Connecting to God, a Picture

        Jesus is the best evidence that God is definitely out there or with us, but you would not know unless you are connected to him. Some people are just not interested in connecting to him, at least not yet. Others do not attempt to make a good connection and get disconnected sooner or later. Some make a partial connection so that the flow of God into them is restricted and as a result, they never really get to know God well. Then we have those who make the full, firm connection, allowing God to flow into them freely, receiving grace after grace to overflowing, attaining spiritual union with God.             

Peter Proclaiming the Truth

        From Reading 1, Acts 4:1-12, at Mass this morning, we hear Peter proclaim bravely to the leaders of the people and elders about Jesus, "He is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved." What a bold statement (the one I italicized) it is! It's another one of those challenging ones that impel you to accept or reject without compromise. I accept this statement because this Peter is totally out of character with the Peter prior to the Resurrection of Jesus ~ he is now filled with the Holy Spirit. If what he proclaimed is true, then Christianity stands out as the bold truth.     

For Sinners to Know

        The own thing good we can say about our sins is that they can one day make us repentant and turn to God. Once we've returned to God, he then takes away the sins and we may feel so happy and free that we don't even think about that we ever sinned before. Now, be preoccupied at all times with the Lord in whom you exist ~ you no longer exist on your own!

A Union Edge

        If you love Jesus, but have not reached full union with him, it's more likely that what you think you should do to glorify God are basically your ideas, and they may even disturb your inner peace. When you are in union with the Lord, he and you will be of one mind and he will show you what to do, and you will experience constant inner peace.

Holy Eucharist Most Intimate

        At Communion time, it was clear to me that receiving the Holy Eucharist is truly the best way to achieve union with Christ. Since we still live in a physical world, I just can't think of a better way of attaining intimacy with the Lord by consuming him truly present in the Holy Eucharist. Both physical and spiritual union take place so that Christ and we become one in each other as Christ and the Father are one. 

Protecting the Lord

        At Mass this morning, I felt the Lord dwelling within me and I wanted to protect him within me. Of course, I am the one who needs his protection, but I could protect him in the sense that I'll do my best to draw others to him so that he would be offended less by sins. This should be the desire and goal for all his disciples. 

Faith Necessary for Finding God

        Read about Jesus in all the Gospels. If you believe that he is truly God, then everything you read would make perfect sense to you. But if you start out believing that he is not divine, then all the stories would absolutely make no sense and you end up knowing even less. In a way, this shows that Jesus is the truth and that faith or at least some faith is necessary for finding God. 

Soul over Body

        God can heal our soul and our body. The soul is more important than the body because the soul does not perish, but the body has no life of it own. When we ask the Lord to heal our soul, he readily complies as the soul is what he loves and a healed soul is a saved one. Our request for healing of the body is granted only if it'll help us spiritually toward saving our soul or give God glory in some other way, as the body, whether healed or not, will perish soon one day.

Cause for Joy

        This morning's Entrance Song, Matthew 25:34, at Mass: "Come, you blessed of my Father; receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, alleluia." As I read that, my heart leapt for joy. The Response to the Psalm (#105) echoed my feeling later: "Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord."

Keeping the Lord

        As St. Paul points out in Romans 8, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. To reject this love is indeed to be foolish to the extreme. On the other hand, if we do accept this love, then neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to take our Lord away from us.