*Must to Know

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus said to his Apostles, "Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father." In these two sentences, Jesus simply delineated the condition for us to be accepted or denied by God the Father. They are terribly important, compelling us to choose sides while we are still able to. To dismiss the words of Jesus is to dismiss Jesus the person, for in both Matthew 24 and Luke 21, Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." I am putting an asterisk next to the post title, not because my message is insightful in any way, but because it's critically important for all, believers and nonbelievers alike, to be aware of.

God Working Now and Then

        When I was involved in the charismatic renewal several decades ago, the Holy Spirit did the work for me as a favor and my spiritual progress was rapid. Today God is doing the work for me even more, that's because now he's got my full cooperation. 

The Gate

        Jesus said in John 10.9: I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. May I add that Jesus is also the gate to freedom?

The Only One

        Let Jesus be the only one to give you joy and the only one to make you feel sorrow.

Driving Lesson

        I drove almost 500 miles home yesterday. The highway was straight and cars clipped along between 80 and 90 mph. Some drivers drove even faster, trying to pass everyone, and then we would run into a big truck trying to pass another even slower one and everyone had to slow down and patiently wait for the passing to pass. Of course, my goal was to get home safely, not to let any faster or slower vehicles affect my inner peace. I was reminded of the similar process of seeking God. Our goal is to attain union with God and we must not let any distractions along the journey to distract or upset us.

Imbalance

        Jesus is exhilarating and uplifting, and heaven, pure joy; but the sinful world is downright sickening and boring.

The Lord

        Communion experience. There is nothing so beautiful, so inspiring, so satisfying as the Lord himself. If only you realize this truth, you'd drop everything and run to him!

Good Enough?

        We are good enough only after God has made us good.

Unbalance

        If you do not know Jesus, you have no idea how infinitely better you would feel should you know him. If you know Jesus, you already know how awful it was when you didn't have him.

On Feeling Sorow

        If the Lord feels sorrow, we must not attempt to "take over" his sorrow nor worry for him. What we need to do is to be sorrowful along with him, for we must remain in him always.       

Being Like the Apostles

        I attended Sunday Mass at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. The Lord made me see that he could make us feel how St. Paul and the Apostles felt about him if we so desired.

Forming Strong Bonds

        God is a relationship builder. All bonds formed without him will fall apart in time, but all bonds formed by him will last forever. Union with God is the strongest possible bond, making all saints one in the Lord. It is in this relationship that we become super-strong.