Retiring Our Free Will

        The Lord God gave each one of us the free will to choose to follow or reject him. We are entirely responsible for all the choices we make. Keep in mind that at all times God tests our free will. The only way to make sure that we'll always pass the test is to give our will to God, then we won't ever need to exercise our free will anymore.  

**Love Gives Joy

        Communion experience. The greatest love we can feel in this life is God's love for us, for it is the greatest possible love. After I received the Lord in the Eucharist, the Holy Spirit filled my heart with overflowing joy. I felt as if a might force from within my heart was trying to bust open its walls. The joy was powerful, vigorous, and absolutely soul-touching – I couldn't do a thing about it. I knew that it came from the love of Christ.

Key to Entering Kingdom of Heaven

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is? They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father." It is the key to entering the kingdom of heaven to be able to believe and say truly that Jesus is the Son of the living God.

Home Sweet Home With God

        It is good to be back home, especially because I am now able to receive the Lord daily again. Away for home this past week, I attended Mass only on one weekday and Sunday in two different cities. The first church was quite far from where I stayed and the second one, to get there, I had to drive through heavy traffic and ended up not being able to find a parking space right away. So I appreciate driving to my church back home on nice country roads in 5 minutes and encountering no traffic. Today is the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. The entrance antiphon reads: These are the ones who, living in the flesh, planted the Church with their blood; they drank the chalice of the Lord and became the friends of God. It is good to be back home, but it is infinitely better to become a friend of God.

Sin Preferred Over Gravity

        Sin and Gravity are alike in that they both weigh us down. Because of gravity, we are limited to moving around near the surface of the earth. The only way to rid of gravity is to be at some spot in space where all the gravitational forces attracting you from all directions cancel each other out. It's safe to say that we are entirely earthbound. As for sin, it becomes our spiritual burden, keeping us from soaring to God. But we don't need to be bound by it, for Christ can free us from sin instantly if we let him. So, in a way, I like sin more than gravity.

Most Satisfying Feeling

        Knowing that you maintain a private, close relationship with none other than God.      

True Freedom

        Those who follow God's will are not affected by what others do, thus they are free in doing what they want to do. But those who follow their own will always get bothered by others' actions, so they never feel free.   

More Than No. 1

        The Gospel reading yesterday came from Matthew 6. Jesus pointed out that doing anything to make people think that you are doing it for God is being hypocritical and will not receive any recompense from God. If we do things to win the praise of others, we have received our reward already. So it comes down to choosing to please God or ourselves, to serve God or ourselves, to worship God or ourselves. God not only needs to be No. 1, but the only one in our life.

Treasurable Feeling

       Since I am traveling, I may not be able to blog daily in the coming week. Anyway, yesterday the entrance antiphon from Psalm 14 read: The clean of hands and pure of heart shall climb the mountain of the Lord and stand in his holy place. To me, keeping the hands clean is not to do any bad deeds and keeping the heart pure is not to have any bad thoughts. Both clean hands and a pure heart assure that you will feel good in God's presence, and what a treasurable feeling that is!

Blessed and Worthy Are ...

those who receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist with humility, love, and trust. (Today's Communion experience.)

Our Mission and Goal

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus asked his disciples to love not just their neighbor, but even their enemies. And he wants them to be perfect, just as their heavenly Father is perfect. The lesson here: (1) Specifically, we are to love everyone as the Father loves us, irrespective of whether the person is good or bad, just or unjust and (2) fundamentally, we are to imitate the Father who is perfect.

God Wouldn't Mind

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 27: O Lord, hear my voice, for I have called to you; be my help. Do not abandon or forsake me, O God, my savior. We can ask, beg, pester, or even argue with God. As long as we treat him as our most loving Father, he wouldn't mind a bit. Sharing everything in your heart with him surely endears yourself to him.

Sole Influence

        It is easy to follow the crowd and do whatever everyone else is doing, especially when there is the chance of making money or looking fashionable, but believing that it should always be between you and God means that you let only God influence you.

Egregious Disconnect

        So many people are disconnected from God, for they are deeply immersed in the world and have lost whatever spiritual awareness they had. They say that God is dead, but I say that their own hearts are dead. Here's a human analogy that illustrates the situation. A father raises his children, loves them very much and gives them the best in everything he could. Now the children have grown up and totally forgotten about the father. They are immersed in doing what they want to do and no longer visit or communicate with the father. You don't have to be a parent to know how bad that father would be feeling. Imagine now how our heavenly Father with infinite love for us would be feeling over us. 

The Lord Making a Point

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples, "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one what wants to borrow." These are hard sayings, but they completely make sense if you truly love everyone as God loves us, never wishing to judge or hurt anyone. Naturally, vengeance is out of the question. I think this is the point Jesus had wanted to get across. Another example, in Matthew 5.30, Jesus said, "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut if off and throw it away." Here he made the point that we are not to sin. Nevertheless, love the Lord with all your heart and you'll know what to do in each situation.

**Call to Decision

        We are trapped in the middle of an intense spiritual warfare. As a matter of fact, we are involved because our souls are the sole object of this warfare. We'd better open our spiritual eye from sleep to recognized this reality and take a stand. There is a time for everything and there should be one for detaching yourself from the world and choosing to follow Christ to save yourself and the world. That time, more urgent than ever, is now.

Peace of Belonging to God

        Communion experience. I received profound peace, knowing that I have the truth. Of course, there are still issues unresolved and pieces of work unfinished in this life, but if the Lord wants me to go to him, I just go (no packing needed) because it's his will. This is the peace of belonging to God alone.   

***Our Most Precious Food

         Today is Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. In the Gospel reading from John 6, Jesus said the following to the Jewish crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world," "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him," "The one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven," and "Whoever eats this bread will live forever." If there are sayings of Jesus that we should listen to and take most seriously, these are the ones. Many non-Catholic Christians gloss over these sayings of Jesus in John 6, for they believe that the bread and drink merely symbolizes his flesh and blood. In other words, they remain ordinary bread and wine. Can you imagine that Jesus had meant "Whoever eats this ordinary bread will live forever"? It's in believing that Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist that we receive the power of transformation to be made fit for living forever. (All the early Church fathers agree with me on this.)

**Heaven-Shaking Event*

        When any prodigal or lost sinner returns to the Father in heaven, the whole heaven rejoices! (Now you see how beloved you are to God.)     

To Hear the Holy Spirit Speak

        To hear the Holy Spirit speak to your heart, let him enter to shape and condition your heart first and then keep him dwelling happily there.

*All for God's Sake

        Even when we pray to God for our own sake, we should pray for his sake. This is to be obedient to his will. There is no conflict here when you and he are one.

**To Show Selflessness

        When Jesus gave his life so that we might live forever, he was being completely selfless. The ultimate way for us to show our selflessness is to surrender ourselves to him for his joy. (Ultimately, this becomes our joy.)

More Than I Asked For

        Communion experience. After the priest elevated the Eucharist and said: "Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb." We all responded: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." After I received the Lord, I realized that he entered under my roof not only to heal my soul, but also to dwell within me to be one with me forever!

**Between Knowing & Not Knowing

        A good friend passed away yesterday after suffering a stroke. Life hangs by a thread. When that thread breaks, you fall either into the safety net you knew Christ had prepared for you or into some abyss unknown to you. You see, if you know Christ, you know where you'll be. Without him, you are simply lost. The difference is huge! Make your own choice now.

Dishonest Generation

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the Evil One." Our pastor correctly pointed out that those who put out fake news today are ignorant of this counsel. A lot of dishonest politicians and new media spread fake stories in pursuing their own agenda for their own gains. This puts their soul in danger, for according to the Lord, they have tuned in to the Evil One.

*Our Greatest Revelation

        That is, God is love. You may have heard this said so many times and never thought about it. But it is an amazing truth. I don't think that anyone who does not know God could have guessed it. 

Claiming God's Promise

        Communion experience. Jesus said, "I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." (Mark 11.24). After receiving the Lord, I asked for making me new in prayer and believed that I would receive it.

Reckless Living

        Total abandonment in God is living with total freedom in God, which may be considered reckless living in God, if you prefer.

*Our Greatest Consolation*

        The Holy Eucharist sets one apart. Believing in and receiving it opens the door to union with God and assures your place in heaven, marking you as a sheep of Christ and a child of the Father heading home. Spiritually, receiving this Most Blessed Sacrament is our greatest consolation on earth.

*Living for Christ

        I feel that we should behave as if Jesus were standing right next to us and we do everything for the love of him. This is possible once you know him intimately, as in union. In fact, you can't help becoming that way after seeing how compellingly beautiful he is.

Our Attitudes Toward God

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus first said to his disciples, "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Since the scribes and Pharisees were known to be hypocrites, it seemed then that getting into the kingdom of heaven shouldn't be too hard. Then Jesus said things that made me think otherwise, among which were statements such as "I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment" and "Whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna." To play it safe, of course, we can strive to be as perfect as possible, which is what the Father wishes anyway. 

         In general, there are three prevalent attitudes out there. (1) Some just do not believe in Christ at their own risk. (2) Some believe, but not really follow all his teachings. For example, when it comes to forgiving others, they would say "I can't do it" and not even try to do it. These are closed-minded people. (3) And there are those who are open-minded and, despite being weak, ask God to help them follow him in all his teachings. It is clear which one of these attitudes pleases the Lord the most. 

*Winning Tactics*

          The best way to shake off Satan is to run away from him, and the best way to catch God is to run toward him. You goal is to hide yourself in God to remain hidden from Satan and be safe and secure forever.

**What Makes God Beautiful?

        The beauty of nature and many other things we enjoy seeing all reflect, but not reveal the beauty of God. Then how do we discover the beauty of God? I did not know until I got personal with him. Once I entered him, what impressed me the most were his perfection, his holiness, and his love for all of us. He amazingly cleansed my heart, healed my soul, and took away my sins, making me anew – these experiences further bowled me over. It's this total awesomeness that makes him truly beautiful.

Going to Heaven for Sure

        If I tell you that I am going to enter heaven, it's not because I want to let you know that I am holy or anything like that, for I am a great sinner; I know because Jesus promised that whoever believes in him will have life eternal, and all God's promises must be ironclad and true. I am simply "taking advantage of" his free offer out of his love and mercy. It's really all his doing, working out so nicely for me.  

*Most Beautiful Hideaway

        Communion experience. Christ is now my most beautiful private hideaway. He is precisely the refuge every single one of us needs!

**Just You and God

        Everything will be settled between you and God in the end, depending upon how you and God get along in this life. God's love for you is so strong that nothing can change that, so you should stick with him so that nothing can take you away from him. Observe these three rules to secure your soul for all eternity. (1) Follow Christ with all your heart and soul so that no temptation can possibly lure you away from him for even an instant. (2) Never mind what others say or think about you. (3) Don't even think about yourself. God is now your only companion and kindred spirit. Persevere for just a short lifetime and you'll be richly rewarded for all eternity! 

How We Live Viewed

        It seems that many of us live as if we are going to live forever, since we just plan for this life. When I was young and healthy, that's how I lived. Now I realize that we all know that we are going to die one day, so perhaps it is more accurate to say that many of us live as if there will be no life after death. But, of course, either view is incorrect and we live or have lived wrongly.

*Thorough and Forever

        God loves us all the way; he wishes us to be one with him completely; he wants us to be happy forever; when he forgives us, he makes us thoroughly clean; when he heals us, he goes straight to our soul; if we keep him away, he waits with infinite patience and will never turn away from us. He first loved and will never stop loving us. There is nothing more we can ask or add.

Thoroughly With Me

        Communion experience. God came not just to be with me for a while, but to dwell in me forever! 

How to Get Blessed

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, we heard the declarations of blessedness pronounced by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. We learn that God bless those who are poor in spirit, who mourn, who are meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are merciful, who are clean of heart, who make peace, who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, who are insulted and persecuted because of Christ. May I also include those who are intent on seeking union with God.

*Lack of Humility Lamented

        Humility is letting God be God. Therefore, it is correct to say that the lack of humility is the cause of much of the chaos in our world. Since most people have forgotten about God, humility is all but extinct. Any politician or well-know personality nowadays showing any sign of meekness would surely be perceived as being weak and laughed at. As long as we think that we know more than God, we'll never be able to break free from this self-imprisonment. More importantly, we won't be able to get into heaven.

*Love's Urgent Concern

        Losing your soul to Satan is the worst possible thing that could ever happen to a person. Therefore, if you have loved ones in this life, you must do your utmost to make sure that this won't happen to any of them. Otherwise, your love falls way short.

Specific Request

        Communion experience on this Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. It was the perfect time for me to ask the Lord to help me imitate Christ so that I might be able to react correctly to anything in any living situation.

Mercy Granted

        When we ask God not to lead us into temptation (in saying the Lord's Prayer), we really pray that he will not test us to the point that we fail – this is asking for a specific kind of mercy. I do believe that as long as we remain in (union with) him, this mercy is already granted.

Good Enough Promise

        Jesus never promised to make us happy (from the world's point of view) in this life, but he did promise to make our eternal life happy (from any point of view) if we follow him, and that's good enough for me.

Making Loving God Easy

        The first commandment requires that we love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all my mind, and with all our strength. How is this possible? Well, fall in love with God and that will no longer be an issue.

Fulfilled by God

        Communion experience. The feeling was "God has fulfilled me in every way." I was totally content.

Effective Way of Presenting Christ

        If you want people to get excited about a certain product, you want to tell them how wonderful or great that product is, not how it is made, what you should do with it, how to use it, or where and how you can buy it. The same applies when it comes to getting people excited about Christ the Lord. We must exalt him, praise him, telling others how wonderful and awesome he is. Christianity is all about knowing Christ to take possession of him. Outside the Church, you find many inspiring personal testimonies and conversion stories posted online. The Church could definitely use this means to fire up the faithful.

**God Most Personal

            In today's Gospel reading from Mark 12, we learned that Jesus sat down opposite the treasury in the temple area and observed how many rich people put in large sums and a poor widow came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. He called his disciples to him and said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she from her poverty has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." The big, clear lesson: Jesus cares most about how much we love him, less about how much good we have done. Our Lord is a most personal Lord.

Direct Approach to Knowing God

        I was watching Fr. Richard Rojas journey home story on EWTN. He was a former Presbyterian pastor and Anglican priest who came home to the Catholic Church. At one point in his journey, someone asked him if God would let him into heaven if he showed up before him and what he would say to God when asked why he should let him in. These are good questions that force you to think. Evangelizers use such techniques to pique your interest. But if you are going to explore on your own anyway, I suggest absolutely the best and most effective way is to go directly to Christ, open yourself up, and tell him what you seek, what you desire, and everything else from your heart. Then you'll get fast answers from him if you remain humble and attentive. Remember that God is accessible and the direct track is always the fast track. 

**Two Steps to Heaven

        Communion experience. Jesus cleansed my entire soul! It became crystal clear to me that we must first know and believe that God is love and then have Christ remove our sins before we can enter heaven.

*Spiritual Warfare

        The spiritual warfare going on between God and Satan is in a way one that involves just God and you, for you are the swing vote – if you join God on his side, you are saved and both you and God win; otherwise, Satan wins. Sadly, many are so deeply mired in sin that they do not not see this truth until some unfortunate event befalls them.

*All-Encompassing Prayer

        That every one of us living will attain union with God in this life.        

*Beauty Through Christ

        Communion experience. Through Christ, we are transformed into beautiful beings for him to behold. Through Christ we enter his beautiful world to enjoy him forever.

Proofs Jesus Is God

        The Resurrection of Jesus is clear proof he is God. Another subtler evidence easily overlooked is that he forgives sins! 

*Zeroing in on Christ

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 12, Jesus gave us the greatest commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." You have to go against logic and common sense to disagree with that. To me, this is saying that we are to focus on the Lord alone with full attention and maximum trust. Therefore, seeking union with him would be the way to go, for to want to be one with him is to show our greatest love for him.

Great Calming Force

        Communion experience. Jesus always advises us not to worry, not to be anxious or afraid. It is true that he is my greatest calming force. After I received him, I felt time stopped and it was just he and I communing with each other. His peace is what the world sorely needs.

Learning to Know God

        When I first started following Jesus, doubts still surfaced in my mind from time to time. As I let myself go deeper and deeper into him, I found the Lord to be more beautiful than I could have imagined and everything I knew about him was absolutely true. I knew then it was I who did not open myself up to God fully earlier on, and never his fault, for he's been the same yesterday, today, and forever.

God's Plain Message

        Today's Gospel acclamation taken from John 11 and John 14: I am the way and the truth and the life; whoever believes in me will never die. Can you possibly make the meaning any clearer? What do you not understand about it?

Never a Dull Moment With God

        Do you want to find out what you are really like? To get an accurate picture, we must see ourselves through the eyes of God, for he knows us more than we know ourselves. When we let him show us what we are like, he also reveals how he can transform us to make us perfect to please him. Self-understanding now leads us to new freedom. This is only the beginning. Anyway, with God life is certainly a lot more exciting, and I love it!

Quick Recipe for Peace

        Today's entrance antiphon came from Psalm 25: Turn to me and have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am alone and poor. See my lowliness and suffering and take away all my sins, my God. If everyone in the world feels the same way and begs God like this, we'll have instant worldwide peace.

Banishing False Security

        When everything is fine, we tend to think about ourselves and our present life only. But we do get old and things do go wrong, then we start turning to God. If you believe in preventive maintenance so that you'll feel secure no matter what happens, turn to God now, especially if things are going well.

Life-Changing Joy

        The joy of the Lord is insuppressable, for it bubbles forth from him who dwells in your heart. Let this joy transform your outlook on life and your life joyfully.

*To Know God's Heart

         No question that God can do anything. What matters is what God wills to do for us. Therefore, get to know the Lord so that we may know his heart and listen in.

**On Our Own or With God

        If you submit yourself to God, you let him take over and are taken care of by him for all eternity. On the other hand, if you say no to God and decide to strike out on your own, even if you work hard, you'd be extremely lucky to be able to take care of yourself in your brief time on earth. After this life is over, you have no more control. The best comment out of pity I could think of for you is "What a damn 'brave' fool!"

*Between Us and God*

        The Do It Anyway poem was found written on the wall of Mother Teresa's home for children in Calcutta, India, and is widely attributed to her. It is always good to read it, whether for the first or umpteenth time. I posted it in 2010 and am posting it again with some thoughts added at the end.

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and some true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you.
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough.
Give the best you've got sanyway.

You see,
in the final analysis it is between you and God;
it was never between you and them anyway.

        That last verse remains poignantly with me. Each of us stands alone in the universe, responsible for our every single thought, word, and deed to God alone. Whether we go to or away from him for all eternity, each of us has the final say.   

Simple but Hard

        The saying of Thomas à Kempis from his book The Imitation of Christ came to my mind: All is vanity except to love God and serve him alone. We can all agree that this is supreme wisdom, but not something we can easily practice. As usual, God makes the truth simple and we make it hard.

Great Blessed Feeling

        Communion experience. I had two great feelings: knowing that I possess the Lord and knowing that I also belong to him. That is, we have each other. How more blessed can one be?

God's Straight Way

        Today's Communion antiphon, Matthew16.24 or 10.39. Both are Jesus' saying to his disciples. First one: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." Second one: Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Here Jesus spoke as God with authority. He is to be No. 1 and tells you how to find life. He gives you the straight truth and you have your free will to make the choice. (By contrast, Satan never tells it like it is and always uses deception to lure you into his trap.)

Undoing the Opposite

        Realizing that God is our creator, we should then, of course, thank him, trust in him, submit to him, and know that only he can help us in all things, even remake us. We should want to return to him eagerly. This is all common sense. Yet we, enslaved by sin, do exactly the opposite, keeping him as far away as possible. Now that Christ has revealed to us that God is loving and merciful, we should feel free and confident in approaching him, knowing that he can free us from all our enslavement. 

Realizing the Living God

        If you think that God is dead, it's because you are dead to the Holy Spirit. For those who possess the Holy Spirit know that God is living and well. Who else but God can make us more certain about his existence than about our own?

Dying-in-Sleep Alert

        Jesus taught his disciples to stay awake, for they did not know on which day the Lord would come. So dying in sleep is not recommended, for you did not stay awake (just kidding). Essentially, the Lord wants us to be prepared for his coming or our death. If we are always ready, dying anytime should be fine. If not, dying in sleep could be a disaster!       

**Ideal Mass Celebration*

        The best, most appropriate and perfect Mass would be one celebrated with Jesus alone (God alone) being placed in the spotlight, all in attendance – priest, musicians, servers, ushers, the entire congregation – doing nothing to make themselves noticeable. To love God is to focus upon him alone and forget about ourselves.

**Same Prayers!

        Communion experience. The Lord made me see that all my prayers were prompted by the Holy Spirit, thus they were his prayers! Therefore, they will be answered.

*Know the Holy Spirit

        The Holy Spirit who descended upon the disciples on Pentecost is the same Spirit who wishes to enter to dwell in us today. Yes, the Lord Spirit is to be experienced, but do not expect to see or hear anything entering you externally, but know that he is within you when you welcome him and become aware of his sweet holy presence, speaking to your heart and guiding all your thoughts and your ways. 

A World Not Knowing Humility

        One Time, as St Teresa was traveling the rugged roads of Spain, her saddle slipped and she fell off the donkey into a muddy stream she was crossing. Complaining to the Lord, she heard him say, "Teresa, whom the Lord loves, he also chastises. This is how I treat all my friends." She responded tartly, "No wonder you have so few!" The saint was being witty, but there is truth in her remark. Today our world is not willing to accept any chastisements, having lost all humility, and the generations have been self-centered ever since. By the way, this is Pentecost Sunday, the day celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus after his Ascension, and the world is pretty much dead to the living Spirit. How foolish can we be without the guidance of the Spirit, not knowing nor caring about where we are heading!

*Bittersweet Part of Christian Life

        Jesus said at his trial before Pontius Pilate, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." (John 18.36.) As followers of the Lord in this hostile secular world, we can't help feeling that we do not belong here. As it is, this is the bittersweet part of living for Christ, a form of spiritual martyrdom.

Rule for Following God

        In yesterday's Gospel reading from John 21, Jesus signified to Peter the kind of death by which he would glorify God. In today's reading from the same chapter, Peter asked Jesus what would happen to John, the other disciple, Jesus said to Peter, "What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me." Here was given the succinct rule for following the Lord: we must follow him single-mindedly with no concern about the future of anyone or anything. 

All-Embracing Trust in God

        Trusting in God is meaningful only if we trust him in everything. And trusting him in everything requires that we seek his will in everything first. Then we trust that he will take care of our past wounds, present needs, and future everything through eternity and that all our prayers will be answered in due time. It's an all-embracing trust that our Lord deserves.

Wise & Appropriate Action

        In today's Gospel reading from John 21 at Mass, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. I hear Jesus speaking to each of us: "Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you grow old, someone will dress you and lead you where you may not want to go." This is true, and I see that "following Jesus" would be the exact wise and appropriate action for us to take. This was exactly what the Lord asked Peter to do afterwards.

**Guide to Cool Living

        In living our life, we do numerous things. Here's the basic guide I believe in. Whatever we do, we do it for the glory of God and, fun or no fun, we enjoy doing it without getting attached to it. 

**Our Cross to Bear

        The more you get to know Christ, the greater your joy; but at the same time, the more you feel his sorrow for the world which does not listen to his voice, and his sorrow becomes yours too. Then, feeling the burden, you turn to the Lord even more for consolation. The cycle continues on. To be one with Christ is to share his joys as well as his sorrows. This is the cross we must bear willingly for and with him in this life. This we know, if we remain in him, all our sorrows will turn into joys in the end. 

Only One

        Communion experience. God is the only one whom I can trust with my soul and in whom I can rest my spirit.

Greatest Mercy

        The One who has the greatest love also has the greatest mercy. We can be merciful at times, but only God's mercy is infinite and possesses saving power.

God's Desire

        On this memorial of St. Justin, Jesus in the Gospel reading from John 17 prayed for all those the Father had given him to be one with him, as he and the Father are one. This is God's desire that we all be in union with him. It is the lack of this union that has fractured the Church in the past and caused chaos throughout the world today. Intimate union with God is our only hope for assured salvation.

Completion of Journey on Earth

        The human heart is restless, causing all kinds of thoughts to go through the mind continuously. It seems powerless for us to keep it still, until you come to know and put your trust in God. The Lord our creator is the only one who can put our restless heart to rest, for he has made it that way. By submitting ourselves to him, our journey on earth is complete and we receive his peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding.

*Love's Concern

        The Lord God loves all of us and wants to give us eternal life. Therefore, if you truly love someone, your would want that person to go to heaven. We often try hard to make a person happy in this world, but fail to consider the eternal wellbeing of that person's soul.