God's Great Mercy

        Today at morning Mass, the Lord impressed upon my mind his great mercy.  I can be in any state of sin and if I just go to him with repentance and ask for forgiveness ~ in fact, even before I ask, he already knew ~ he's ready to make me pure and clean again. What great mercy!!!

To Know God Directly

        Today's Alleluia verse from Mass reads: "Receive the word of God, not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God."  The more you listen to the word of God, the more you come to know God.  Of course, the direct way to know God is to go straight to Jesus.  Read about him in the Gospels and pray to him unceasingly.  Most and best of all, receive him reverently in the Holy Eucharist.  Once you achieve deep union with him, you will know that you know him.  You and God are now one. 

God Is...

infinite, everlasting, what he claims to be: "I am," and then some.  To complete the picture, we must not forget that he is also Love. 

Obedience Is Beautiful

        God is beautiful and it follows that following him is also beautiful.  The best way to carry this out is to be obedient to him. 

        In today's reading from Hebrew 1, Paul tells us that God spoke to us through the Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe.  This is a complete turnabout from his early days during which he persecuted Christians relentlessly.  Then Jesus called and he obeyed.  Again, in the Gospel reading from Mark 1, Jesus calls Simon, Andrew, James, and John to become fishers of men and they obey him by dropping everything right there and then to follow him.  

        Obedience to God leads to eternal life, while rebellion against him brings on eternal separation from him.  Learn to say yes the moment God calls and he'll fill your heart with joy and peace.

Self-Consciousness Is Self-Centeredness

        Earlier today I said something quite normal (nothing extraordinary) in the presence of others and was self-conscious about it; immediately afterwards, I realized that I was still self-centered because I cared about what others thought of me.  I should be solely concerned about what God alone thinks of me.  If doing his will causes others to misunderstand or even laugh at me, so be it.  The self must decrease to nothing before God. 

        Later, the homily at today's Mass (Feast of the Baptism of the Lord) confirmed this.  The priest emphasized that "we are not to fall into the trap of always thinking what I can do, but to concentrate on our relationship with God."  We must get our priorities right.

God Fills "Nothing"

        An afterthought to the last post.  To be nothing before God makes us empty, and we are ready to let God wipe out our sins and fill us with his love and graces. 

"Nothing" Is Beautiful

        We are merely instruments in God's scheme and are nothing before him.  All glory should go to God alone.  Many in our world seek fame and fight for recognition; they love to bask in the honor and glory bestowed upon them by other worldlings.  By contrast, to be able to humble oneself to become "nothing" before God is downright refreshing and truly beautiful before him. 

An Ego Test

        If you feel hurt or get upset when someone misunderstands or blames you and you really haven't done anything wrong, then you still have some of that ego in you. Here's a chance to ask God to crush it for you to remain peaceful.

Planned Parenthood Exposed

        At http://www.UnplannedWebcast.com, you can register to hear Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director, talk about her new book "Unplanned."  The webcast has been scheduled for next Monday, Jan. 10 at 9 PM Eastern (8 PM Central, 7 PM Mountain, 6 PM Pacific) and the book is coming out the following day.  She is going to reveal the shocking details of what she saw inside the abortion business...and why she resigned her job and joined the pro-life movement.  This should be a huge event.  Watch it if you can and tell others about the webcast and the book too.

Doing God's Will

        This thought came to me today.  I could very well do only what I feel like doing, take control of my life and be just myself.  I may even achieve something in this world, making a name for myself and even benefiting others as a result.  I could really enjoy my own "freedom," even though I may have to fight many battles along the way on my own.  Well, I used to think and live that way.  Now I see clearly that if I were to go through all my life like that and do not change to become a holier person before God, then I shall have wasted all my time on earth.  In other words, I busy myself all life and end up being still the same old me (or possibly a lot worse).  

        Doing one small will of God is infinitely more meaningful and meritorious than doing one million wills of my own.  I am happy that by God's grace, I had come to realize this truth.