Thoughts on Praying

        Today's reading from Luke 11 at Mass contains the familiar "Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you."  Elsewhere, the Lord advised praying with persistence.  Obviously, God doesn't mind our twisting his arm a bit if we feel the need to do so.

        When Jesus was going through his agony before his crucifixion, he prayed if the cup could pass him by, yet at the end he said "Your will be done."  I think this is the model we should follow.  It is consistent with what Jesus teaches in the Our Father he gave us.  

        By the way, the saints, after having totally abandoned themselves to God, merely ask God to do whatever he wishes with them.  This is prayer at the highest level.     

Improving Humility

        Today someone praised me for something, and the Lord showed me that every time someone praises you, it is the perfect occasion to ask him to take your ego down a notch by giving you another dose of humility.  Hence, being praised turns into a blessing.  My afterthought was that if I start putting this advice into practice, a lot of praises may come my way.

A Faith Question

        Jesus said that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can make a mountain move.  I am trying to understand that faith and how we can possess it.  If I see a bald person and ask him to let me pray for him and believe that he is going to start growing hair again ~ is this the right kind of faith?  I don't think so.  This seems to me more like a blind, presumptuous faith not directed by the Holy Spirit, unless God has already given me the gift of healing.  

        When we pray to God to heal someone who's sick, in the back of our mind we often wonder if the healing is going to happen.  But one time many years ago, when my own son was attacked by a virus causing his heart to almost stop beating and the doctors to consider a heart-transplant operation should he survive, I walked to his bedside in ICU, made the sign of the cross on his forehead pronouncing "Be healed in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit" without hesitation, and he was discharged from the hospital four days later.  I said my prayer as if it was a command and afterward, did not even think about how God was going to answer me.  Looking  back, I do feel that my prayer was prompted by the Holy Spirit as it came out boldly and resolutely.  By the way, my son recovered completely in time.

        I remember when Peter was learning to walk on water, he started to sink the moment he took his eyes off Jesus, and the Lord chided him for having little faith.  So it seems that focusing our eyes on the Lord is a required condition.

        Last, we must acknowledge that we cannot create faith by forcing ourselves to believe, as faith is basically a gift from God.

        To obtain the kind of faith Jesus would like us to have, let's try to summarize.  We must (1) pray for the gift of faith, (2) be lead by the Holy Spirit to exercise this faith, and (3) focus on the Lord always to maintain this faith.  (One more thought: when we are at it, we might as well ask for faith the size of a water melon.)                       

Be Good Soil

        Today I heard the parable of the seed read at Mass.  To be good soil so that the seed will yield grain a hundred- or sixty- or thirtyfold, we must make sure that our soil is deep, not rocky nor compacted, and have no thorns growing on it.  This means that we must not harden our hearts but be receptive and attentive to God's words, and avoid associating with anything that may impede our spiritual progress. 

***Spiritual Progress

        Over the centuries, the stages of spiritual growth have been classified as the Purgative way, the Illuminative way, and the Unitive way.  St. Teresa of Avila further divided the journey into seven stages, which she called "mansions."  (Read Ralph Martin's book The Fulfillment of All Desire.)

        I'd like to look at the journey in a simpler way from a different point of view.  As you progress spiritually, imagine that you are traveling along a straight line. When you reach the point on the line that represents Total Surrender (TS) to God, you have finished the first part of the journey.  Beyond that point you have the next and last part of the journey.  Basically, you have a line divided into two parts.

        Many will not reach the point of TS in their lifetime.  On the other hand, we have saints such as Therese of Lisieux who got there in her young age (she died at the age of 24).  Spiritual progress is made as you travel along the road (line); but thorough, speedy transformations come only after you have gone beyond the TS point because God is now completely taking over.

        Today is the memorial of St. Mary Magdalene.  She was a great sinner, but because of her love for Jesus, she was transformed into a saint.  What we should do is not to be so concerned about whether we can reach or go beyond Total Surrender, but to concentrate more on loving the Lord as Mary Magdalene did and let Jesus lead us as far along the road of progress as he wishes.     

"Living" Your Faith

        The word that came into my mind during this morning's Mass is "live," as a verb used with an object.  When I pray the rosary, the Lord wants me to live the mysteries.  When I read the gospel, he wants me to live the story.  Similarly, if we have faith, we must not just hold or hide it ~ we must live it!  Yes, following the Lord is intense living.  Pray for this zeal in your spiritual life and you'll be very happy. 

How to Pray

        When you pray, take your time and mean what you say from the bottom of your heart.   After you have prayed, do not second-guess what God is going to do ~ just wait and let him surprise you.

Doubling Our Love

        The world is in turmoil.  There is no need for me to list all the terrible things happening daily in our own country and around the world.  Let's not make the situation any worse.  Show love always.  Christ said, "Blessed are the peacemakers."  Promote peace every chance you get. 

        Since Christ is loved so little and persecuted so much today, let's double our love for him to compensate for the lack of love from others.  This seems like a natural thing to do for all who truly love him.    

Holy Spirit the Surgeon

        We are usually apprehensive about having to undergo surgery, because the outcome is not always predictable.  Only cataract surgery was known as "happy surgery" since no one dies from it. 

        The Holy Spirit also operates on us by removing the "bad" parts of our soul, leaving behind a cleansed, purer soul.  I would call this Joyful Surgery.  Ask the Holy Spirit to operate on you if you feel the need.  Celebrate the occasion if grateful tears follow.          

Jesus The Shortcut

        I recall that quite some years ago, various news media reported that many celebrities went abroad to seek out spiritual gurus for guidance and fulfillment.  Yet Jesus, being the Way, the Truth, and the Life, was completely overlooked.  Was it because the pastures always look greener elsewhere?  Or was it because Christ had been around too long at home and was not exotic enough for them?  Perhaps they were looking for something less demanding and more palatable to their taste? 

        When I say Jesus is the shortcut, I mean he is right here in front of us, offering the instant and sure way to eternal life.  You don't need to travel thousands of miles to find someone who is seeking the truth himself.  Jesus preached away from his hometown area because local prophets were not appreciated for whatever reason, but let us not be blind and miss the greatest treasure shining before us.        

Quality over Quantity

        In serving God, it's best to do everything with care and love than trying to do too much.  If you try to do too many things, it could become self-serving and you risk getting burned or stressed out.  Since we are supposed to serve God in all the things we do, the principle then applies to doing anything.  (If someone asks you to do something that's not necessarily pleasant but would be helpful to someone, consider bypassing that person and doing it for God and you'll feel a lot better.)  

Dependence upon God

        This morning on my way to Mass, I came to sense my total dependence upon God.  If he does not sustain me by keeping my heart beating and my lungs pumping, I would be dead right now.  Everything I depend upon for my living, health, enjoyment, intellectual and spiritual growths ~ all come from God.  If he hadn't planted the thoughts I am expressing right now in my mind, I wouldn't have anything to enter today.  My eternal destiny depends upon the Lord.  This dependency is a fact, whether we are aware of it or not.  Believers, being little branches, receive further nourishment directly from Christ the vine.                  

        Once we realize the existence of this dependency, trust follows.  We now know that God is always there to support us, catch our fall, and keep us in his love without fail.      

Martha & Mary

        Today's reading from the Gospel is taken from Luke.  Jesus was welcomed by Martha.  Her sister Mary just sat beside Jesus at his feet listening to him speak.  Martha, burdened with much serving, complained to Jesus that Mary wasn't helping her.  Jesus pointed out to her that "Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

        The Lord made it clear that we need to spend time listening to him.  Since he is not physically present today, we need to do it through prayer.  Of course, there are many other things to take care of.  As long as we aim to please God by doing everything with our best effort and love, we are turning our doings into prayers.  This makes "praying unceasingly" possible.       

Pieces Fit Together

        (1) Jesus as God showed what the Father is like.  (2) Jesus as man showed what we should be like.  (3) Jesus asked us to be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect.

        So, imitate Jesus.

Being Hypocritical

        If we know what the word "lord" means, and we address Jesus as Lord but do not listen to him, then we are being hypocritical.        

No Time to Waste

        Obviously, God has a plan for each one of us.  Sometimes we think that God is not leading us anywhere because nothing "spectacular" is happening.  Well, maybe God just wants us to remain unknown and hidden.  We must be patient and wait for the Lord to lead us.  If we rush ahead, we'll end up wasting more time, and time is limited in our life.  By the way, the saints regard patience as a sign of holiness. 

        In today's society, we're easily conditioned to go, go, go, so we don't hear God speak and his plan for us is set back.  "No time to waste" doesn't mean that we hurry to do all kinds of things; it simply means we must seek and do God's will in the short lifetime we have.     

Looking Good

        For many, to look good before others is very important.  They spend much time looking at themselves in the mirror, keeping up with the latest fashion, shopping for name brands, etc.  If we are to live a balanced life, we should at least be equally concerned about "looking good" before God too.  

Another Paradox

        I posted two paradoxes on Dec. 2 last year.  Here's another beautiful one based upon Matthew 11, 25:  

        The more you believe like a mere child, the more God reveals to you what has been hidden from the learned and the clever.