The Joy of the Holy Spirit

        The joy of the Holy Spirit is different from any other joy one experiences in the world.  Since the Holy Spirit dwells deep within the soul, his joy orininates from our inmost interior, welling up like water from a spring.  It intoxicates our whole being and is impossible to repress.  Like the wind, it comes and goes at the will of the Spirit.  

Known by God

        Just saw a TV program on the old cemeteries in San Francisco.  Many of the buried were well known, distinguished personalities.  So I started thinking that it is a common desire for us to want to be known while we are alive and   remembered after we are gone.  Then obviously, to be known and remembered by the whole world for even a billion years is worth nothing when compared to being known and loved by God alone.  And God just happens to know every single one of us intimately and will never forget us.  Embrace him and his love now and cast away all your other cares.

Start Living in Heaven Now

        The goal is to achieve union with the Lord, and the Holy Eucharist makes it possible if you'll let it do the work.  Receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist with great reverence and all your love, and ask him to transform every part of you, every fiber and molecule of you, with his love.  Then think every thought, speak every word, and do every deed as one with the Lord.  You are now starting to live in heaven.  When you get there, there won't be much adjustment you'll need to make.              

Being Christian Is Special

        I just caught the TV program Do Not Go Gently on PBS.  It shows the benefits of creativity among seniors.  Some of them continue to use their God-given talents to teach others or create more works for themselves.  I did catch one senior expressing his uncertainty that there's a God.  I felt sad that such a great talent did not know where his talent came from.  If you have immense creativity, keep busy, and enjoy tremendously what you are doing, but do not have Christ, then you are still earthbound and working in vain.  Being Christian is absolutely special because Christians have unchangeable vision and know exactly where they are heading.  They do not just work to keep going; they know that life is not transitory and is full of meaning.  Christ has made the difference. 

Be Pruned to Bear Fruit

        In today's Gospel reading from John 15, Jesus says that he is the true vine, his Father the vine grower, and his disciples the branches.  The Father prunes the branches so that they may bear fruit.  Whoever remains in the vine will bear much fruit and anyone who does not will be thrown out like a branch and wither.
        This is a beautiful depiction of discipleship.  If you haven't asked the Father to prune you yet, do so now.  Get all that are weak, diseased, and dead pruned away so that you may become true disciples of the Lord, bearing much fruit and glorifying the Father.
        A footnote.  The pruning process is like a good body massage.  You feel some pain when you are worked on, but you feel great afterwards.        

Being Fed from Heaven

        I was getting a consecrated host this afternoon to take to a homebound person.  As I knelt before the tabernacle on the altar, I knew that I was going to get the bread that came directly from heaven.  Every time I receive the Holy Eucharist myself, I am being fed from heaven.  The journey toward heaven has already started on this earth.

The Sad State of the World

        There have been so many natural disasters happening around the world, almost continuously ~ earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, tornadoes, floods, mudslides, and at this moment a volcano still erupting.  The occurrences have been more violent than ever, resulting in losses and destruction on an unprecedented scale worldwide.  Does God have a message for us in all of this?

        First of all, nothing can happen without God's permission and God is always trying to speak to us one way or another.  Of course, the disasters have saddened the world, but what's even sadder is the fact that we are not aware or don't believe that God send us messages.  It's so easy to simply attribute all the happenings to nature.  Politically, mentioning God in public is no longer correct.  How often does God come into our minds?  How many Christians actually talk about how the Lord works in their lives?  Why is he always shoved into the background and ignored?  Are we ashamed of him?  Do we care more about what people think of us than what God thinks of us?  A lot more questions.  

        Yet the Father always has us in his mind, on his heart, and under his watchful eyes; but we dismiss him at will.  It's just so one-sided! Jesus, the cornerstone, was rejected by the builders; now the Lord, our creator and savior, gets ignored by his own creatures whom he loved with his own life.  What a sad state we are in!     

Three Spiritual Nourishments

        (1) Faith in God

        (2) Every word that comes forth from the mouth of God

        (3) Doing the will of God

Think Only What God Thinks

        If I have enough humility, not to receive any praise or recognition for any good I've done is not difficult to accept.  But if someone says something that's not true about me or makes me look bad, that's a lot more difficult to deal with.  After Mass during prayer, the Holy Spirit made me see that these two situations all had to do what people think of me and should be looked at the same way.  If I only care about what God, not anybody else, thinks of me, then I shouldn't have any problem.  Thank you, Lord Spirit. 

Real Presence Shows Great Mercy

        During Communion time, I was aware of the Real Presence of the Lord in the Holy Eucharist.  Jesus could have given us just ordinary bread and wine to symbolize his true body and blood, yet he didn't ~ that's because his mercy is much, much greater!  He gave us the Real body and blood, so that we not only get to touch him, but also become one with him, achieving the most intimate union this side of heaven.