How to Find God

        In case you are still searching for God, here is the best attitude to assume. It is the same as for those who seek union with God. The goal is to know God, so the keyword again is "passive." You will not find God if you actively search everywhere, reading all kinds of books, etc. Believe that he exists and tell him that you want to know him. Then remain humble, passive, and open, waiting for him to speak to your heart. 

Better than Winning the Lottery

      Perhaps everyone in his lifetime has dreamed of winning the lottery. In reality, the chance of winning any lottery for anyone is infinitesimal. And when someone wins, he is the sole winner. Does winning make the winner any happier in the end? Not according to one documentary I watched on past lottery winners. 

      Dreaming that you succeed in entering heaven is a much better choice. Chances are you'll surely succeed if you follow certain instructions. There is no limit to how many people can win. And winning guarantees everlasting happiness.  

We Must Decide

        Today is the Memorial of St. John Neumann. The Communion antiphon, Matthew 19.29, reads: Everyone who has given up home, brothers, or sisters, father or mother, wife or children or property for my sake will receive many times as much and inherit everlasting life. Suppose you do not know that Jesus had said it and hear someone else saying it now, you would definitely think that the speaker must be crazy to make such a promise unless, of course, the speaker happens to be God. This is just another saying of Jesus that compels us to decide whether he was a crazy man or is God.   

Anxiety-Free Living

        I talked about how we should live the present moment, not the past nor the future. This means that we focus upon doing God's will every moment. Living as such will inevitably lead us to our final destination of bliss in heaven. 

To See My Bad Side

        Communion experience. I wanted the Lord to reveal all my faults and shortcomings.

Close the Gap

        A gap usually exists between what one preaches and what one practices. Perhaps it's a the-heart-is-willing-but-the-flesh-is-weak case. Perhaps it's just easily said than done. One can talk about God all the time but fail to show love in one instance. This is the gap I want to bring attention to. Only with God's help can we live up to our own expectations.

Move On, Focus, and Forget

        Each of us has many experiences in life that seem hard to forget. Most recently, someone turned out to be not the person he had made others believe him to be ~ that was both a surprise and a disappointment. It made me think that one should never trust anyone fully. Then the right thought came to me: We should move on, focus upon God alone, and forget all else that disturbs our peace. 

Receiving the Triune God

        Communion experience. It's not just Jesus entering me; it's the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit ~ the glorious Holy Trinity ~ all entering me!

To Be in the Gospel

        Today's Gospel reading was John 1:29-34. To see all the amazing things, you must put yourself in the scene, in the story. Listening to the Gospel read as a bystander won't do you any good. In the reading, John the Baptist claimed that he did not know Jesus, yet when he saw Jesus coming toward him, he referred to him as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world ~ God must have revealed this to John. John also proclaimed that Jesus existed before him. We know that John was born before Jesus, so he must be referring to Jesus' eternal existence. John also testified that he saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon Jesus. Last he said, "Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God." ~ quite amazing that from the very beginning, John already knew and announced publicly who Jesus is. 

How to Sin No More

        Reading 1 at morning Mass came from 1 John. The last verse read from Chapter 3 stuck in my mind: No one who remains in him (Jesus Christ) sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. Therefore, know Jesus and remain in him and we no longer sin.