God's Everlasting Love

        God loves us with a constant love that never changes.  When we sin, we just sadden him ~ his love remains the same.  When we do his will, we make him happy ~ his love still remains the same.  In other words, he cannot possibly love us any more or less.  Being aware of this should give us both consolation and confidence.

Union Leads to Strength

        Jesus said, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or house divided against itself will stand."  In other words, unity produces strength.  And we all know that.  So if we are in union with the Lord, then we'll have maximum strength since the Lord stands forever.

God Is Fair and Just

        This morning as I was having some dry cereal for breakfast, I thought of all the plants that provided the ingredients and the labor involved in making the cereal.  And I saw that God provides everything we need to live in this world, but they don't just fall into our lap from the sky ~ we must hunt to get the meat, plant to get the veggies, and work for everything else.  This is all fair and just.  

        Now, when it comes to eternal life, there's nothing we could do on our own to get that.  God knows it and this time he provides everything.  All we need to do is to accept what he has provided us, his Son Jesus.  Again, fair and just.       

Pray and Trust

        I pray hard for a number of people I know and care about.  Sometimes I get discouraged because nothing seems to happen.  Again, reading Julian of Norwich, I learned that it is the Lord's who made us pray ~ he initiated our prayers and shall answer them in due time.  It's true that my prayers are all for his glory.  In other words, we should pray wholeheartedly and trust wholeheartedly too.  

God Shall Prevail

         The Lord runs the universe, sustaining all lives.  Nothing can happen without his permission.  Even sins provide the chance for us to become victorious over them.  Jesus has completed his work of salvation by dying on the cross for us.  He is still doing wonders today ~ converting us, healing us, warning us, giving us joy...  God shall always prevail and there is nothing you can do about it.  The fact that the world is in such a bad shape is because we mess it up sinning.  The wise should start believing and following the Lord right now.  To do otherwise is to ignore the inevitable reality. 

Ego vs. God

        Ego is something that's easy to live with because it makes you feel important, but at the same time it can make you lose peace or even feel miserable.  If you let ego be your guide, then it's a foregone conclusion that you won't ever find happiness in this world.  I think the person with the ego knows it, but breaking that sticky bond by human power alone is usually hopeless. 

        God, on the other hand, is seemingly not easy to live with and can make you feel uncomfortable too when ego gets in the way.  But once you get to know God, he becomes a pure joy and grants you peace and freedom of the heart.  You are no longer a slave to your ego, for God can purge it as much as you wish.  Again, this is true.

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.