Fr. Josh answers questions on the process of falling in love with God and building a real relationship with him, ways to lead Bible studies with your family, and the meaning of covenants in Scripture.
Snippet from the Show
“Connection is more important than perfection.”
Shownotes
Throughout salvation history, humans have broken the heart of God. However, covenants in Scripture reveal to us God’s indissoluble love for that us never strays though we may stray from him.
Shownotes
Glory Story (3:28)
Feedback (7:10)
Falling in Love with God (9:30)
Hi Father Josh,
First off I’d like to say thank you for all you do. Your show has been a gift to me and has encouraged me to grow in my faith. I was baptized Catholic but raised outside the Church but I have always believed in God, but I am only starting to really understand what it means to be Catholic (thank you for your help in that department!) Because I was not raised in a particularly religious home, my first real exposure to religion and scripture came through college courses, which sparked my interest but also somewhat intimidated me – discussing religion in a classroom setting felt way out of my depth. However, it did light a spark to explore my faith more deeply, which has grown ever since.
My question is this: I hear people write in to your show often claiming to be “on fire” for God – what does it mean to be “on fire” for God? Over the last few years especially I have felt a very strong desire to explore my faith, learn what it means to be Catholic and grow closer to Jesus Christ. I feel like I am making steady progress at those first two items, but not always the third. Sometimes I feel like my approach is too academic, like I am thinking more than I am feeling. In the past I focused on reading apologetics and building intellectual “defenses” and justifications of my faith. I think it was a valuable experience, but I did so at the expense of reading scripture. Now I make it a point to read scripture regularly, meditate and pray with it. This has helped but I still sometimes feel like I am using too much of my head and not enough of my heart. I do feel like I’m “on fire”, but sometimes it feels more like I’m learning ABOUT God rather than building a relationship WITH God, which is what I desire. Is this normal at this kind of “discovery” stage I’m at, to be focused more on learning about my faith than participating in it? Is it a problem, and if so, how can I overcome it? Thank you again for all you do and know that you are in my prayers
-Alex
Leading Family Bible Studies (14:16)
Hola, Father Josh! I’m Maria and I’m from Puerto Rico! Yes, you also have fans here, haha! I wanted to first say thank you for your openness to God’s will because from your words there has been much fruit in my life and the people around me. My question is about family bible studies! My parents have been devout Catholics their whole lives, yet only last year did God gave me the grace of reversion as well as my sisters coming back to the church. During lockdown, we did a family bible study in which we picked some verses from the bible and studied them, but our differences in knowledge and even spirituality made it difficult to carry on. This week, I’ve felt the “Holy Spirit poke” to talk with my family about starting them back up. What is a good way to go about combining our differences? What are good starting places and resources? I’d love for it to be a meaningful experiences for us and to help us grow in faith as a family. Thank you so much! I pray and hope to meet you one day in Heaven as we unite we our Beloved 🙂 God bless you!
-Maria
Covenants in Scripture (20:45)
Hi Fr. Josh,
Could you explain the concept of covenants? Covenants are mentioned throughout Scripture and even in Mass we hear about Jesus establishing an everlasting covenant. What kind of relationship is entailed in a covenant and why does God want to establish covenants with his people?
–Jessica
Resources
- Submit your questions and feedback to Fr.Josh by filling out a form at www.ascensionpress.com/askfatherjosh
- Rejoice! Advent Meditations with the Holy Family
- Ascension is pleased to offer our new and improved online bible study programs and sacramental preparation programs digitally to help you minister with flexibility. Go to ascensionpress.com to view all our offerings.
Meet Fr. Josh Johnson
While Fr. Josh was raised Catholic, he didn’t like the Church growing up. Then, one day in adoration, he fell in love with Jesus and received the call to become a priest.
Now, Fr. Josh is the Vocations Director of the Diocese of Baton Rouge in Louisiana. He is a presenter in four of Ascension’s programs: Altaration, YOU: Life, Love, and the Theology of the Body, The 99, and Connected: Catholic Social Teaching for This Generation, as well as the author of Broken and Blessed: An Invitation to My Generation, Pocket Guide to Adoration, and co-author of Pocket Guide to Reconciliation.
