“Christianity is the present. It is both a gift and a task, receiving the gift of God’s inner
closeness and — as a consequence — bearing witness to Jesus Christ.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth II, p. 282)
One of my biggest concerns as a priest is that not enough souls have a deep experience of Christ in prayer. They may have studied the Faith in school or CCD, attended Catholic schools for 12 or 16 years, even go to Mass every Sunday…but do they know Christ as a friend? Have they experienced the “gift of God’s inner closeness?” This will not naturally happen unless you make a serious commitment to daily prayer and a strong Eucharistic devotion. Christ cannot resist a heart that continually reaches out to him day after day, but he needs to see that you really want it!
