Jesus Pure Enjoyment

        Today's Communion experience. I felt that Jesus was pure enjoyment, more enjoyable than all the best vacations I could possibly take. I just wanted to jealously guard this treasure in me. [Of course, this treasure can be anyone's if that person loves him enough.]

A Jolting Thought

        Following the train of thought in the last post, I see that not receiving the Holy Eucharist reverently is not taking the Lord seriously, so when you face him later, he may not take you seriously either.

Are You Fearless in Christ?

        Some Catholics in business try to hide the fact that they are Catholic for fear that it may turn some of their customers off and lose them. In Matthew 7, Jesus said, "As you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you." Again, in Matthew 10, he said, "Whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father." Fair enough. Then obviously, if we are ashamed of letting others know that we follow Christ, he will be ashamed of us later. True Christians are always proud of their faith and live their lives fearlessly in the Lord.

Hard but True Sayings

        Today's Communion verse at Mass was Matthew 19.29: "Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or father of mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life." This provocative saying brings to mind what Jesus said in John 6, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you." This hard saying shocked even his disciples and as a result, many of them stopped following him.

        Of course, if you believe that Jesus is the Lord, then all his sayings make perfect sense. In my case, I have already received a hundred times more in this life (just for the peace and freedom the world cannot give alone) and am looking forward to inheriting the next part. 

The Greatest Journey

         Today is the Memorial of St. John Neumann, Bishop. The Gospel reading came from John 1. Jesus found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Then Philip found Nathanael and brought him to see Jesus. After Nathanael found out that Jesus saw him under the fig tree even before Philip called him, Nathanael responded, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." 

        Looking back, I remember the day I decided to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior, the day I entered the Catholic Church receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord in the Holy Eucharist for the first time, the day I got baptized by the Holy Spirit in the Charismatic Renewal within the Church, and the day I surrendered to the Lord seeking union with him. These were all defining moments, marking the high points in my life. Each successive move drew me closer to God. And of course, the critically important question of eternal life got all settled. A life-changing journey to God has to be the greatest journey you can possibly take.

Reality Realized

        Today's Communion experience. Reality hit me. God is real; his love is real; I received real Christ in the Holy Eucharist; and there was real union with him. Again, what are true remains real for all eternity and time became irrelevant.

Following the Lord at Any Time

       In today's Gospel reading from John 1 at Mass, we read how Andrew and his brother Simon Peter came to follow Jesus. John the Baptist was standing with two of his disciples, and as Jesus walked by, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." The two heard it and followed Jesus. They stayed with him that day. One of the two was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Andrew then found his brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah," and brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas," which is translated Peter. 

         We do not have Jesus to follow physically, but we can follow him spiritually and get as close to him as Andrew and Peter. It's the same Lord for all eternity, so the gap in time is absolutely immaterial.

Living Martyrs

        Today is the Memorial of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious. She was not a martyr like many other saints who suffered death for Christ's sake. Then I thought that we could be living martyrs too. As long as we are willing to live for Christ alone, we should be willing to die for him. Whether we actually meet physical death or not, it's the willingness that counts. If our old self has already died with Christ and is now a new creature in him, we should be ready to live as martyrs.

Are We Robbers Too?

        We live in a materialistic society. Our strong attachment to material things easily turns us into slaves. You might say that we become possessed with our possessions. In the parable of the rich man Jesus told in Luke 12, God said to the man, "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have stored up, to whom will they belong?" Of course, God owns everything in the first place and nothing can really be considered to be ours. To think otherwise is to rob God of what belongs to him. We are now not just fools, but also robbers!

Humility Praised

        Humility has to be the most outstanding virtue among all the virtues. A person with humility thinks nothing of himself, yet receiving full attention from the Lord. A person with humility is secure in the Lord and safe from all evil. Without humility, one will not find God. With humility, he will be shown the doorway to heaven. And it is also the prerequisite for attaining union with God. Look to Jesus, the supreme model of this great virtue.

We Can Be Geniuses!

        There are all kinds of geniuses around. Kit Armstrong, whom you can watch on YouTube, studied piano with Alfred Brendel. At nine, he already performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24. He playing of Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert is most impressive, besides also being a composer and studying higher mathematics. He is definitely a genius. Most of us may be talented, but are not in that category. Then I realize that we do not need any special talent in loving God ~ all we need is an open, willing heart. So why not become a genius in loving God? Furthermore, we also build up treasure in heaven at the same time. Think about it.

A Call to Battle

        The Teens Defending Life  puts out a short, quite powerful pro-life video on YouTube. As usual, you find some outrageous, extreme comments there too. One commented, "god is a lie so removing a fetus that has no understanding of anything in the outside world will not hurt it ... if my mother didnt want me then so be it better to be dead than unwanted by your own mother , also who will look afte the millions of babys if they were all born , not you thats for sure". This is exactly the the way written. I looked up the uploader's background and found out that at least he seems to be still a teenager. Another comment later from a different person was so sickening that I can not even make myself read it again. Jesus, heave mercy on us!

       Anyway, the word "lie" in the first comment got me thinking. God never lies, period. Satan is the big liar and he's got so many others fooled and they all start to lie or talk nonsense. Souls are at stake ~ it's our fight for the eternal survival of all. So, let's join together to fight this critical battle by using all the time we have left in this life to love and serve the Lord to the best of our ability. This is my New Year's call.