Jesus' Challenge

        From Matthew 10:  "Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.  But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."  These are strong words from Jesus.  We are faced with making a choice.  Of course, one can ignore him, but the question remains.  

        What I love about Jesus is that he challenges us and let us make up our own minds.  He knows what he's talking about.  Everything is clear cut.  To me, again, the mark of a true, loving God.    

Good Way to Keep Humble

        My last post deals with our nothingness before God.  The great saints regard themselves as being most wretched before God, so humility is definitely a sign of holiness.  The more we realize our sinful state and lowliness, the more we come to see how holy and exalted God is ~ a good way to keep us humble.  

God's Love Changes Everything

        The Lord let me realize the "distance" between him and us.  Today's Responsorial Psalm 113 tells us that the Lord is high above all nations and his glory, above the heavens.  We see that he is infinite, while we are finite.  He has created everything from nothing, while we merely work on or put together the things that have already existed.  God put us into this world and will take us away as he wishes ~ we have absolutely no control.  We are totally at his mercy.  Basically, God is everything and we are nothing.  If we are so proud of ourselves and think that we are somebody, that'd be sheer folly.  

        What is amazing is that God has shown his love for us and can make us into little gods to turn our nothingness into everything to him.  This is a "shocking" surprise and certainly cause for rejoicing.  

Let God Alone Turn You On

        There are some who wouldn't attend a certain church because they do not like the priest there.  Apparently, all those messages heard during Mass about forgiving others, loving the unlovely, turning the other cheek,... from Jesus have not taken any effect in them.  People often "shop" for a church to their liking.  What if you go to all the churches and find that there's always something displeasing to you ~ does that mean that you won't go to church anymore?  The main reason for going to Mass is to meet and receive the Lord.  Thank God we have priests to give us Holy Communion.  Without them, there would be no Church.  They need our support, love, and appreciation.  Let God alone turn you on so that no one else will turn you off.    

Heart-to-Heart Affair

        It is through the heart that we come to know God.  An unclean heart keeps one away from God, while a pure heart is the conduit that connects us to God.  It is the pure heart that moves the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the heart of God.  We have a heart-to-heart affair here, so start living heart-to-heart with the Lord.  

Motive Matters

        Doing one little thing for God exclusively is more meritorious than doing a million things for just yourself.

Enjoy God

        During prayer after Mass, I keenly felt that God is me all in all, I am utterly dependant upon him, and I owe everything to his mercy and love.  Without him, I'd be a shambles, lost, and dead. 

        He was the one who made me love him, so I am going to enjoy him.   

"Never Say No to God"

        Before Mass this morning, I heard myself saying "Never say no to God" in my mind.  In the Gospel reading later from Luke 11, Jesus says, "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."  It's clear that staying neutral would not be a good choice.  This is in line with Jesus' dislike for lukewarmness.  "Never say no to God" should take care of that.

Carry Your Own Cross

        This morning as I was praying the fourth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary, the Carrying of the Cross, I felt that the least we could do was to carry our own daily, little crosses, following the Lord with his big, heavy cross on his shoulder.  Know that every time we are not willing to carry a cross of our own, Jesus feels that extra weight on him.

Are You Your Own Obstacle?

        The way to eternal life is simple.  All you need to do is surrender yourself to God through Christ.  That's it!  The hard part is doing the part.  Guess what?  The only obstacle that stands in your way is yourself.  Basically, you face choosing either yourself or God.  It's simple all the way.