God's Selfless Mercy

        I know that God's mercy is infinite. No matter how sinful we are, if we want to reconcile with him, as long as we repent, he is eager and ready to take us back. I really felt this great mercy at Mass this morning during consecration of the bread and wine when I heard the priest repeat these words of Jesus: 

        "Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body which will be given up for you" and "Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me." 

        Here is the giving of the Lord himself to us and there cannot be any greater proof of his mercy than this. 

Incredible Union

        Today being the first Friday of the month, we had an hour of Eucharistic adoration after Mass. I saw that this exposed Blesses Sacrament I worship and adore was just what had entered me a little earlier during Mass. It is truly an incredible union!     

Sin Resolution

        This morning's Gospel was read from Matthew 5. Jesus made it clear that we must be righteous. Even being angry at or saying "You fool" to someone is liable to judgment. Therefore, what we do with our sins must be resolved. We can either repent and be forgiven or keep the sins to be judged later. Quite uncomplicated.

Created to Know God

        As I was driving to Mass this morning, I became amazed at my own coming into existence and I felt so grateful that God had created me to know him. This made life worth living and I greatly rejoiced.

How to Greet the Lord?

        Last night I had trouble falling asleep because I felt the strong presence of Jesus in me. I started thinking what I would do if I actually see him in the distance. I know that Peter jumped into the water from his fishing boat and swam toward Jesus as soon as the disciples on board recognized him standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (this was after his Resurrection ~ see John 21). I probably wouldn't rush toward him until after he gives me a signal, I don't know. Once I get the OK, I'll probably run as fast as I can toward him, then I don't know whether I should kneel at his feet or dive right into him first.  

Making the Right Choice

       Here's an interesting mathematical question. Suppose you have the choice of receiving for a month of 30 days:

         (a) $10,000 each day.

        (b) one penny on the first day, two pennies on the second day, four pennies on the third day... in other words, you get double the amount of the previous day.        

         Which option would you choose?

        Well, if you choose 'a', you would receive a total of $300,000 at the end, not bad; but if you've chosen 'b', you'd have come to $10,737,418.24 ~ that's way over 10 million dollars!

    Now, choose your answer for the following question:

        Would you rather be (a) the greatest in the eyes of world or (b) the least in  the kingdom of heaven?
     What's attractive at first sight may not be the best choice.

"Christian Hypocrisy"

        Last thought of the day (sad). All the political candidates now running for president have declared themselves to be Christians, yet so far they have spend millions and millions dollars on negative ads many of which are deceptive, misleading, and even false, attacking each other. Have they forgotten the Ten Commandments? The holy saints don't even say one bad word about others. To do whatever it takes to get yourself ahead is just the extreme opposite. Again, I am not judging any of them; I am just lamenting the fact. It's time to ask God to forgive us before asking him for blessings.

Interior Accomplishment

        Somehow the picture of how a large cruise ship is prepared for its cruise came to my mind ~ I must have seen it on a TV travel program once. It's quite impressive to watch that you load tons and tons of food stuff and other items so that there'll be enough to serve thousands of meals for the entire cruise. Man surely can accomplish a lot (I am not even thinking about the Great Wall, the Pyramids, Hoover Dam, Brooklyn Bridge, etc.)! So why not do something as impressive for God? Of course, this would be mostly work you accomplish in your interior, but infinitely more satisfying as what you accomplish is pleasing to God and becomes your treasure in heaven. Yes, why not?    

Learning from Everything

        I am having some shoulder and back pains. I realize that sometimes when you are in good physical shape and see someone in not quite good physical shape, it's easy to take pride in your own condition and somewhat "look down" on the other person. Of course, this is being unchristian. I see that everything that happens to us is permitted by God for a reason. What I should do is to figure out what the Lord wants me to learn from my experience. In the present case, I must remember how Jesus suffered and endured his pains and imitate him. Yes, there is a lesson to learn in everything, no matter how small, that happens to us. What wonderful opportunities God provides us to get close to him!

March Prayer

        This is March 1, the month in which spring begins. In spring, all things renew. When I think of God, this season springs (pun intended) to my mind, for God is the renewer. Pray that we'll let God make all of us new in the spring, for he is our only hope in this disordered, dark world.