Difficult Loving

        Today's Gospel reading at Mass continued from Luke 6. Verses 27-38 are all about "love your enemies," "turn the other cheek," "stop judging," and "forgive." According to Jesus, this is showing your love. From the practical point of view, it makes sense too because if you are not bothered by others in any way, you have inner peace. Furthermore, if everyone followed Jesus' advice, the world would definitely be peaceful ~ proof that he was right. Then what if you are now in Iraq or Syria where Christians are getting slaughtered? All I can say is that if you believe and love the Lord, he will never put you in a situation where you will not pass the test.

A More Serious Sin

        In the 1st reading from 1 Corinthians 8 at morning Mass, Paul wrote: "If food causes my brother to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I may not cause my brother to sin." Paul is saying that even what you do is not a sin per se, it becomes sinful if it wounds others' consciences when they copy you. In most cases, what we do is sinful, and if that causes others to sin also, we have committed a much more serious sin. A common example would be parents who behave badly causing their children to behave in a similar way. It is basically keeping others away from God! 

Shaking Off the World

        We can be attached to the world so much that it becomes like a piece of chewed gum stuck in our hair. The most effective way to shake the world off you is to be in union with God because only his holiness can overcome the world that has succumbed to a great extent to the evil one. Yes, be a saint to become detached from the world. 

Beatitude Living

        Today the Gospel read at Mass was the Sermon on the Mount from Luke 6. Jesus gave us the Beatitudes in which he (1) blessed those who are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated, excluded, insulted, and denounced as evil on account of him, and (2) grieved for those who are rich, filled, laughing, and spoken well of by all. In sum, the Lord wants us to live for him and not for the world, and our reward, as he promised those he blessed, will be great in heaven.    

To Hope in God Is...

to trust in God.

To Die in Christ Is...

to live in Christ forever.

God Our Healer

        God is a great healer. Listening to his word is healing. Saying the Lord's Prayer is healing. Being called to union is healing. Receiving Holy Communion is most healing. God's wants to heals us to make us whole and wholesome.  

Thought of the Day

        If some of horrible things happening around us look so evil to us already, image how much more so they would to God who loves us and is holy! 

God Comes to Us!

        Today is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through her, God came into the world. What better position could we possibly be in? We were sick and God came to us in person to heal us. Now, daily he comes to me again in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. When I was ill in a hospital, meals and medication were all given to me to make me well. We should realize and appreciate that God is serving us what we need in exactly the same way.

Mutual Dissolving

        Communion experience. As the consecrated host dissolves in my mouth, I feel myself being dissolved by Christ in his love. This mutual dissolving brings me into oneness with the Lord. I am now aware of him as much as I am aware of myself.