"Pessimistic Christian"

        Another oxymoron here.  A true Christian places all his hope in God.  Being hopeful in God, he remains optimistic.  Placing his faith in God, he leaves all subsequent events to God.  Since he sees afterlife as a continuation of the present life, his vision is longrange, keeping him upbeat.  Suffering, OK; being pessimistic, NoK. 

The Christian Edge

        When you see others distressed, you comfort them by asking what's the worst that could possibly happen.  If they are not going to lose their life, then you tell them not to worry about it ~ right?  But we Christians have a edge here because even we die, it's OK ~ we get to be with the Lord in paradise ~ right?  Right.

A Judgment Experience (video)

        Here's the story of Fr. Steven Scheier as told to Mother Angelica on EWTN.

        The video plays for just over 40 minutes, but it's well worth watching.  The story reinforces the knowledge that God's mercy is so wide, broad, and deep in scope that if you are still an atheist or not a true believer and keep going your own way and end up at the wrong destination, you have only yourself to blame.  God has bent forwards, backwards, and sideways, to the point of sacrificing his own beloved Son to save us, exactly what more do you expect him to do?

        One last thought.  People will pay to buy a lottery ticket, hoping to gain financial security in this life when the odds of winning are so slim that you're more likely to be killed by lightning, yet they are not willing to accept the free mercy offered by God to win eternal life.  You figure that out.

"All Up to You"

        Instead of saying "Thy will be done" at the end of prayer, I find it easier to say "I leave it all up to you."  This immediately frees me because now it's the Lord's turn to make the move.         

Holy Spirit, the Teacher Extraordinaire

        I posted earlier about God the psychiatrist, now I want to say something about Holy Spirit the teacher extraordinaire.  The Holy Spirit teaches with love.  Other teachers lecture to the brain, but the Holy Spirit whispers to the heart.  Other teachers force you to reason, but the Holy Spirit gently infuses sublime knowledge of God into your soul.   All other good teachers demand you to do rigorous homework for you to learn, but the Holy Spirit only needs you to remain passive and recollected to be enlightened.  Best of all, the Holy Spirit already knows your heart and will always give you what's best for you to know.     

Remarkable Lord

        It struck me today that one most impressive, remarkable, and beautiful trait of Jesus is his humility.  He is God with infinite power and knowledge, yet he never once did anything to show himself off ~ every word and action were motivated by love and compassion.  He is Lord, but never lord it over us.  I rejoice that I have such a one to be my Lord.     

Concern for the Soul

        Early this morning the electricity went out and the whole neighborhood went dark.  It's the absence of light that made me think of "death."  I thought of all the people who leave a will behind before they die.  I pray that people will realize that it's so much more important to be concerned about where their souls are heading after death when they are still alive than about how their previous material possessions are going to be disposed of when they are not even around.

Live Every Moment

        In the older days when I was spiritually a lot less mature, I wasn't always happy at my job and felt that I didn't get to do what I really wanted to do in life.  I didn't exactly enjoy getting out of bed every morning to face the day ~ same old routine again!  Looking in the mirror I saw that I was getting older and older.  I asked myself, "What have I accomplished?"  

        Like most people, I lived for certain events.  For example: my upcoming vacation, Super Bowl on TV (for sports fans), the party at a friend's house this weekend, or the break coming up for me to finish making my storage chest.  I just looked forward to such events so much that it seemed that I basically lived for them and filled the in-between spaces with chunks of my tedious life.  I could see that this could go on easily for the rest of my life.  It's clear that this is not the way to live. 

        Now I am happy that with God's help I am living every moment instead of from event to event.  I don't need special events to keep me going; I am resting in God every moment of my life.  I am free to leave this world anytime.  To love and possess God is to be in heaven already.  It's just a matter of (short) time before the real heaven appears.  Events in life offer no hope of any kind; they merely provide temporary escapes.  Living for them is no better than going to a bar to get drunk to forget.  Live for God, the Truth, alone and you will know that you are truly living.
        (My apology for using "I" so many times in this post.)

Pure Is Best

        If I am asked to be holy, it seems to be a tall order.  Where and how do I start?  There must be a whole list of things for me to do. 

        Here's the good news.  Try to become pure, and you will be holy as well.  Ask the Holy Spirit to make your heart pure, then your thoughts, words, and actions will automatically come out pure.  When you are pure, your are clean, and you'll have peace in your heart and be fragrant before the Lord.  So, be pure and let the Lord love you.

         

Most Wonderful Relationship

        This morning I was thinking about the fear of the Lord being a good thing.  Perhaps in some other religion(s), the fear of God or god(s) is a scary thing.  But Christians, acknowledging themselves as sinners and knowing that God is all holy, fear God more out of respect and love than out of true fear.   Jesus has come and shown us that God is our most loving Father and we, as his adopted sons and daughters, can approach (run to) him without fear as long as we have the proper attitude.  This is a most wonderful relationship that's, shall I say, made in heaven.        

Be Liberated

        All things belong to God.  Think about it: what can be considered yours alone?  Even yourself belong to God, for no one comes into the world on his own, knowing where and when he was to be born.  Everything you have now was already here or made from things already existing.  Not a thing has your name stamped on it that says it's yours forever.  We'll all be gone soon and not be able to hold onto any material things.  Even non-material things such as love, appreciation of natural beauty, etc., belong to God, for he made us in his image in the first place.  When you are aware of this truth, you become immediately liberated!!!  There's no need to be attached to things that are transient, to fight for things that cannot truly be yours anyway, or to get uptight about not being able to get something you want.  You will always have God's love and that is more than sufficient.

        A footnote: All things include the people you know.        

Spreading the Good News

        St. Matthew, whose feast is today, after preaching the gospel to Jewish communities in Judea for 15 years, traveled to Gentile nations and spread the gospel to the Ethiopians, Macedonians, Persians, and Parthians.  He died as a martyr in Ethiopia.  This made me think that we who follow Christ should regard evangelizing as our full-time job, whether at home, at work, or traveling somewhere. 
        Normally, I am happy not to leave home, but last time I went on a cruise, which is usually boring, after I found out that there's daily Mass on-board and saw the trip as an opportunity to evangelize, as some of the friends going along were non-believers.  It turned out that the priest's room was right across the aisle from mine and I got to assist him at Mass.  Then one couple was very receptive to Catholicism when the chance came up to spread the good news of Jesus with them.  This alone made the trip worthwhile.                

Do You Need Jesus?

        Today is the Feast of St. Matthew.  From Matthew 9: Jesus spoke in Matthew's home for the Pharisees to hear, "People who are in good health do not need a doctor; sick people do... I have come to call, not the self-righteous, but sinners."  So if you believe that you are not spiritually sick and is not a sinner, then you don't need Jesus. 

Eucharistic Power

        The Holy Eucharist is the bread of life, the bread from heaven, and the body of the Lord.  It is the source of all graces, the source of power to transform us into new creatures like Christ himself.  Never take this holy sacrament without expecting that the Holy Spirit is going to lead you to new spiritual heights.

Be Humble and Proud

        You can mix humility and pride as long as the latter is of the justifiable kind that doesn't stem from the feeling of self-importance.

        St. John the Baptist didn't feel fit to stoop and untie the sandal straps of Jesus.  We are not worthy to receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist.  But since he did institute this sacrament specifically for our reception to remember him, we are to override our feeling of unworthiness to receive him.  God's wishes should always come first.  In fact, only his wishes, not ours, should prevail.

        Jesus wants us to be shining lights in the world.  Therefore, we must proudly "show off" our light by example for all to see, never to be ashamed of the Lord and what he has done for us.  This is holy pride.           

Be Empty to Be Filled

        Thoughts before Mass this morning.  If we don't empty ourselves first, how can the Lord enter?  Therefore, empty yourself to let the Holy Spirit occupy every cubic inch of you to refresh and renew you so that Jesus may enter and dwell within you with complete freedom to do what he wishes.  You'd feel good knowing that the Lord is happy to be united with you.       

Clinging to Jesus

        Today I feel that I am clinging to Jesus for dear life, even though I am not facing any danger or crisis.  This makes me feel that the Lord is going to carry me through anything coming my way.  I know that he is totally dependable ~ clinging to him through thick and thin is absolutely what he wants us all to do, as the Gospel messages make it clear.  Therefore, cling to him first before facing the world.

Appearing "Right" Before the Lord

        Today during prayer before morning Mass, the Lord made me see the importance of appearing "right" before him ~ "right" in the sense of being appropriate and presentable. 

        The Gospel reading is Parable of the Sower from Luke 8.  So I saw that to be right, I must first of all keep and cherish the word of God after I hear it.  I must be in a state of grace, at peace with myself, and content in this world.  Again, the key to achieving such a state is to let go in God, to trust and relax in his love, in contrast to forging ahead headstrong on our own without getting a nod from the Lord first or even looking in his direction.  We must always follow the Lord to let him do his work through us.