The Complete Prayer

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus taught his disciple (gave us) the "Our Father."  This is a complete prayer ~ complete in the sense that it is perfect ~ you cannot possibly improve upon it.  The words teach clearly how we are to approach and relate to God.  This is the only prayer we need, a great prayer. 

A Revelation!!

        I really looked forward to going to Mass today.  I received the Lord just yesterday, so why did I feel so "excited" today?  Here's what happened.

        We read about how God spoke to Moses and other prophets in the old days, how various saints and mystics had visions and actually talked to Jesus, and how the Blessed Mother have appeared to many today.  I am sure that many of us have had the thought of wishing that we would experience something like that.  Perhaps it would be so uplifting and make us feel happier.  Well, today the Lord made me see that receiving the Holy Eucharist is a blessing on a level higher and more desirable than all those aforementioned experiences!  This was the first time it struck me this way.  All those experiences are external and are not intended to make us holy, but receiving the Lord himself is a total union that can truly transform us.  Wow! I am now totally content in the Lord.  (How I wish that those who do not believe, the addressees in my last post, would experience for one second what I am feeling and realize what they are missing!)  The Holy Eucharist is the Blessed Sacrament!  Receive it with love, adoration, and reverence as you would the Lord himself and you would be blessed abundantly.     

Ultimate Stupidity

        In my last post yesterday, Important Petition, I asked any of you out there to sign the petition to YouTube, requesting the removal of the videos that are offensive to Catholics (and to all God-fearing people in a way).  Here are a few words to those desecraters.  

        If you don't know God and want to find him ~ that's one thing.  If you don't know him, but you start to belittle, ridicule, or attack him ~ then what's the point??  Maybe you think that you do believe in God, but just don't like the Catholics.  Let me tell you then that you really do not know God at all, because God, being love, will never, never put hateful thoughts in our minds!  That's why I do not hate you ~ I just feel sorry for you being stupid.  What if there is a God?  What if the consecrated host and wine are indeed the true Body and blood of the Lord?  Go to a dictionary and look up the meaning of these words: desecration, profanation, sacrilege, blasphemy.  Does it ever occur to you that you might have committed all these terrible deeds?  What you've done will gain nothing for you; in fact, you may even lose your soul if you do not change.  Not even thinking of covering your own ass ~ that is the ultimate stupidity.    

God Knows Our Needs

        Today I went to morning Mass with nothing in mind to post on my blog.  Then during Mass, the Lord supplied so many thoughts that I had to jot them down on a blank piece of paper I carried lest I might forget.  This is proof that God always supplies what you need at the right time.  Praise be to him forever.

        I'll try to post them one by one in no particular order. 

Important Petition

        If you are for the Lord, then please sign the petition to ask YouTube to remove the offensive videos showing the desecration of the Holy Eucharist in various ways.  In the meantime, pray for God's mercy on those who do not know what they are doing, though they claim otherwise.  Spread this message if you can.  God bless you.
        http://catholicheritage.blogspot.com/2010/09/stop-host-desecration-e-petition-to.html

Let Us Be God's

        At the same church I attended this morning (see my last post), the Rosary group started to pray after Mass ended.  You could hear the members saying their petitions aloud at the beginning.  This went on for at least ten minutes and I heard every thing that's said.  Some of the things asked were somewhat insignificant, but others were more urgent.  Normally, if someone goes on telling you all these things for over ten minutes, you'll probably get annoyed or bored.  But here the listener was the Lord and these people were pouring their heart out to him ~ I was moved.

        From telling the Lord everything on their mind and heart, I started thinking that we really shouldn't stop there.  We must give God all we are and all we have.  Now, if everything (including us) did come from and belong to God, what is there for us to give?  It must be that we thought we owned them.  Therefore, all we need to do is to disown everything and the matter is settled.  This is the detachment that God wants to set us free.  Let what's God's be his.  And let us be his.      

Responding to God's Attention

        I attended Mass this morning at a different place, a church not quite a  20-minute drive away.  At Communion time, I realized that it's the same Lord I was going to receive, even though I was at a different location.  Then I realized that the Lord follows us everywhere.  Indeed, not for an instant do we ever lose his loving attention.    

        Some good questions to ask: If the Lord is always watching over us, do we at least glance in his direction a few times a day?  If he gives us 100% of his attention, do we reciprocate by giving him a few percent of of our attention?  To make any relationship work, it has to be a two-way thing.  

Choose the Better Part

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 10 is the familiar story about Martha and Mary.  Martha was busy doing the serving, while her sister Mary just sat at the feet of the Lord and listen to him speak.  When Mary complained, Jesus pointed out that "there is need of only one thing and Mary has chosen the better part."  

        It's clear that Jesus wants us to put my spiritual life, prayer life, ahead of all other chores we need to do in life.  If this lesson is a theorem, then one corollary would be to put the spiritual health of our heart ahead of our physical health and concerns about all other conditions of life.     

On Obeying the Lord

        The word that came to my mind this morning just before Mass was "obey."  To obey is to follow the Lord.  Actually, if you can do it, it's the easy way out.  To follow is always easier than to lead ~ you don't have to think anymore.  You are off the hook, so to speak.  The hard part here is to do it, that is, obeying the Lord.  Knowing that he will always lead you right should give you the confidence to get started. 

        The other part is to hear his voice so you can follow.  This morning during prayer before Mass I realized that even in silence, my mind was busily ticking away, dashing from one quick thought to another ~ it was like I was doing all the talking and questioning.  So I tried to empty the mind by not thinking about anything.  I just wanted to listen to the Lord.

        In reality, if you don't hear any strong voice from the Lord, you simply do your best to love him in the most humble way you see fit, knowing that you aim is to serve him.  If you have peace in your heart, then you know that you're on the right path.  The Gospel reading of today from Luke again reminded us to love the Lord with all our heart, all our being, all our strength, and all our mind.  If we are filled with love for God, we will be obedient to him.  This then is our starting point.  

The Gospel to Remain Intact

        Today is the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi.  In Reading 1 from Galatians 1, Paul strongly admonished those who went over to a different gospel.  He pointed out that the gospel he preached is not of human origin, but came through a revelation of Jesus Christ, and is not to be perverted.  He felt so strongly about this that he said that if anyone, even an angel from heaven, should preach a gospel other than the one he preached, let him be accursed!  With the additional example of St. Francis who adhered to the Gospel teachings, it just shows how important it is for us to keep the original gospel intact.  Times have changed, people say, but the gospel is not to be altered because it is divine revelation.  

The Eucharistic Difference

        Yesterday I attended morning Mass and later the Vigil Mass.  Receiving the Lord in Holy Communion twice in a day can be overwhelming.  The Communion experience goes way beyond maintaining a personal relationship with Christ, which is the goal of many Christians.  Of course, to know Christ, we must have a personal relationship with him.  But without the Holy Eucharist, this is as far as we can go.  It's the Holy Eucharist, the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, that draws us deep into him to become one ~ it's no longer two separate persons close together, but two persons in each other united.  How blessed and fortunate are those who recognize and take advantage of this great gift from God!    

No Cowardly Spirit

        Today's second reading is from 2 Tim 1.  Verse 7 reads "For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control."  

        Basically, I see that the Holy Spirit renews us, making us holy.  Since it's the guilty person who gets nervous and is timid, a holy one becomes fearless and strong with God on his side.   Naturally, the Spirit also makes you loving.  Be fearless and loving at the same time ~ this is how we are to deal with others, including our enemies.  As for self-control, once the Spirit takes over, we no longer need to exercise it since the Spirit is now in command. 

        Take full advantage of the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives us.     

We Are Limited

        In thanking God after receiving Holy Communion today, I felt that I wasn't able to thank him enough.  What I mean is that the heart wanted to thank him more, but I was at the limit of thinking of words and thoughts to express myself truthfully.  In the same way, in praising God, we can quickly run out of words to fully express ourselves ~ again, we feel the limitation.  Out of frustration, tongues starts to flow out of the mouth. Anyway, all this makes me realize more our limitations and that God is what we need to lean upon for all things.   

Let God Fill You

        In today's Responsorial Psalm, the response was: "Lord, let your face shine on me."  I pictured opening myself to God's shinging light, deleting whatever that's unclean or impure in me, and letting God fill the entire empty space of my soul.  This is not imagining things; you actually wish so and, of course, the good Lord sees it clearly and fulfills your desire with love.  He always wants to give you more and more, so long as you are open to him.     

Be Ready Now

        It's already Oct. 1 ~ time just marches on relentlessly.  We all keep getting closer to the time of judgment.  I don't mean to sound grim ~ it's just reality.  The urgency for us to stay alert, be prepared, for you know not when the Lord will be coming, becomes even more compelling with the passing of time.  "If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart" ~ the response to the Alleluia at Mass this morning.  To be ready, live as if this moment is your last.  Don't give anyone a chance to say "I told you so" to you later. 

St. Therese of the Child Jesus

        Today is the Memorial of this beloved saint of many. Here is a link to her Act of Oblation to Merciful Love she recited on June 11, 1895, to God: https://stpaulcenter.com/the-act-of-oblation-to-merciful-love/  She was twenty-two at the time.

Jesus the True God

        I woke up in bed around 2 a.m. this morning.  In the dark stillness, my mind was drawn immediately to Jesus.  I started thinking that here's someone I've never met in person and was here on earth some 2,000 years ago, in a region far away from where I reside now; yet, among all the people I know, he is the  one closest to my heart and most intimate to my soul.  I don't believe this kind of relationship exists in any other religion.  I wasn't ever brain-washed, nor was I under any kind of spell.  No one has  pressured me into this relationship, which I am free to sever anytime I wish.  And I am not alone, knowing that there are many, many others feeling the same way.  The only conclusion I could come to is that I have encountered the True God in Jesus.

Trying God Last

        Just saw someone on TV saying how yoga helps him live a balanced, holistic life and all that.  This is fine, but it just struck me why people always try God last in times of need.  If we say that we believe in God, then is it right to set him aside, feeling that we don't need him to "interfere," until we are in a jam or some desperate situation?  To ignore anyone's presence amounts to an insult, let alone that someone is God.  If you wish to establish an intimate relationship with God, then the first step to take would be to stop ignoring him.  Remember: "Draw God in," not "leave him out."