"Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us," begs Saint Philip in today's Gospel, John 14:8.
Saint Philip is making the very human mistake of believing all we need is a one-time vision of God to change our lives completely and irrevocably. As a cradle Catholic, I sometimes stumble in this same way when I start acting as if my faith and being a member of the Catholic Church guarantees me automatic holiness for the rest of my life.
As if a one-time encounter with the Church is enough to sustain my faith for my entire lifetime.
In other words, I think I can bypass a real relationship with Jesus. If I just see the Father, I won't need to put in the work of self-examination and sacrifice to grow in holiness. I won't have to spend daily time devoted to prayer. I even won't have to receive the Sacraments frequently. But how wrong I am to assume that my encounters with Jesus in the past are enough to sustain my faith for the rest of my life.
Jesus calls us not simply to a one-time download of holiness, but a lifetime of relationship with Him. A continual communication and friendship with Jesus as real person Who wishes to befriend our hearts not just once, but every day of our lives.
We need more than one vision—we need the frequent reception of the Sacraments, of Christ Himself. We need to spend daily time with Jesus not just as the transitory aspects of our lives change from season to season, but the movements of our hearts.
Our belief in Jesus and our relationship with Him must grow every day if we are to accomplish great things in His name.
Are you familiar with the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus?
Christy Isinger is a wife and mom to five lovely, loud children and lives in northern Canada. When not homeschooling, she is a devoted reader of English literature from Jane Austen to Agatha Christie. She writes about the beauty of faith, life, and the home at her blog and is the co-host of the Fountains of Carrots Podcast. You can find out more about her here. She is the author of our Blessed Conversations: The Ten Commandments study found here.
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