How Special We Are

        We may not think about this much, but we were created in the image of God and he came down from heaven to become one of us through the Incarnation of Jesus, his Son, to die and redeem us. All this shows how special, important, and valuable we are to him. Rejoice, all you who are favored and loved by our God the Father!   

Smart Christian

        A good Christian is a very smart person, for he is not disturbed by all the chaos around him; maintains his inner peace, for he knows that God is with him; forgives everyone; can let all material things go; feels light and free; and a lot more. A good Christian is a good person to envy.

Be Chosen by God

        Today is the Memorial of St. Bernard. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 22, Jesus told the parable of the Wedding Feast. A king invited many to a wedding feast he's giving for his son. He caught one guest there not dressed in a wedding garment, was displeased, and ordered his attendants to cast him into the darkness outside. The parable illustrated Jesus' point that "many are invited, but few are chosen." To attend Mass to receive the Holy Eucharist is truly attending a heavenly banquet to sup with the Lord. If you receive the Lord not in a state of grace, you risk being cast out. To attend Mass out of obligation with no intention of worshipping God, you risk being cast out. Never try to fool God so that you may be chosen.

Showing True Love

        To love someone, you must love the soul of that person. Your concern must go beyond just concern for his or her wellbeing on earth. Hell is such a terrible place that if you love God, you would not want anyone to end up there. Avoiding going to hell is infinitely more important than avoiding a head-on collision when you are driving. Jesus loves us and came down from heaven to save our souls ~ we should intend likewise. 

Zeroing In on God's Love

        "God loves you" sounds trite but true, and knowing its truth can change your life. How much you accept, like, or respect yourself measures how much you know this truth. If you know it well, you would feel so good that whether anyone else loves you or not becomes unimportant and would want to love God back by loving all others. To discover this powerful love, get to know Jesus, the embodiment of love. 

God Is Fair

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 20, Jesus told his disciples the parable of The Workers in the Vineyard. From it, I learned the following. (1) When God calls us, he is hiring us to work for him and we become his employees. If we work hard, we'll be paid (rewarded) by him at the end. (2) After finishing telling the parable, Jesus said, "Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last." This is telling us how God rewards us is none of our business, what matters is that we work faithfully and receive our just rewards at the end, and jealousy has no place in our hearts. For example, I accepted Christ as my Savior decades ago and now someone comes along and gets saved just before he dies, should I be jealous of him and claim that God is unfair? Of course not! I should instead rejoice that God is glorified by one more person. Never compare ourselves with others is a good rule to follow.

Glory for Us

        When God displays his glory, it's always for our sake, for we need to be edified.  

God's Holiness

          Before I received Communion, I sensed the overwhelming beauty and power of God's holiness. I basked in it, letting it "sanitize" and soothe my spirit. After I received Communion, I saw that no matter what happens in life, love for God must not diminish. I'd endure a little while longer on earth as eternal joy awaits. 

What to Give Up

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 19, Peter asked Jesus for all the disciples, "We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?" Jesus answered, "Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life." Father S in his homily mentioned giving up our free will too ~ I saw that would take care of all of what we should give up, for when there's no more need to exercise our free will, we have chosen to go with God all the way.

Becoming Rich

        Jesus is rich because he is completely self-sufficient. We become rich when we possess him and inherit all that the Father has for us later. Enter the kingdom of God and we are rich!