8.90. I have a personal relationship with Jesus. I don’t think the institutional Church is really necessary—it’s about my faith, not religion.
True faith in Jesus Christ is not private, emotional, or individualistic—it is corporate, sacramental, and visible. Christ did not write a book or teach personal spirituality—He founded one Church, built upon the Apostles, to teach, govern, and sanctify souls. He gave us the sacraments, the priesthood, the Mass, and the Magisterium as the ordinary means of salvation.
The modern idea of a “personal relationship with Jesus,” apart from the Church He founded, is a Protestant invention that denies the reality of the Mystical Body, sacramental grace, and divinely established authority. The true Jesus is found only in the one true Church, which is His Body, His Bride, and the Ark of Salvation.
Below is a comparison between the Catholic understanding of union with Christ and the modern individualist notion of a private spiritual connection.
| Category | Catholic Teaching | Modern “Personal Relationship” View | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union with Christ | Through Baptism, the sacraments, the Mystical Body (the Church) | Emotional, personal connection based on feeling or belief | True relationship with Christ must be **in His Church** |
| Church | Founded by Christ; visible, hierarchical, necessary for salvation | Optional, invisible, or viewed as merely human or secondary | Rejecting the Church is rejecting the Christ who founded her |
| Faith | Supernatural assent to revealed truth, taught by the Church | Subjective belief in “Jesus” apart from doctrine or authority | True faith cannot contradict what Christ taught through His Church |
| Sacraments | Ordinary means of grace established by Christ Himself | Seen as optional or symbolic, not necessary | Without the sacraments, the soul withers; they are not man-made |
| Salvation | Only in the Church: “extra Ecclesiam nulla salus” | Assumed through sincerity or good intentions | This contradicts defined dogma and Scripture |
| Authority | Papal and Magisterial teaching, guided by the Holy Ghost | Personal interpretation or internal “promptings” | This is Protestant subjectivism, not Catholic obedience |
| Worship | Centered on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Eucharist | Often informal, emotional gatherings or prayer alone | Private prayer is good, but **never replaces public worship** |
| Fruits | Sanctity, obedience, conversion, doctrinal unity | Doctrinal confusion, moral relativism, self-centered faith | “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matt. 7:16) |
Summary:
A true relationship with Jesus Christ is not a feeling—it is objective, rooted in faith, grace, and membership in the Church He founded. To separate Christ from His Church is to create a false Christ of one’s own design. As St. Cyprian said:
“He who does not have the Church for his mother cannot have God for his Father.”
The personal relationship argument is not Catholic—it is a Protestant deception, born of rebellion and pride. Christ calls you to enter His Church, receive His sacraments, obey His commandments, and unite with Him through the Mystical Body.
There is no true union with Christ without union with His one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church.