Nobody feels good when someone suffers, yet as I was praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary today, thinking about the Lord's agony, the extreme physical pains he bore, the unjust insults he received, the shedding of his most precious blood..., I experienced the greatest sweet joy because this is how much he loves us! I'll never be able to thank him enough and shall rejoice in him forever.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
We Are like Thomas
Today is the Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle. He is known as the doubting Thomas because he was not with the other disciples when Jesus came (after the Resurrection) and when they told him that they had seen the Lord, he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." This was not really as bad as Peter denying the Lord thrice. Anyway, this honest account of Thomas makes me believe in Jesus even more ~ he's just like many of us today! We don't believe in Jesus because we are human like Thomas. Later Thomas finally saw Jesus and believed ~ this should be sufficient for us to cast away all our doubts and believe in the Lord.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Proper Response to God's Love
God loves us with an infinite love, so how should we respond to him? Of course, we should love him back; but since we'll never be able to love him as much as he loves us, why don't we just remain completely open to let him love us as much as he wants? Be "spoiled" by God!
Enjoyment, Not Attachment
There are many beautiful things for us to enjoy, but it would be wrong for us to become attached to them. Since I knew and was interested in music, I can cite some examples. I am sure that many of you are probably familiar with the Styne/Cahn song The Things We Did Last Summer. Both the music and lyrics are so beautiful that it can bring back old memories and make you cry. You can hear the many versions on YouTube, including Frank Sinatra's. If you feel good listening to it, just thank God for it, for all things beautiful come from him.
Two other piano solos you most likely will find enjoyable are these videos on YouTube,
The first piece is based upon Gershwin's song Embraceable You. The great American pianist Earl Wild just made a virtuoso etude out of it and in this video the Korean pianist Yeol-Eum Son interprets it possibly even better than Wild himself. The second video is based upon the song En Avril made popular by the French singer Charles Trenet. Then Alexis Weissenberg, the Bulgarian-French pianist arranged it for piano solo and in this video the Canadian pianist Marc-Andre Hamilin plays it. (To hear Trenet sing the original song, go on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Piuuuzhho.) Again, enjoy the music, thank God, and move on. God gives us beauty for us to enjoy and not to become enslaved by it. We should let all enjoyable experiences draw us even closer to God, for his beauty is beyond comprehension until we are with him in person.
Fit to Follow Jesus?
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8 at morning Mass, we heard the following. A scribe approached and said to Jesus, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nest, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." Another of his disciples said to him, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But Jesus answered him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead."
The point is that if we want to follow the Lord, we must not be concerned about or attached to anything else. The priest in his homily told about a young man interested in becoming a religious came to the seminary to learn about the religious life and he showed up with two pets, a dog and a parrot. The seminary gave him a chance for trial, but he lasted just a few months and left. His attachment to his pets was a clear sign that he's not fit to follow Jesus yet. Of course, people have all kinds of attachments to different things, but only the one who's attached to Jesus alone is free to follow him ~ he or she has wisely chosen the best.
Certainty in Jesus
Even though Jesus suffered most excruciatingly in his life on earth, he's always optimistic, knowing that he would be victorious in the end. This Jesus has given us hope in him. No, more than hope...we can be certain in him, for his victory is now our victory!
Jesus Our Revelation
If we don't have God, we easily become self-centered creatures ~ this is for sure. Jesus came and revealed clearly that for those who believe in him, they will live forever (eternal life with him in heaven). His love for us is what attracts and draws us to him. Then we fully accept and believe in him and we are transformed into new loving creatures. This is a simple summary of the true Christian experience.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Selfless Serving
This is serving God when you no longer notice that you are doing it and only God notices you.
Three Beautiful Acts
At Mass I came to see three beautiful acts. They are:
(1) Giving yourself to God.
(2) Bringing souls to God.
(3) Serving God.
On Priesthood
This weekend our parish is celebrating our priest's 40th anniversary of his ordination to priesthood. I started thinking about the sacrament of holy orders. It's truly a high calling because an ordained priest will be given the power to change bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ and it is through him that we the faithful get to receive this Most Holy Sacrament. Priesthood is truly an awesome vocation. Thank God for our priests.
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