We Are Special!

        Still being held hostage by the bug at home, I had the time to wonder what if God had not created us so that there would be only all the other animals and plants living on earth. Of course, the eternal God doesn't depend upon our existence for his own in any way; yet, somehow, I feel that he would miss us. Remember that he created us in his own image so that we alone among all the living things are capable of understanding him and loving him, and that he might have us to love! Intuitively, I also feel that the entire universe with everything in it, including our earth and everything on it, had been created for our enjoyment and needs ~ we are the culmination of his creation! Last, the fact that we can conceive that there is a God our creator only confirms that there is one, for no other can create a mind, especially one that can conceive its creator. In short, we are special, created to know God.

Presenting Mary

        I came across this YouTube video on the Mother of Christ. It's quite a beautiful presentation. 

Test for Our Love for God

        I've been home sick since last Sunday. It's one of those bugs quite a number of us around here has been catching from the cold weather. I just looked at the readings for today's Mass on www.usccb.org/bible/. In Reading 1 from 1 John 4, the Apostle wrote: If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. Therefore, if I still hold a grudge again someone, I can't claim that I love God yet. I could only say that I intend to love God, but I fall short of truly loving him. How much we love our brothers and sisters tests how much we love God.  

Life Is Simple in God

        After seeing so many people living a life with so many worldly concerns and complicated relationships with others both within and without their family, I come to see how simple and beautiful life becomes when you go deep into Christ. It's as if Jesus cleans out all the clutter, barnacles, cobwebs, and refuse in your life to set you free. By unburdening us, God simplifies our lives.

A Great Oversight

        Jesus asked, "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?" (Matthew 7.3). It's so easy to get upset over things or people because they turn out to be imperfect, and at the same time overlook our own imperfections (getting upset being one). If we are not perfect, how can we expect others to be perfect? It all comes down to "no sinner has the right to judge fellow sinners."

Life as an Assignment

        When a religious, especially one who has pledged poverty, is assigned to  a post, he does his best to perform his tasks. When he is reassigned to a new post, he simply moves on, does the same again, not attaching himself to his or her previous accomplishments in any way. This is also the way to live for us lay folks. We see our roles as assignments from God. We do our best to please him. When we are done, we are happy and move on, not attaching ourselves to what we've done because it's just an assignment from God. This way we'll always feel free and peaceful.   

To Be a Christian...

        To be a Christian is to be a disciple of Jesus is to follow him in all things and at all times is to be preoccupied entirely by Jesus is to live for him alone is to live in union with him is to live Jesus.

Model Prayer for Us in Suffering

         I caught a cold and started coughing. Naturally, I hoped that the Lord would heal me; but still, it must be his will. Jesus' prayer while suffering his agony in the garden before his betrayal and arrest came to my mind: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done" (Luke 22.42). [Matthew's version, 26.42: "Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!"] This should be the model prayer for all of us in suffering.

A Matter of Life or Death

        Jesus is to be taken most seriously because it's a matter of critical importance. If you don't take him seriously, then you do not know him well enough yet. Who is he to you? Whom do you treat him as? If you acknowledge that your eternal destination depends upon him, then do you even trust in him with your present life? Is your living consistent with what you believe in? To become like Jesus should be our foremost aspiration because it is the highest aspiration for us.

First Order of Business

        Today is the Memorial of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. After I received the Holy Eucharist, I saw that this bread was not food for my body nor for my mind, it was food directly feeding and nourishing my soul, preparing me for life in heaven, my ultimate home. Healing of the soul must be our top concern for the glory of God!