Communion thoughts. I rejoice that I am a sinner because Jesus loves sinners! He would transform sinners into saints so that they may live in heaven while on earth.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Beautiful Realization
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5 at morning Mass, Jesus got into one of the two boats, the one belonging to Simon (Peter), alongside the lake. He asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Later, he asked Simon to put out into deep water and lower his nets for a catch. Simon and his fellow fishermen had worked hard all night and caught nothing, but lowered the nets anyway. They caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing so that their partners in the other boat had to come to help them. Simon Peter fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man." That was one life-changing moment for Peter. How beautiful such a moment is when a soul receives the light of Christ in his heart and realizes what he truly is before the Lord!
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Enjoy the World Rightly
Enjoy the world the wrong way and you can lose your life forever. Enjoy God first while you are in the world, then you are safe and secure to enjoy the world the right way.
Reward You Can Count On
Nothing can escape the Lord our God. The good news is that you will be rewarded richly for everything you do for his glory, in this life or in the next, or both.
Anything Is Fine
Today's Communion experience. I yearned for the Lord, so anything coming from him would be welcome. I decided to ask him to transform me to his heart's content, knowing that he could make me the happiest person on earth.
No Personal Preferences
I have greater affection for certain saints over others. Then I realize that when it comes to glorifying God, pleasing him should completely override my personal preferences. I should willingly and gladly do whatever is necessary, enjoyable or not, to glorify God.
Faith Understood
In Matthew 17.20, Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Again, in Luke 17.6, he said to the apostles, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." I've always been intrigued by what the Lord had said here ~ how can I get this faith the size of a mustard seed?
Once I actually challenged someone who had lost all his hair to believe in Jesus and assured him that his hair would come back after I prayed for him. Of course, nothing miraculous happened. Then there's the time I prayed for my son when he was near death, and he miraculously recovered. This time the petition just came forth spontaneously without any hesitation. Recall how Peter in his boat saw Jesus walking on the sea and wanted to do the same. Jesus said "come" and Peter got out of the boat and started walking toward Jesus. But he became frightened and began to sink. Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
My new understanding of faith: (1) I cannot "force" myself to have faith. For example, it'll be utter foolishness to believe that I can go out and heal any sick person I run into. (2) Faith can work miracles only if you are doing God's will. If I get out of a boat on my own, believing that I can walk on water, it won't happen. But if Jesus had actually commanded me to do it, then I would do fine if I believed in him. (3) Conclusion: Do God's will always and trust in him completely while doing it. (4) Last, since faith is a gift from God, seeking union with him will definitely enrich this gift.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
It's the Lord
Communion experience. After I received the Holy Eucharist, I knew it was the Lord who had entered me, the one who spoke with authority, healed the sick miraculously, died on the cross in our place, was raised from the dead on the third day . . . enough.
Urgent Call
Through the horrible news we read and hear daily, revealing the ungodliness of our world, God is urgently calling us to greater holiness and to pray harder for all souls, those who sin, those who suffer, and those who seem to have no hope. After we die, it'll be too late.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)