STUDY

Getting to know God is like getting to know any person. You must have a desire to know
him, and then you must really work at it. It takes time, energy, and effort. It is a study. Thats
the purpose of this talkgetting to know Godstudying Him. This talk is not about study as
related to school, taking exams or memorizing. It is about the study of God.
As we grow older, and we get to know more of God, our images of Him will change.
When we were younger, we probably had some strange ideas of God. Hopefully, these ideas
have changed as you have matured. I am going to give you some false images that you may have
held, and I would like you to write them down in your book.
First is The Policeman God. He watches everything you do to make sure you dont get
out of line; if you do, you will be imprisoned in hell forever. Next we have The Accountant
God or the man with the Big Book. He keeps track of the good and bad things you do. In the
end he totals the two columnsif the good total is greater than the bad total, you go to heaven.
Next we have the most popular; The Santa Claus God-also called the genie god. We make
out a list of all the things we want and give it to him; he will see to it that we get everything we
want. Next is The Aspirin God- whenever thigs go wrong for us, be it school, relationships, we
run to him; we expect him to cure all our ills and make everything right. Next is The Party
God. For Him, it doesnt matter what you do as long as you have a good time; his only concern
is that you think you are happy. Next is the mysterious Mountain-top God. He is all along on
top of the mountain and has nothing to do with man; he is totally unrelated to man; there is no
interaction. Lastly, there is The Catechism God. He is the pat answers to all the questions;
involvement with him demands no thought or personal commitment.
The sad thing about all these false images of God is that some people never leave them
behind. Another sad thing is that we can spend so much of our lives with these false images, and
one day the image shatters and were left with no God of our own.

One of these images I personally have held, especially when I was younger is The Santa
Claus God. When the coolest toy came out, I would want it badly, whether it was a new Barbie
doll or to have the coolest locker decorations out of all the girls in my class I would pray to God
every night and bargain that if I received what I wanted, I would be a better Catholic and I would
grow my relationship with him. The funny thing is God was already giving me the gifts of nice
friends, loving parents, and opportunities to meet Him, but I was blind and foolish. Even now,
when the coolest concerts come, like Adele or Coachella, I still revert to that false image of Him.
The realization of God giving us gifts that we cant see is awe inspiring because one day God
could give us the opportunity to meet our future husband, but if we still keep the false image, we
wont see the wonderful gifts he is already bestowing on us.
Another image I have held is a combination of the Aspirin and Mountain-top God. I
always want to turn to God to stop suffering in my life and to help me get over life-changing
events. Sometimes I even think that when I ask for his help that I dont get anything and
question whether he is there or not. Even when the life-changing events have passed and
something good happens, I wonder even if God is still listening to me or if he is helping another
person or if he is even there at all. The answer to those questions is that he actually is there. One
even that has changed my life is the passing of my Grandfather in late 2015. My grandfather
passed away from Prostate cancer and I prayed for God to end his suffering somehow so that he
could come back to the family. The week after he passed I had another retreat to lead for my
parish and all the hurt and anger I had inside myself was buried so deep that I myself hadnt
really realized it until I finally let down my wall. I honestly thought God was not there at all
until he finally took away all the hurt and anger I had inside me. Most of us dont know if God
is even there for us because we really dont get any confirmation, like an email or text that says I
have received your message and am working to help you get through it. Our world doesnt work

that way, but God is like a stack of letters we receive from a friend or a parent that has some
writing on the front like, Read this when you are sad, or Read this when you feel loved. God
is always there for us, even under stack of our dirty laundry or tons of old homework and he
wont leave us ever.
It is easy to live with the God you have been taught to believe in, but it is easier to
love a God you have found for yourself. When we begin searching for a God of our own, it is
sometimes difficult to know where to start. It is important to develop a keen sense of awareness.
God is all around us and we will see him if only we will look for him. I am going to discuss five
places where we can find God. I would like you to write them down in your notebooks and leave
space for notes between each one. They are: Nature, Other people, The Gospels, Prayer, and
Myself.
Nature: For some people, nature is the most obvious manifestation of Gods presence on
earth. One of the biggest reminders for me of Gods presence is waking up to watch a beautiful
sunset. On the Kairos that I attended my friends and I woke up early to watch the sun rise over
the mountains. The anticipation to watch the sun come over was breath taking and the sun
created beautiful colors in the sky and the lake. This place was so beautiful and made me want
to just sit a pray with God because I never really watch sunsets and when I do they are so
beautiful and remind me of another good day.
The nest way we can see God is through Other People. Often by studying what God
means to other people or by studying people who exemplify Christian qualities, we can come to
know God Himself. Every person is made in the image of God, and therefore reflects God.
Other peoples faith in God or in us can teach us a lot about God.
One person who life has inspired me to grow more in my faith is my youth minister.
Even though this may sound like the obvious choice, he is always there for us teens in anything
we may need. He opens his office space to us to use at any given time whether we dont have a

ride home or just want to stop in to talk. His caring and charismatic attitude he has towards all
the teens inspires me to grow in my faith and be a leader to other teens in my faith too. Although
many people think youth ministers are boring and only care about faith, he goes beyond what
any person would do for me. He is honestly a big brother that will come support me in anything
whether it is sports, theatre, or if I just need support for something.
By noticing and studying Christ-like qualities we can find out a great deal about Jesus
Christ. Sometimes we think we see no Christ-like qualities in a person on first impression, but if
we take the time to really get to know that person and appreciate who she is, rather than judge by
how may seem on the surface, we may find someone very special.
One friend who exemplifies Christ-like qualities is my friend Giselle. Giselle and I have
grown up together and we have drifted away and towards each other over the years, but have
always remained good friends. When high school started I honestly thought that I was going to
be the only one involved in my faith and the rest of my friends fade away from it. Giselle has
proven me wrong because not only have we grown in our friendship, but we have grown together
with our relationship with God. Whenever one of us is in a dilemma, we always go and talk to
our youth minister and have him pray with us over that conflict we are having to help us pass it.
Giselle and I have grown together in our faith and we each inspire each other to grow and
strengthen that relationship with God.
The Gospelsthe gospels are the recording of Jesus life and values; they give His
message and challenge to each one of us in the Gospels, He tells us who He is and what He
hopes for from us. Knowing and living in the gospels is the best way to know Jesus and become
like him.
Prayer- prayer is nothing more than communicating with God, talking with him about
what is going on in our minds and our heartsand listening for His response. If you are trying
to build a relationship with someone, you have to communicate and get to know him unless you

spend time with that person. The same is true of Godyou do not get to know him unless you
spend time and talk and listen.
St. Ignatius Loyola developed a whole new way to pray for busy people who cannot live
the life of a monk. Basically, he taught people how to find God in all things. This means
meeting the Lord in other, in difficult and happy situationson the phone, in the car, walking
down the hall, at work, while running or waiting or studying or playingjust taking a moment
so say thanks or help or please do it or please be here or I love you. Nothing excites
God more than us taking time to with Him to pray, to find Him in the minutes and experiences of
our daily life.
Myself- As our relationship with God grow in strength and depth, we will begin to see
God in ourselves. The more aware I become of who I am and the more I believe in my own
goodness as a person, I will see myself as a unique gift from God. All the people and
experiences in my life are gifts from the Lord, molding me into a beautiful person. Any
goodness within me is from God, and therefore, I can talk about myself without it being boastful
or false pride. God is with use God is our Father and we are very special children of God. He is
with us as he promised. I went to a Steubenville West retreat over the summer and our theme
was Limitless. The phrase that began our retreat was from the MC telling us, God is all
powerful and limitless. He can climb over mountains and go through seas for you. That limitless
God only has one obstacle: you. God can do limitless things but he is limited by your refusal of
him. That struck me in more ways than I ever thought because who would ever think God is
limited by us? It is amazing to know that God would have created the whole universe just for us
and that Jesus would have died for each and every one of us. God loves us and the unique and
special individuals we are and he even loves us when we dont love ourselves.
Each of us are part of the story and picture of who God iswe are made in the image and
likeness of God, and some people will know about God only because of one of use. They will

experience Gods kindness and warmth and friendship through us. The more we know ourselves,
the more we know and will know God.
KAIROS is a special opportunity for us to get to know God. His love and friendship are
evident in the love and friendship that fill our lives. God wants to be out friendif we just be
open to Him. God offers us His love and lets us come to know Him through the people and
things that are around us. All we have to do is be open and recognize His presence.