Obedience, the Key

        Today is Friday.  Since Monday the story of creation from Genesis has been read at Mass.  This morning Adam and Eve disobeyed God and tomorrow we'll learn that God banished them from the garden of Eden.  Now the good news for all of us is that we can get back to God again by obeying him through Christ, our Savior.  

How God Works in Us

        I've been reading on and off The Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross.  He writes that the work of God is passive and supernatural and that of man active and natural, and that this natural activity of man is what would extinguish the spirit.  The point is made again and again at various spots.  It's true that when we initiate actively many thoughts and ideas, we do not hear God speaking anymore ~ we are our own obstacles again.  It's through listening and waiting that God can teach us, lead us, and bring about the union with him.  This is the meaning of saying that the work of God is passive.

Most Satisfying Joy

        Knowing that Jesus is pleased.

God's Simple Demand

        After receiving Holy Communion today, I felt so content in the Lord that I could just rest in him and let everything else in the world go by.  To show my gratitude, I thought I should do something.  We normally thank a good human friend by taking him/er out to dinner or giving him/er a special gift ~ it's the same thinking I had here.  Then I heard the Lord say: "Just sin no more and come rest in me.  You don't need to do anything else to prove anything to me."  I was surprised that the Lord was that easy to please.  When I thought about it afterwards, it became clear that all he wants from us is our love and he's content when he receives that.  We run away from God because we create our own fictitious fear of him.          

You Must Ask to Receive

        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.   

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.

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.       

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.