One of the most frequent protests I’ve heard from Protestant co-workers and friends against the Catholic Church is that they feel it doesn’t emphasize enough a personal relationship with God, that they feel certain aspects, like the Sacrament of Confession, puts a barrier up between them and God.

I must stress that I am not ragging on my Protestant brothers and sisters, but instead using this as a jumping off point.

I understand where they are coming from. Being a part of a large parish, with very little one-on-one time with your priest or deacon, can make you feel like a number, instead of an individual. I myself am guilty of that from time to time.

A few years ago right after I got married, my wife and I wanted to become more active in our parish. She became a lector, someone who reads the scripture to the congregation, and I became an altar server. We got to know some of the other volunteers, one of them a sweet old lady about 90 years old, who is a cantor, or the one who leads the singing of hymns during the celebration.

This lady is the real deal too, full blown operatic singing at Mass. She gives voice lessons outside of Church.

One morning I was up on the altar, in between readings when the Responsorial Psalm is sung. Now being up on the altar in front of the entire congregation, I did my best to stay in a contemplative, almost meditative state. But this morning I watched as the cantor crossed the altar to the lectern. As she passed the tabernacle, she genuflected, but when she stood up she gazed longingly at the crucifix above and I saw her mouth, “I love you, Lord.”

In that moment I felt incredibly embarrassed. My cheeks flushed and I averted my gaze. I was uncomfortable because I felt I had intruded on an incredibly intimate moment, that I peeked behind the veil of this woman’s relationship with Christ.

The more involved and the more I grow in my faith, the more I understand about certain functions of the Catholic Church itself. The Church has a responsibility to lead the parish in communal prayer. It has a responsibility to gather the Body of Christ together in the celebration of our Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection. In that regard, the Church has to be focused on a more macro level.

But the Church has so many opportunities for us to develop our own personal relationships. Adoration, Benediction, even being open during the day so that you can just sit and pray if the need arises. Most importantly, every Sunday we as Catholics get to receive our Lord and Savior in the Eucharist. We get to physically imbibe Him. How much more personal, how much more intimate can you get?

The challenge is what are you doing to deepen your individual relationship with God? Are you taking advantage of those services the Church provides, are you taking the proper amount of time out of the day for prayer? For Catholics, Mass is only one hour a week. What are you doing with all the hours after that to take the reigns and strengthen your own relationship with Christ.

Because let me tell you, there is a 90 year old woman who has a deeper relationship with Christ than I do. Her love for Him is so focused, so powerful that it transcends the communal setting of the Mass. Her love for Him is truly inspiring to make me want to build a better relationship with Him.

Christ is reaching out to each of us on a personal level, but he can only reach halfway. It’s up to each of us, individually, to reach back.