“No, not like that. Hold the mop higher and it will clean the floor better.” Dan, who was not much older than me, instructed on my first day of my first job at a local burger joint. He was assigned to train this newbie on the ins and outs of serving fast food. He was gentle, but firm, and he ended up eventually training me all the way to the top of my new found profession: grill master!

Over the course of the first three months of working with Dan, I came to idolize him. He was the seasoned veteran, and everyone looked up to him. I was intrigued by him and yearned to develop a friendship with him. I was frustrated as he rarely gave me the time of day outside of instructing me on all the intricacies of making fries and flipping burgers. Eventually, I discovered we had a common interest in fishing, resulting in us spending a fair amount of time fishing in the local ponds and streams. This time together solidified our friendship and it brought me so much enjoyment and fulfillment; it was live-giving.

While I always enjoyed fishing, my relationship with Dan is what amplified the experience and raised it to a much higher level of fulfillment and joy.

Our faith is like this. All of the many experiences of our faith: praying the rosary, lighting candles, volunteering in our parish, even going to Mass, can be fulfilling; however, it is our relationship with Christ that magnifies the experiences and makes them truly life-giving.

So, if you feel like you are going through the motions in your faith, focus on deepening your relationship with Christ by routinely spending time with Him in prayer, the sacraments, and reading Scripture. It is this relationship that will bring your faith to a much higher level of fulfillment and joy.

No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. – Luke 10:22

Originally posted 2018-01-22 06:00:22.