{"id":301,"date":"2015-08-26T00:00:33","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T06:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=301"},"modified":"2026-03-04T13:57:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T20:57:53","slug":"personal-relationship-with-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/personal-relationship-with-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"Personal Relationship With Jesus","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

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First published October 5th, 2006.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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W<\/span>ith my writings of late on the Pope, the Catholic Church, the Blessed Mother, and the understanding of how divine truth flows, not through personal interpretation, but through the teaching authority of Jesus, I received the expected emails and criticisms from non-Catholics (or rather, ex-Catholics). They have interpreted my defence of the hierarchy, established by Christ Himself, to mean that I do not have a personal relationship with Jesus; that somehow I believe I am saved, not by Jesus, but by the Pope or a bishop; that I am not filled with the Spirit, but an institutional “spirit” that has left me blind and bereft of salvation.<\/p>\n

Having almost left the Catholic faith myself many years ago (watch My Testimony<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>or read\u00a0<\/em>My Personal Testimony<\/a><\/em>), I understand the basis of their misunderstanding and bias against the Catholic Church. I understand their difficulty embracing a Church that, in the Western world, is almost all but dead in many places. Furthermore\u2014and as Catholics, we must face this painful reality\u2014the sexual scandals in the priesthood have greatly eroded our credibility.<\/p>\n

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As a result, the faith as such becomes unbelievable, and the Church can no longer present herself credibly as the herald of the Lord.<\/strong> \u2014POPE BENEDICT XVI, Light of the World, The Pope, the Church, and the Signs of the Times: A Conversation With Peter Seewald<\/em>, p. 25<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It makes it more difficult for us as Catholics, but not impossible\u2014nothing is impossible with God. There has never been a more incredible time to become a saint than now. And it is just such souls through whom the light of Jesus will pierce any darkness, any doubt, any deception\u2014even that of our persecutors. And, as Pope John Paul II once wrote in a poem,\u00a0<\/p>\n

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If the word has not converted, it will be blood that converts.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014POPE JOHN PAUL II, from poem, “Stanislaw”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But, let me first start with the word…<\/p>\n

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FINDING THE SUMMIT\u00a0<\/p>\n

As\u00a0I wrote some time ago in\u00a0Mountains, Foothills, and Plains<\/em><\/a>, the Summit of the Church is Jesus. This Summit is the foundation of the Christian Life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In my early school years, we had no Catholic youth group. So my parents, who were devout Catholics in love with Jesus, sent us to a Pentecostal group. There, we made friends with other Christians who had a passion for Jesus, a love for the Word of God, and a desire to witness to others.\u00a0One thing they often spoke of was the need for a “personal relationship with Jesus”. In fact, years before, I remember being given a comic book at a neighborhood bible study that told the story of God’s love, expressed through the self-sacrifice of His Son. There was a little prayer at the end to invite Jesus to be my personal Lord and Savior. And so, in my little six year old way, I invited Jesus into my heart. I know He heard me. He’s never left…<\/p>\n

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CATHOLICISM AND THE PERSONAL JESUS<\/p>\n

Many Evangelical or Protestant Christians reject the Catholic Church because they’ve been led to believe that we do not preach the need to have a “personal relationship” with Jesus. They look at our churches adorned with icons, candles, statues, and paintings, and misinterpret sacred symbolism for “idol worship.” They see our rituals, traditions, vestments and spiritual feasts and regard them as “dead works,” devoid of faith, life, and the freedom which Christ came to bring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the one hand, we must admit a certain truth to this. Many Catholics do “show up” to Mass out of obligation, going through the rote prayers, rather than from a real and living relationship with God. But this does not mean that the Catholic Faith is dead or empty, though perhaps many the heart of an individual is. Yes, Jesus said to judge a tree by its fruit. It’s quite another thing to cut the tree down altogether. Even St. Paul’s detractors showed more humility than some of their modern counterparts. [1]<\/sup><\/a>cf. Acts 5:38-39<\/span><\/span>