Praying to Be Perfect

        When we are not perfect, people cannot see the Lord in us. When we are, then they see him. So my prayer today is asking the Lord to bare my soul and expose all my faults so that I can become more perfect. 

Don't Speak for God

        Yesterday I had the chance to talk to someone about the Catholic faith. As often happens, you can let enthusiasm get in the way. Afterwards, I realized that I should have said some of the things in a different way. Thinking about what had transpired, I learned another lesson.

        When we try to convert someone, the best approach is to listen first. You must not be anxious to lay what we have to say on the other person. Of course, argument must never happen. In other words, we should remain calm and loving, and not get emotional. After all, it's God who does the converting, not us; so we should not speak for him! You could say that we must not meddle in God's business ~ we are merely instruments in his hands. In all things, let only the Spirit prompt us to say what he wants us to say. 

The Inescapable Moment

        This is the moment when we leave this world. You may not think about it now, but it will surely arrive. It could be a painful moment because you must leave all your possessions and loved ones behind. You may have already resigned to the fact that you cannot take anything with you, but leaving the loved ones is harder to deal with. For those who have no faith in God, they are heading into the unknown and I believe that they would feel a mixture of fear and sorrow. How about those who had faith once? They may have even more fear now, but may turn back to God in the last moment. As for those who believe in the Lord with all their heart, the overwhelming joy of meeting their Savior will overwhelm any sorrow they might feel. They want to witness to others to the very end that God is love and that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.   

No Pain, No Gain

        In the bodybuilding world, the idiom "No pain, no gain" is proven to be true. In the spiritual world, it applies also. If we live an easy, comfortable life with no money or health problems whatsoever and with everything going our way, I doubt that we'll ever make any progress spiritually. On the other hand, as is made clear in today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount: God blesses the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and those who are insulted and persecuted and against whom every kind of evil is uttered falsely because of Christ. Their reward will be great in heaven.           

God's Joy vs. World's

        God's joy surpasses any joy of the world. This is because God plants the joy in the heart, rewarding the soul, while the joys of the world remain at the physical or cerebral level, feeding mostly the ego.

God, Good to Us

        At the beginning of Mass this morning, a great calm came over me and the Lord made me see that everything he gives us is good. I accepted that with my whole heart. Matthew 6.26 comes to mind: "Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?"

Serving God Is Beautiful

        I joined the Walk for Religious Freedom today. It started with the Vigil Mass at the Cathedral of Blessed Sacrament. How appropriate since tomorrow Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ. The celebrating priests, altar servers, musicians...all made the Mass so beautiful that I clearly saw that serving the Lord is indeed a beautiful thing.

To Make a Long Story Short

        Somehow I came into the world. I didn't know what life was all about. Then Christ called me ~ he turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. I found out that I was not even worthy to touch his sandal, yet he loves me. His love made me cry with joy. He promised me that the best is still to come. I am so happy that I came into this world.

Practice What You Believe

        If you believe that God is our Lord, that he created us and the universe, that he provides for all our needs, and that he loves us, then so live that what you believe is made clear to both God and all others. 

Wonderful Eucharist

        During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, upon hearing that the consecrated bread and wine were referred to as "the bread of life" and "the chalice of salvation," I just knew that what I was about to receive is going to make me well spiritually.