"Couldn't Care Less"

        Today is Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blesses Virgin Mary, a holy day. At Mass, the Annunciation of the birth of Jesus from Luke 1 was read. Before the angel Gabriel departed, Mary said to him, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."  

        The public image is very important to many politicians, pop stars, people who are famous in general. One the other hand, a faithful Christian couldn't care less about what other people think, as only what God thinks of him or her matters. But if you are really with God, single-mindedly following his every will like Mary above, you know you are OK and don't even need to be concerned about what God thinks of you.

Yours Without Asking

        In Matthew 6, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and these things will be given you besides." Similarly, once in union with God, you don't need to "worry" about what to ask from God anymore, for he knows and will give you exactly what you need.

Patience Required

        Jesus is God Incarnate, yet on earth he lived like the rest, not making anything easier for himself. His mother Mary did not receive any special treatment either ~ she still faced the hardships of her life. Then I thought of our spiritual life lived in Christ. It's not at all that all our problems vanish after we follow the Lord. On the contrary, we may face even greater challenges. The changes we experience are all internal ~ more courage, greater inner strength, peace, hope, spiritual joy and freedom, and naturally, greater compassion for all fellow humans. It seems redundant to say that life will become truly heavenly only after we get to heaven.

A "Mathematical" Principle

        How much we get out of (receive from) God is directly proportional to how much we surrender ourselves to him.

Going After God

        I watched a movie on TV yesterday. The story was intriguing and the acting good. It did draw the audience's attention as the plot unfolded. Somehow, at the end I only felt that it was just an interesting story, for there's nothing that uplifted me in any way. So I got to thinking about the different "levels" of living. I could live (1) a life in which I fall away from God daily, (2) a life that's interesting but remains on the same level like that movie, or (3) a life that's inspired by God, making me want to advance toward him. Clearly, number 3 is the choice. Number 2 is only mediocre, not good enough for God. To not waste any time of our life, we should go after God, relentlessly if possible.

Beautiful Journey

        Always follow Jesus, asking him to take you everywhere he goes and hanging onto every word he speaks, then your life journey will be beautiful, as you are following the embodiment of beauty.

Helpful Awareness

        Jesus taught us not to judge. Being aware that we are naturally all imperfect creatures can help us not to judge others so quickly.

Truly Our Savior

        Only the God of Christ can take away our sins; only his love can "tame" our rebellious nature; and only he can free us from the grip of death. Wow is all I can say, followed by rejoicing.

Receiving and Giving

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, Jesus sent out his Twelve disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of heaven at hand, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. His last instruction was "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." It is true that everything we have received have come from God; we are just empty channels through which to pass on whatever we have received. Getting ourselves attached to anything along the way will surely bog down the giving part of the process. We are only free when we do not hold onto anything that passes through us.

Serious Humor

        Whenever there is a chance to spread the good news of salvation, I tell my non-Christian friends about Christ. Most of them are younger than I now, so I am in a good position to tell them at parting time again to believe and that I'll be waiting for them to show up in heaven. This is said with humor, but at the same time I am dead serious.