Living Secretly in Christ

        This means staying hidden in Christ.  You no longer seek self-glory nor promote yourself in any way.  Self-importance is out.  Don't even let the right hand know what your left hand is doing.  You hide behind the Lord, following him every step of the way.  The objective is to let others see only Christ and not you.  And you'll be rewarded with his peace and joy.

Getting to Know Jesus

        In the midst of watching a good movie on EWTN, I came to realize the following.

        "To really get to know Jesus, you must get inside him, possess him, and become one with him.  Then you will know that he is absolutely the truth and your fulfillment for all eternity.  Standing on the sideline and watching will not get you anywhere.  Capturing such a priceless treasure surely deserves giving all of yourself to him." 

The Need for God

        It's so easy to live our life as we please without thinking about God.  If you don't believe in him, that's one thing; but if you deliberately ignore him, that's quite another and far worse.  Of course, no one can possibly run away from God ~ sooner or later, we shall have to face him.  Perhaps many of us do finally turn our thoughts to him during the last moments of our like.  If that's the case, then death is a blessing.

        If you look around, the need for God is right now.  When natural disasters strike around the world, you need him.  When wars flare up among nations, you need him. When tradedy befalls someone (could be you), you need him.  In fact, anytime you are bothered by  anything that makes you unhappy, you need him.  The list is endless.  I am not even talkinig about the other half, the good things he can give you.  We need God more than anything else.                  

Humility, a Must-Have

        On my way home from Mass, Jesus' saying "The last will be first and the first will be last" surfaced in my mind.  This reminded me to never look down on anyone, no matter how sinful, repugnant, or obnoxious the person may be.  Again, humility is a must-have for following Christ.

The Holy Eucharist Is Holy

        I attended morning Mass at a different church today and it turned out that the priest had such a heavy foreign accent that I did not understand much of what he said.  No problem ~ I was drawn even more to focus on the Holy Eucharist, the center of  worship.  Being the true body and blood of the Lord, the Holy Eucharist is being viciously attacked by Satan more than ever nowadays.  Atheists and others ridicule us, mock us, laugh at us, or accuse us of being idolatrous.  They can do all they want and the truth remains the same.  I really feel sorry for them for not knowing what they're doing.  May God forgive them.       

        The Holy Eucharist is the bread of heaven, our spiritual food.  It is out of God's mercy that the bread and wine do not look like real flesh and blood.  Nevertheless, the effect is the same.  We must believe in the word of the Lord and not go by what we see or feel.  The Holy Eucharist sustains our very existence in God.  I now treasure it more than ever.     

God Is Transcendent!!!

        God is eternal; therefore, he transcends both time and space.  He is ever present everywhere.  Jesus came, to us a long time ago and in a distant land, but he is ever present everywhere too.  At Mass, it's just like being at the Last Supper.  You hear the Gospel read, it's just like hearing him actually speaking to us.  Time and space do not separate us from God at all.  Any separation we feel is an illusion!  He is here and we are in his holy presence at all times.  When we sin, we sin right before his eyes.  His light is always shining upon us.  If we don't see it, it is us who are blind or playing the ostrich.  So, wake up and shape up, for the Lord is present.

Easy to Be Holy?

        Is it easy or hard to be holy?  That depends upon how you approach it.  Let's say that you go on a long trip which you really don't want to do and you are all by yourself.  Being unhappy, you feel that the trip is just taking so long and wish that you have not started it in the first place.  Now, let's say that this time you take the same trip  and you have some friends to talk to along the way and you rather enjoy the conversation and company.  Before you know, the trip is almost over and you wish that it isn't yet.  These two examples just illustrate how one's view can directly affect the outcome.      

        When it comes to wanting to be holy, you could focus on you own sinful state and tell yourself that you'll never make it and give up, or concentrate upon God's mercy and power and ask for his help.  When you really mean it, he will reach down to make it easy for you to fulfill your wish.  (Always save your own energy and tap God's power.)

Do You Want the Lord?

        Do you want him in your life?  If your "yes" is based upon theory ~ in other words, you believe that you should want him ~ then the answer may not mean much.  But if you want him from the heart, then it means something or maybe even a lot more.
        (In theory, you should want the Lord in your life more than anything else.)

"Serving God" Is Beautiful

        I've been talking about the many beautiful things ~ "serving the Lord" belongs on that list too.  When you serve God, it's no longer self-serving ~ you glorify him.  This is more honorable and meritorious than doing anything for yourself.  Essentially, you gladden God's heart and accumulate treasure in heaven.           

How to Gain Peace

        I have come to see that the reason we don't have peace in the heart is because there is still so much we want to do on our own.  The I in me is still unstilled, making a lot of noise.  Check yourself to see how many of your thoughts start out with "I".  To gain peace, we need to silence (forget about) ourselves and listen for God's voice.