Today's Gospel reading was taken from Mark 7. Jesus drove the demon out of the daughter of a Greek women after she came begging him to do it. And the Lord did just that because of her faith. My thoughts go like this. Obviously, Jesus can accomplish anything, but we need to ask him first. Our world is in such a terrible mess and will remains so until it turns to the Lord to ask for help. The solution is clear, but this generation just does not get it, at least not yet.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Power of God's Word
I was very impressed by the Alleluia verse read at today's Mass from James 1: "Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls." The message is crystal clear.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Yearning for God
In an earlier post, I mention that God will not be happy until he has all of us. This is also true the other way around; that is, we won't be fully happy until we have all of God.
At the beginning, we discover God and our life becomes meaningful. As we get to know God better, we yearn for a more intimate relationship. Eventually, we seek complete union with him in this life. But God is so beautiful that even at full union the yearning for more of him does not stop. Indeed, we and God are made for each other. We'll never be fully content until we get to heaven. I consider this to be our tremendously good fortune.
Dealing with Our Enemies
Jesus wants us to love our enemies. Here are the various degrees of dealing with the enemies.
(1) We hate them, wishing them the worst.
(2) We don't like them, trying to forget them.
(3) We still don't like them; nevertheless, we pray for them knowing that it's the right thing to do.
(4) We see that God loves them too and no longer dislike them. In fact, we pity them and ask God to bless them and lead them to salvation. And we are at peace because the Lord's will has been done.
Live for God First
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 7, Jesus points out that it's what comes out from within the heart that defiles a person. We care so much about how we look outwardly to others and neglect to check our interiors which God alone sees. We condition the body and forget all about the soul. What God thinks of us is so much more important than what other people think. Let's redress this imbalance and start living for God first.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Believe in the Infinite God
We either believe in something or we don't. Half-believing can only mean that you are not sure yet. The space between "true" and "false" is a vacuum. Therefore, if I believe in God, I can go all the way for he is absolutely true. We can deepen our faith infinitely in our infinite God. Believe and live a miraculous life.
We Can Be Perfect!
I've been hearing the story of creation from Genesis told at morning Masses. God's creative power is truly awesome. This same God has created us, and he loves us as well and wants to make us perfect, then surely he can transform us beyond our highest expectations! If we'll just cooperate with him, there is absolutely no limit as to what we can become.
How to Fight Temptation
In the Lord's Prayer, we ask not to be led into temptation. If we do face temptation, what shall we do? I see temptation as a ploy of the Devil to lure us away from the Lord. A deceiver always uses some kind of bait to distract you first. Temptation by definition is something that's attractive; therefore, if you fight it head-on, you lose. Remember how we learn to drive on an icy road? When the car skids to one side, the right thing to do is to steer the car in the same direction, just opposite to how you normally would react. The same applies here. When you sense temptation, run away from it as if you're really scared, and you run toward the Lord who can deliver you from all evil.
Monday, February 7, 2011
God's Most Marvelous Creation
Attended a different church this morning for Mass and it happened that the Mass was said by the visiting priest who's giving a mission at that parish. From his talk, I came away realizing that we human beings are the most marvelous of all that God has created. Look at yourself ~ we can think, talk, reason, are intelligent, and possess so many other unique qualities when compared with other creatures. We are the crown achievement in God's creation. We should never ever degrade ourselves (or others). Besides, we've even been made worthy to receive the Lord himself in the form of bread and wine. All this calls for great rejoicing!
Science Can Block Faith
When people put their trust in science rather than God, they are in rebellion against God because they think that they know or can know everything. Of course, even if they know a million times more than what they've discovered so far, compared to what God knows and can do, their knowledge amounts to zilch; they're only finding out what God already knew. Also, don't forget: God creates; we just discover.
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