Again on this day of praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary, we see how Christ carried out his greatest act of love by dying in our place on the cross. The sufferings he underwent were unbearable even to think about. But what really amazes me today is how the Lord so willingly went thru the whole thing in following the will of God the Father. God's love now even overshadows his action.
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
***Jesus the Only One
I am sure many of us have heard that Jesus died for us to redeem us from sin so that we might have eternal life. Do you ever realize that no one else could have achieved this? It just had to be Jesus, for he is God, our creator, and the only one who has the power to forgive sins.
**Self-Denial Leads to Freedom
Matthew 16:24: Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." So self-denial comes first. To achieve that, accept Jesus totally. Then you'll want to please him alone and not to satisfy yourself anymore. With yourself out of the way, you are now free.
**Foolish, Myopic Living
People in good health work and play hard; they don't think about God for the time being. This is foolish, myopic living, for you don't know how long your good health will last. The wise would put their faith in the everlasting Lord.
Monday, April 22, 2024
**Christ Governs Our Happiness*
If Christ cannot make you happy, you'll never be happy. If you are totally content with Christ, you'll always be happy.
***Joy of Surrender***
Communion experience. There is great joy in surrendering ourselves to God, because in so doing we allow the Lord to deliver us from ourselves.
**Superior Vantage Point
I arrived at Mass early at Mt. St. Joseph, so I remained in my car and started praying. Since the parking lot is at the top of the mount, you get a full view of the trees on the slope in front of you. Then I saw a small bird landing right on the tip of one of those tall, skinny, cone-shaped conifers. I thought it must have a superior view of all the things around. I immediately saw that when we have Christ, we have a superior understanding of all the things around.
***A Most Painful Dream***
Before I tell you about the dream, I need to provide some background information. I have been a photographer all my life. I basically transfigure ordinary subjects to make them look extraordinary. The images truly reflect me. I might have mentioned the rest of this story sometime ago on this blog already. Anyway, more than 30 years ago, I was traveling in Europe photographing. After about two weeks, I was ready to come home. Then shockingly, all my cameras and shot films got stolen at the railroad station in Zurich, Switzerland. I felt as if my right arm had been severed, as all the images were most personal to me. The pain was so great that I couldn't function for a couple of days. I even thought I'd quit photography. The dream came to me at about 3 a.m. this morning. It was still all dark outside. In it, I felt that old pain again, even worse, for it's like all my photographs are now gone! I actually cried out to the Lord. After almost 40 years, how could that pain still come to haunt me? I asked the Lord about it, and I sensed that he's just giving me a small taste of the pain of losing him which would be so much more intense and worse. I got the point.
Sunday, April 21, 2024
**The Lord Ever Present
If you believe that the all-knowing God is ever present, you might as well live as if he is ever present visibly and physically with you. Being aware that he is always watching and watching over you can certainly help us lead a holier life,
***Sign You're Truly Humble
You see yourself as the most wretched sinner before the Lord, so you do not judge (look down on) anyone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)