God suffers when we sin against him. We suffer, also when we sin against God. Sin causes all suffering. When we stop sinning against God, all sufferings cease or become a joy.
Sunday, October 18, 2020
**Risk of Putting off Considering God
I knew a friend of my son who was related to a local well-known Italian family. I was quite sure that he came from a Catholic family, so I tried to persuaded him to come back to the Church. I emailed him in 2011, 2012, and 2014, and didn't get any response from him. But through my daughter-in-law, I heard that he wasn't quite ready to consider God yet, as there were still many things to take care of first. I think it is very common that people keep putting off considering God, as they want to take care of their worldly business first. But, of course, there'll always be unfinished business to finish. The last I heart about this particular person was that he already had dementia, not recognizing everyone anymore. Maybe I can go see him and try to pray with him when my son visits him. The lesson: do not put off considering the Lord, unless you have already rejected him completely.
***Beautiful Surrender**
When we surrender to God to let him do whatever he wishes with us, we lose all fears . . . the fear of death, the fear of possibly going through purgatory, the fear of whatever punishment we might receive for our sins. Complete trust in and total surrender to God expunges all fears.
**Becoming Beautiful for God
Get to know Jesus to experience his tremendous love for you. Let this greatest love transform and mold you into a new creature. Then you become beautiful for the Lord to behold.
***An Intimate Revelation
Last night around midnight, I was awake because I was concerned about two people I knew, but the Lord Christ was on my mind the whole time—he was really all I could think of. I had never experienced him to be this close. And he let me know most clearly that only he can make me happy, and I was overjoyed! I have always loved the hymn "For You Are My God" by John Foley. The refrain is what I love the most: "For you are my God; you alone are my joy. Defend me, O Lord." (To hear this song, go the the video listed in the right margin. It's near the end, right after all the Ave Maria videos.) So I don't see the Lord visually nor hear him audibly, yet he reveals himself to me totally. My joy Overflows!
***Our Last Call to Salvation!*
After the parable of the lost son, I like the parable of the rich man and Lazarus most. When the poor man Lazarus died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, "I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment." But Abraham replied, "If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead." We have now Jesus, the Son of God, greater than Moses and all the prophets. I just want all to realize that if you do not even listen to him, you will have missed your last call to board the train of salvation.
Saturday, October 17, 2020
****God's Wonderful Promises
From today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God." Jesus said it definitively and now we know exactly how to get ourselves accepted by God.
Also in today's reading, Jesus said to the disciples, "When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say." This is a huge promise! The bottom line is that we don't need to worry about anything under any circumstances. It's easy not to believe in him, as we still think that we know better! My point is that if you dismiss the Lords promises outright, you'll never find out if his promises are good or not. Again, faith works wonders. If you are not childlike in believing in the Lord, you'll have difficulty entering his kingdom.
*****Reminding the Entire Church!
Also in today's reading from Ephesians 1, Paul reminds us that the Church is the Body of our Lord. As members of his Church, we are parts of his Body, so we'd better be holy in order not to defile the Church!
**How God Enlightens Us
Today's first reading were verses 15-23 from Ephesians 1. I am not going to reproduce them here. After I read it, I just want to say amen. Here is what I learned: (1) When we get to know the Lord well, he reveals himself to us and we become spiritually wise. (2) When our hearts are enlightened by the Lord, we are filled with hope and see the riches of his glory and the greatness of his power. And I can testify to the truth of what I have learned.
***Encountering the Lord Necessary
Today is the memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch. The entrance antiphon is based upon Galatians 19-20: I am crucified with Christ, yet I live; no longer I, but Christ lives in me. I live by faith in the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself up for me. For many of us, this sounds OK, but we don't feel compelled to live like that—you may even feel sorry for anyone who'd choose to live like that. What we fail to realize is that both Paul and Ignatius had encountered the Lord and willingly desired to live for him only. They already knew the joy of following the Lord. If someone goes to heaven, comes back and chooses to skip all the fun parties on earth, you probably wouldn't understand that either. Therefore, be open and seek Christ. Once you truly know the Lord, you will understand everything.
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