Building a relationship with Christ a subtle journey

“Jesus I trust in you. Help me to trust you more.” That was my prayer as I embarked on my first year of seminary at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Neb. I had many worries coming in. What are the classes going to be like? Will I adjust to the new lifestyle? How will I mesh with all the other seminarians? But my biggest concern was, will I have a closer relationship with Jesus at the end of the year? I came there to learn, but if I didn’t grow in a deeper love and trust for Christ, it would all be for naught.

I had only one problem. I had no idea how to do that.

My first weeks at seminary were spent getting used to the schedule, learning my way around the breviary, and getting to know the guys in the house. As the months went by, I became more settled in to my schedule and the flow of life at the seminary. There are many points throughout the day that we are required to pray together as a community. Morning, evening, and night prayer, along with Mass every morning are the main parts of the day where we all come together. Having these times scheduled into my day helped to solidify my prayer life. Having this structure of prayer was a great frame to build my own personal devotions around. It helped me to be much more intentional about making time to pray on my own. As the year went on, I found myself turning to prayer more and more when difficulties arose.

Before I knew it, my first year at seminary was over. It seemed like it just started. I felt I didn’t have enough time to grow spiritually like I wanted. However, upon reflecting on the year, my eyes were opened to just how far Jesus led me. He took care of most—if not all—my worries. I passed all the classes, I came to enjoy the daily life of the seminary, and I made some of the best friends I have ever had. I also began to realize how my relationship with him grew throughout the year. I turned to Jesus more with my problems instead of trying to figure things out on my own. I was more intentional and consistent spending time with him in prayer. 

These changes in me were subtle and slow moving as the year progressed. I didn’t realize they were happening. I realize now that you build a better relationship with Jesus Christ the same way you build a better relationship with anyone else—by spending time with him. By consistently committing time to prayer and uniting myself to him in the Eucharist, it allows him to enter my heart and soul to form me into the man he is calling me to be. I still have a long way to go in my spiritual life, but I thank God every day for starting me on this journey of formation to hopefully be one of his priests someday.

I’m thankful that he brought me to the seminary. It’s a place where I can foster my relationship with him and let my trust continue to grow. I know that if I trust in Jesus, I will have nothing to fear. I look forward to the years to come with anticipation as I pray: Jesus I trust in you. Help me to trust you more.