A Reminder

        Since God knows everything about us, be aware of how everything we do affects him.

Challenged to Serve

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 10 at Sunday Mass, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Again, the Lord challenges us and he knew exactly what his mission was. We must absolutely pay attention to these sayings of his, for neglecting them risks not entering his kingdom of heaven. Let's believe that he did come to give his life to save us and ask him to empower us to be meek and humble in order to serve.  

Differing Desires

        I see that all my past desires for things of the world are self-centered because I wanted them to satisfy myself. But the desire for God is different ~ when he draws you, you are touched and moved by his love and the desire for him is given to you by him. Therefore, this desire is basically self-giving. Self-centered desires always enslave one, while the self-giving desire for God makes you feel even freer.

Permanent Resting Place

        Today's Communion experience. After receiving Holy Communion, I knew that I had found the place of rest, the Lord. For the time being, things are never settled. Then one day I'll be resting in God's permanent peace. 

Expect to Receive More

        Jesus said to his disciples, "To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Another way of saying this truth could go: "Expect more and you will receive more; expect nothing and you will have nothing."  

The Evil of Entertainment

        I want to talk about the business of entertainment in this country. It is a huge business that sucks in practically everyone. Television, radio, stage shows, concerts, gambling casinos, magazines, websites, YouTube broadcasts, i-pads, background music, even advertisements and commercials...all aim at entertaining you. We become so addicted that we have to listen to music while exercising or doing homework, watch a TV show when we are cooking or balancing checkbooks. The big names in the entertainment business have egos to match, their admiring fans following them everywhere. Entertainment has a place in our society, but when it starts to "dominate" my lives, the balance is lost. It robs us of prayer time, keeps God away from us and even leads us into sin when it's impure. In short, too much entertainment definitely endangers our soul.

Believe Now and Question Later

        St. Teresa in her Meditations on the Song of Songs writes that we are not to dwell upon the many mysteries of our faith and what we do not understand in the Holy Scripture. I agree that as long as the message of salvation is crystal clear and we are certain that God loves us, it's sufficient for us to submit to him with all our heart. "Believe now and question later" is not a bad idea.

What the Holy Eucharist Signifies

        The Lord showed me that the institution of the Holy Eucharist is an invitation to union with him, signifying that this union is possible. When we receive the Holy Eucharist, it should signify that we are committed to seeking union with him. 

Two Ways of Seeing

        There are two sides to each coin. A glass can be seen as half full or half empty. There's the story about two shoe salesmen who visit a village where no resident wears shoes. One comes back and says that there is no point in going there to sell shoes, while the other sees the opportunity to sell shoes to every single villager. One sees believing in God as a way of avoiding going to hell, while another sees it as a way of going to heaven. We yearns for God ~ it could be that we are tired of living or that we are in love with God. Attending Mass every Sunday is fulfilling an obligation for some and a chance to unite with God again for others. In each case, both ways of seeing can be valid, but one is usually superior to the other. When it comes to making spiritual progress, seeing it as seeking union with God is definitely superior to seeing it as struggling to become holier on you own.

A Mind-Challenging Problem

        In my last post, I said that our mind is limited, but it can still have considerable power. I thought it would be fun to give you problem to solve at this point in the middle of all the serious talks. So here we go.

        There are ten identical containers with each holding ten identical pills. Nine of the containers hold pills weighing 10 mg each and one container holds ten pills weighing 9 mg each. All pills look exactly alike. There is an electronic scale available for your use. The problem is that the batteries in the scale are so weak that there is only one weighing left. So, how would you weigh the pills just once and identify the container holding the 9 mg pills?

        The solution is not that obvious. Some people have solved the problem in a couple of hours, but others in a couple of weeks. Try your best, but don't lose any sleep over it.