Welcome
Comeaside.com is a Catholic website dedicated to Lumen Christi. Lumen Christi means the Light of Christ. He can guide you in your search for whatever may be missing from your life.

Prayer invites Christ into your life. I know this because for many years I was a lukewarm Catholic and prayer was not important in my life. My family and career seemed to be enough, and they kept me very busy.

I thought that I was a good-enough Catholic by attending Mass on Sunday. It didn’t seem necessary to pray each day. And I seldom got around to helping other people.

This attitude was like a brick wall between me and Jesus. He was more a stranger than a friend.

One day, I saw that my life was a mess. I had failed to follow my earlier dreams, my business ventures were failures, and my marriage was in trouble. I became very depressed and started drinking.

A year later, for some reason, I wandered into a Catholic church dedicated to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. There was hardly anyone in there, but the red sanctuary light was visible — so I knew the Lord was present.

I was moved to pray to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, for help. And she led me back to her Son. I poured out my heart to Him. I honestly admitted my sins and apologized for the many times that I had ignored Him. I asked for His forgiveness and help.

I realized that Jesus still loved me. He had not rejected me, despite my faults. His love is not conditional. As I accepted this, my spirit felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from it. There was a new joy in my heart. I knew that prayer and the Light of Christ had to be an important part of my life.

If you take time for prayer, your life will be better.

Now, I set aside Quiet Time each day to pray and to say the rosary. Devotion to the Sacred Heart and receiving the Holy Eucharist give me peace and joy. Jesus reveals Himself to me when I read the Bible.

There are still problems in my life and I am still stumbling — some days I take one step forward and two or even three steps back. Yet I always turn to Jesus in prayer and know that He will help me.

"Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him and he with me."

My prayer is that you continue to grow closer to Jesus. If you find this site helpful, would you please recommend it to your friends.

May Jesus Christ bless you,

James Lawrence

James Lawrence holds degrees in philosophy and theology and has a background in education. He is also an RCIA program instructor.

From Lumen Christi to Home Page