Abandonment to Love

        I am thinking about the tremendous love of Jesus for us, a love so great that we cannot possibly imagine.  This love practically swallows up all our troubles and problems ~ that is, nothing matters anymore under such love.  Let us abandon ourselves to this love. 

Finding Rest in Jesus

        Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11 was about the yoke of the Lord being easy and his burden light.  We who are disciples share the same sorrows and carry the same burdens as the Lord and find great consolation in that.  The sorrows turn sweet and the burdens are lightened.  In the case that a sorrow is caused by ourselves, the Lord even removes it completely.  He is our rest. 

All Can Love

        Recently, I met a devout Buddhist, a kind person who devotes herself to charity work, including hospice care.  She believes in karma ~ whatever she does in this life will bring upon results, good or bad, in this life or her next reincarnation.  Not to be uncharitable about it, I'd say that the motivation is basically self-centered.  Christians love others because they love God out of gratitude for his love ~ an entirely differently-directed motivation.

        There are lots of unloving people around, but I do see that everyone has the potential of becoming a great lover because God is love.  Anyone who is open to this love will be filled by this love and transformed into a loving (and happy) person.  The absolute truth.

Union Incomplete

        During morning Mass as I looked forward to receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, I detected some self-interest in me.  I wanted the Lord because I'd experience more peace, more inner satisfaction about my life... ~ it's not bad motivation, but not the best.  The best would be to forget all about myself and think about loving and serving the Lord only.  The union is not complete until the Lord has replaced all of the self. 

Jesus, the Compelling Truth

        During Morning Mass today, I heard the Gospel read and recalled all what I'd read about the Lord in the Gospels.  Anyone with an open, objective mind can see that Jesus must be the truth because if not, then all those things he said and did must be all phony and that's just not possible ~ anyone with some common sense can see that.  From the Gospels you find that he was always consistent, knew exactly what he's doing, and loved all others as his children.  I am not even mentioning how he inspired and changed the lives of his disciples who were eyewitnesses.  Jesus is compelling because you are faced with either accepting him as true God or dismissing him as a phony.

Submission, Only Choice

        Yesterday was a First Friday of the month and also the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, so I attended the evening Eucharistic Adoration at a nearby seminary.  As I knelt before the exposed Blessed Sacrament, I saw Jesus as our Lord, our God, our Creator, our Savior, our Mercy, our Hope, our Source of Grace, our Refuge... ~ I had no choice but to submit myself unconditionally to him, trying to "match" his unconditional love for me. 

All Will Be Well

        Another message that the Lord gave to Julian of Norwich was that just as he created everything from nothing, so he will make well all things which are not well.  This is of great consolation to us who believe in the Lord, although I have no doubt that he will straighten out everything at the end.  Meanwhile there is still time for sinners to repent and believe.       

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

        Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  I again offered my heart to the Lord, asking him to do whatever he wishes with it.  I have no doubt that his Most Sacred Heart will purify my unclean heart first.  Where the heart goes, the rest of me follows.  I just felt that I was being totally liberated.  

Unthinkable Without Christ

        I am thinking what I would be doing now had I not found Christ.  I'd definitely try to make more money, pursue my hobbies or looking for other ways to keep myself happy.  I would probably travel more, buy more expensive stuff... all part of enjoying the world as much as I can while I am alive.  In sum, I would be concentrating on things of this world while my health is still holding out.  I may look for some religion to believe in, but I don't believe that I would find anything so satisfactory and fulfilling as Christianity, now that I know what it's all about.  Would I be truly happy then?  Definitely not, now that I've tasted the sweetness of Christ.  There is no "good old days" for me. 

Christian Journey Sweet

        I am not a sentimental nor nostalgic person, but I do want to use the word "sweet" to describe the journey of following Christ.  If it weren't true, there probably wouldn't be any saints, martyrs, monasteries, convents, pilgrims, and much of a Church today.