For Love of Christ

        Today is the Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian.  Many saints have shed their blood for love of Christ.  We may not be called to exactly shed blood, but we must be willing to shed whatever is necessary for love of Christ.  

        The Gospel reading is from Luke 7 about The Penitent Woman.  She, known to be a sinner, washed the feet of Jesus with her tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed them and anointed them with perfumed oil.  She never said a word and Jesus forgave her many sins because of her great love and faith.  So the Lord knows perfectly our hearts.  Let us maintain a clean, pure, and loving heart in us for love of Christ.      

The Beauty of Christ

        How beautiful is Jesus?  I am sure that if he looks at me, my heart is going to melt under his loving gaze.

        His inner beauty is what captures my heart.  He is the embodiment of pure love, a love that's gentle but intense and more beautiful than anything else in the universe.  This is a living love, always inflamed, ready to transform us into smaller flames burning with the same love, if only we are willing to embrace it.  His immense beauty is beyond our comprehension, but can be sensed by the heart.  Once you sense it, you are drawn to it.

        If you ask me why I follow Jesus, in the early days I would have said "because I've found the truth," but today I would simply answer "because he is so beautiful."               

Willingness to Suffer

        Today is the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. 

        How much we are willing to suffer is proportional to how closely we are united to the suffering Christ.

Thoughts on the Cross

        Today is the Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  

        (1) The Cross exhibits the great Love of God.  Through the Cross, life was made meaningful and purposeful.

        (2) Pray that the Cross will displace all our worldly pleasures so that we may experience the true joy of Christ.

        (3) What's good for the Lord is good for us too.       

A Reminder from the Lord

        Still a continuation of the last two posts.  I was reminded by the Lord that journeying toward union with him is fine, but we must never neglect doing good works along the way or even after we have achieved union.  Don't miss any opportunity to show God's love.  Love is the whole point for making this journey. 

Journeying Toward Union

        This post continues the train of thought from the last one.  As I have stated on this site, the goal of my blog is to bring all, myself included, to union with God.  Then I must remember that the ultimate goal is to please God, not to feel good ourselves.  I have just started reading The Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross and it doesn't seem that the ascent to union, according to him, is a quick, simple process.  But I do believe that a simple trusting faith I talked about in the last post and a great love and appreciation for the Holy Eucharist can help us go a long, long way.  These two things are within the reach of everyone if we'll just ask the Lord to grant them to us.     

Let's Amaze the Lord

        This morning the Cure of the Centurion's Servant from Luke 7 was read.  When the centurion expressed his unworthiness to have Jesus enter his house and asked Jesus to just give the order for the curing of the servant, our Lord was amazed at his faith.  This got me thinking that we could still amaze the Lord by absolutely trusting in him ~ another lesson for me.  A trusting faith is beautiful.  It shows our obedience and our love for him, and it brings miracles to us.  Furthermore, it sets us free. 

Glad to Be Saved

        Today's Gospel reading is from Luke 15, Parable of Divine Mercy, which show that Jesus came to save his lost sheep, and The Prodigal Son, such a beautiful story showing the Father's boundless love.  I feel extremely grateful that the Lord has called me.  You hear faith spoken of as a gift from God.  This could give the impression that this gift is selectively given, but I believe that God wants to give this gift to everyone, especially those who most need it.  To receive this gift, we must be receptive or at least be curious about it.  Being objective, putting aside any preconceived notions, is also necessary, for God loves a humble attitude.  So far in my faith journey, everything experienced confirms that I have made the right choice and am proceeding on the right path.  This is not any sort of proof, but when you are dealing with faith, this is as good as proof.      

Be "Self-Centered" First

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus said, "Why look at the speck in your brother's eyes when you miss the plank in your own?  How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,' yet fail yourself to see the plank lodged in your own?  Hypocrite, remove the plank from your own eye first; then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

        The reason we don't have a peaceful world is because everybody is constantly criticizing everybody else.  What Jesus has given us is really a formula for peace.  If we all examine ourselves first and realize how imperfect we are, we probably won't think ill of others much anymore.  Besides, looking inward helps us in keeping in touch with God.    

Is God Fair?

        A lot of people feel that God is not fair to them.  What are we to believe?  I think the parable The Laborers in the Vineyard from Matthew 20 provides some clues.  In the story the workers hired in the last hour got paid as much as all the other workers hired earlier, including the first group who had worked a full day.  When the first group complained, the owner of the vineyard responded: "I do you no injustice.  You agreed on the usual wage, did you not?  Take your pay and go home.  I intend to give this man who was hired last the same pay as you.  I am free to do as I please with my money, am I not?  Or are you envious because I am generous?"  Also, I recall Jesus telling one Apostle to mind his own business and not be nosy about what's going to happen to the other Apostles.

        I can conclude that God wants us to respond to him alone, letting him do whatever he wishes.  Envy is, of course, a sin.  If you mind other people's affairs, then right away you see that some are better-looking, taller, have better health, were born into a wealthier family,... ~ how can God ever be fair?!  If there's no life after death, then you have a point.  Since this is not the case, it makes no difference what your life is like if you end up in heaven.  View it this way: you trade this life, fair or unfair, for eternal life ~ there's nothing unfair about that.  If you knew how happy you'd be in heaven, you wouldn't mind spending a million "unfair" years on this earth.