Getting Personal With God

        Communion antiphon, John 14.23: Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him. Indeed, the Lord came to me in the Holy Eucharist to make me his home! I felt so blessed to be called to his supper. Millions and millions of my brothers and sisters in Christ also get called to sup with him; but no matter, I felt my call so personal as if I was the only one invited. 

Choose Love Over Sin!

        Today is the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. The entrance antiphon: These are the holy men whom the Lord chose in his own perfect love; to them he gave eternal glory. God is love. It's love that sustains our very existence. It's love that the soul needs for healing. And it's love that will get us into heaven. Love is also the answer to all our problems. Without it, everything collapses. With it, we possess God! Love is all around us, but people do not see it because sin has blinded their hearts.

In Tune With God

        To be in tune with God is to be aware of his presence, ready to communicate with him at any time, and not go off on my own to do what I want to do. Sinning easily gets us out of tune with the Lord and we no longer feel his presence nor hear his voice, and we sin even more. The Lord is ever present; so if we lose him, we are the cause. Being in union with him is the most effective way of remaining in tune with God.

Glorious Freedom

        In today's first reading from Romans 8, Paul mentions the glorious freedom of the children of God. That caught my ear, for the children of God are no longer bound by their life on earth. As death has no power over the resurrected Lord, the children of God also has been given life for ever. They are gloriously free because they are shielded by the love of God which nothing can separate from them.

Longing for God

          Communion experience. God exalted me as he made me yearn and long for him. I desired to give myself to him as much as to have him for myself.

We Have No Covers

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 13, Jesus points out the hypocrisy of the leader of the synagogue. Let's remember that no one can hide or escape from the Lord. He sees and knows everything about us ~ we are completely naked, exposed, and transparent to him. Let's keep this in mind as we live our lives. Believing otherwise is to believe that God is not all-knowing, making us look like fools.

Joy of the Lord

        I felt great joy at Mass this morning. How could I not when you possess Christ, the source of joy, already? The entrance antiphon from Psalm 105 read: Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face. The Communion antiphon from Psalm 20 was also into joy: We will sing out our joy at your saving help and exult in the name of our God. It amazed me that I felt the same way about God as the psalmist did three millennia ago.

Number One

        Make God number one in our lives and we become number one in his eyes.

Jesus Unburdens Us

        Everything is hard if you do not know Jesus ~ there are just so many things to deal with, spiritually or otherwise. But if you know Jesus and let him take charge of your life, you are unburdened and everything becomes easy.

God to Be Leaned On

        In the Gospel reading from Mark 10 at Mass, we learned that a blind man kept crying out, asking Jesus to have pity on him. Jesus called him, and he threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. The Lord asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied, "Master, I want to see." Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately, he received his sight. 

        Indeed, it's "ask and you'll receive." We must be used to asking Jesus for help, or it won't be easy for us. Yesterday I saw a woman sitting on the sidewalk, leaning against the wall of a bar restaurant. She looked very much in distress, so I got down to talk to her. She teared up quickly while telling me some of the horrible family problems. I suggested praying to Jesus for help, but I could tell that it's not something she would readily consider doing. It made me realize that it's important for us to develop the "natural habit" of turning to God for help anytime we are in trouble, for God is to be leaned on.