"Never Say No to God"

        Before Mass this morning, I heard myself saying "Never say no to God" in my mind.  In the Gospel reading later from Luke 11, Jesus says, "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."  It's clear that staying neutral would not be a good choice.  This is in line with Jesus' dislike for lukewarmness.  "Never say no to God" should take care of that.

Carry Your Own Cross

        This morning as I was praying the fourth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary, the Carrying of the Cross, I felt that the least we could do was to carry our own daily, little crosses, following the Lord with his big, heavy cross on his shoulder.  Know that every time we are not willing to carry a cross of our own, Jesus feels that extra weight on him.

Are You Your Own Obstacle?

        The way to eternal life is simple.  All you need to do is surrender yourself to God through Christ.  That's it!  The hard part is doing the part.  Guess what?  The only obstacle that stands in your way is yourself.  Basically, you face choosing either yourself or God.  It's simple all the way. 

The Holy Eucharist Again

        The Holy Eucharist is Jesus on earth and is to be worshiped, adored, reverenced, treasured, loved and appreciated.  It is the center of our faith.  Without it, there would be no real need to have priests and thus no Church.  Then why is receiving Holy Communion treated almost like an afterthought by so many?  Why isn't there more zeal and joy among the faithful (clergy included)?  Why are there so few on fire to serve the Lord?  Why do so many skip Mass?  Why  are most attendants at Mass elders (especially in some European countries)?  Why do so many Catholics ignore the teachings of the Church when they vote in elections?  Why are so many Catholics easily lured away by other denominations and sects?  These are all good questions.

        I personally believe that if the significance and the place of the Holy Eucharist is properly taught and understood by all, the above-mentioned problems will diminish or disappear.  To love the Holy Eucharist is to love Christ.    

Journey to Freedom

        Another realization that came to me was that people live for themselves in this world because they think that this is the only life to live.  If this were true, I don't blame them because I would do the same thing.  Once a person has come to know God and realize that there is definitely an eternal life after death, then he begins to live for God more and himself less.  It's all very logical.  The process could take time, but it's a journey to freedom. 

        

Look Within

        The Lord showed me today that even though external sources can give one much guidance and help, it's most profitable to searh within one's own heart first.  Look within your innermost self to see what you really desire, what really troubles you (if applicable), how you really feel.  Learn as much as you can about yourself, asking the Holy Spirit to illuminate your heart for you to see.  Be completely honest with yourself, then you'll be honest with the Lord too.   

Praying Together with Jesus

        Once you have received the Lord, you know that he is in you.  Therefore, when you pray, you would ask for the same things Jesus would have asked.  Now you and Jesus pray together with one mind and one heart to the same Father.  What could be more beautiful?? 

Everything Is Grace

        I talked about this in an earlier post.  Yesterday I worked in the garden and had an accident.  I ended up with a bad cut on my head and bled a lot.  I was calm and remembered that "everything is grace" as St. Therese said.  So let's be aware that everything that happens to us, whether good or bad (from the human point of view), is an opportunity for us to be drawn close to God.  Now, let things happen.  The more, the "merrier."

Every Effort Counts

        Recently from the news we learned that Bill Gate and Warren Buffett gave billions for various good causes.  Sometimes we feel that we are too feeble or powerless to make any great contributions.  Let's not forget the story of the poor widow who gave two copper coins as her offering and Jesus valued that above the offering made by the rich out of their surplus.  Little acts can mean a lot to God if they are carried out with love and sacrifice.  And do not pass up any opportunity of doing things for the glory of God, no matter how little and simple they are.  Every effort counts before God.   

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.