The Ways of the Lord

        Pope Benedict XVI: "The ways of the Lord are not easy, but we were  not created for an easy life, but for great things, for goodness."  Amen. 

Church Under Attack

        Today, the Mother Church is coming under "attacks" in all forms from both within and without.  To all Catholics, religious or lay, who do not agree on any issue with your bishops, or any guidance or teaching of the magisterium and feel like speaking out, please realize that anything you say that would result in confusing the faithful or disunifying the Church in any way can not have come from the Holy Spirit ~ God will never ask you to disobey the very Church he has established for us.  No matter how urgently you feel like speaking out, this is the ultimate test.  If you do not pass it, the voice is your own and not that of the Holy Spirit.   

        The Church is being ridiculed, laughed at, belittled, insulted, slandered, stepped on, and accused for just about anything not pleasing to the attackers nowadays ~ this is because we do have the true church!  Look at what the Lord himself went through on earth ~  how can you expect the Church, being the Body of Christ, not to suffer likewise?  The good news is that the Lord guarantees that the gates of hell shall not prevail against his Church.  Rejoice that we are being persecuted for Christ's sake.  This is the perfect time to practice what he taught about forgiving others and loving your enemies.  Pray extra hard and love the Lord even more fervently.  Seek total union with him first before all else.   

How Oppression Works

        Found on one webpage: "Everyone who supported slavery was free. Everyone who supports abortion was born. And that, my friends, is how oppression works."

Values Worth Dying For

        A thought from Pope Benedict XVI:

        "Where there is no longer anything worth dying for, life is no longer worthwhile."  Amen.

       

First Beatitude

        The first Beatitude:  "How blest is the poor in spirit: the reign of God is theirs."

        What does 'poor in spirit' mean?  I wasn't sure until I came across Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis' beautiful explanation.  Note that this Beatitude is in the present tense. 

        In essence, he explains:  "The poor in spirit are those who literally 'beg for their life's very breath' ~ those who depend upon God the way we all depend upon air to breathe.  Poverty of spirit is the grace of those who have emptied themselves of everything but the desire for God's presence.  And those who achieve poverty of spirit have their reward in the present as well as the future, for to live in poverty of spirit is indeed to live in God."

        Praised be Jesus.  

Two Become One

        I used to pray to God, seeing him as a separate being in front of and high above me.  Now I realize that he dwells in me and we are now one, inseparable.  In such an intimate union, we know each other so well that he makes his will clear to me.  It's no longer going out of myself to seek another for answers.  God simplifies everything and simplicity leads to freedom.  How glorious is his love!    

The Ego

        The ego is an ugly thing.  It gets in the way as we journey toward God.  Again, it boils down to Us vs. God.  Therefore, the ego's gotta go.  And, with God's help, it can indeed vanish, liberating us.  God must increase and we decrease.  In fact, we should die completely to ourselves so that we become Christ-like.  Then we shall be free and see others and the world as he does.  

Unbeatable Bargain!

        From St. Bernadette: "If we receive Jesus with love and make sure that he dwells happily within us, he is bound to pay us rent."  I love this saying of hers.  Then I remember that Jesus also told his disciples that he's going to prepare a mansion in heaven for them.  Now, our life, compared to eternity, is practically of zero duration.  So, if we just let Jesus dwell in our heart for the few years of our short life, we get to live in his mansion later for all eternity ~ can you possibly think of a better bargain?  What a deal!  I am going to take it. 

Beautiful Paradoxes

        Here are two beautiful paradoxes:

        (1) The more you acknowledge your own helplessness, the more God reaches down to help you.

        (2) The more you surrender to God, the more you become free.

       

Biggest Fool of the Universe

        If you want to be the biggest fool of the universe, that's easy.  All you need to do is to believe that God does not care about what you are doing or that you can get away by doing certain things.  In other words, the biggest fool is the one who thinks that he can fool God.  Naturally, he ends up fooling only himself.
        The smart person is the one who realizes that the God knows all things anyway, so you might as well let him in on all things.

God the Psychiatrist

        God is the greatest psychiatrist in the whole universe.  He knows and understands everything about us, our problems, our needs, our desires, etc.  After Holy Communion, I go before the Lord letting him see everything that's in my heart.  If there's something that bothers me, I simply open myself up to him without reservation (this may require some effort on my part as I search and reflect hard).  The Lord now will help me see deep down exactly what is bugging me.   It's like God holding up a mirror and I see the interior of my heart in it.  Often what we think the cause is is not necessarily the true one, for we are complicated creatures.  Once I see clearly what made me lose my peace, I become instantly relieved.  If healing is needed, the Lord will do just that then.  The resulting feeling is exhilaration.  Truly, self-understanding is the key to freedom of the heart.

Successful Self-Transformation

        The "secret" to transforming yourself successfully is really simple.  You might even say obvious.  It's letting the Lord do the work. Jesus told us that apart from him, we can do nothing.  This is absolutely true.  I am talking about doing things that truly give honor and glory to God. 

        When you receive the Holy Eucharist, you become mystically united with Jesus, who is the source of all the graces that can benefit you.  This is the time to "get greedy" and ask for all the graces he can possibly give you to make you holy.  If you are in good grace and really mean it, how can he refuse you, as he loves you so much?  If you strive to become holy on your own, you'll find it about as effective as making a New Year resolution stick.  But if you put your trust in God and let him do the work, everything becomes automatic over time.  The Holy Eucharist is the Lord himself, transforming you.