Christ is more than a nice guy whose life is recorded in the Bible. Jesus wants us to know Him and to love Him. He wants to be a part of every aspect of our life, if only we would invite and allow Him to do so.
This past weekend we celebrated the feast day of Christ the King. This is one of Jesus’s many roles in salvation history. It’s quite easy for us to state the fact: Jesus Christ is King of the Universe, but how easy is it for us to answer the question of whether or not he is the King of OUR Universe, the King of OUR lives?
Our Confirmation students use Matthew Kelly’s Decision Point program. As a way to supplement his video lectures and class discussions, we allow students a time for prayer at the end of the class, in the church, before the Blessed Sacrament. The goal is to teach the young people how to pray and to explore different meditative exercises. Session three recently afforded students an opportunity to learn more about Jesus as it focused exclusively on Jesus. I led the students through a prayer period of “Getting to Know Jesus,” to truly pray with the identities of Jesus as revealed to us in the scriptures:
- Jesus is our friend. Speak to Jesus as you would with any of your friends. Share with Him something that happened today. It can be good or bad. What do you want to tell your friend?
- Jesus is our redeemer. He came so that we might have life. In our own life, is there something taking away the divine life of God? Is there something I’m doing for which I need to ask God for forgiveness? What sin troubles me the most? Ask Jesus to redeem it. Ask Him to set you free this day.
- Jesus is our Lord. To call someone Lord means we want to be faithful and make a commitment to them. How will I commit my life to the Lord tomorrow? Is it to pray more? To perform acts of kindness? Whatever that commitment is, tell it to Jesus, make the promise, and ask for help in order to live up to it.
- Jesus is the mediator between God and man. He is the giver of all that is good. Is there someone in your life who needs prayer? A family member or friend? Is there some world event that you are aware of that requires our prayers? Whoever or whatever it is, entrust it to Jesus. Ask for his protection and help.
These are simple ways we can relate to Jesus in our life, to move beyond seeing Jesus as a historical figure in order to see Him as a person who wants to be in relationship with us. Jesus is our friend and redeemer; He is our Lord and Mediator. He is the King of the Universe and the King of our lives. It’s our job, through prayer, to get to know Him!
1 thought on “Getting to Know Jesus”
“On communion for the divorced and remarried, it is already known how the pope thinks. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he authorized the “curas villeros,” the priests sent to the peripheries, to give communion to all, although four fifths of the couples were not even married. And as pope, by telephone or letter he is not afraid of encouraging some of the faithful who have remarried to receive communion without worrying about it, right away, even without those “penitential paths under the guidance of the diocesan bishop” projected by some at the synod, and without issuing any denials when the news of his actions comes out.”
(Sandro Magister)