Looking Good Naked

        Some more thoughts follow the last posting.  No one who ever questioned or tried to trick Jesus had ever succeeded.  Being omnipotent, he has the advantage of knowing our minds and hearts in advance better than we know ourselves.  Being aware of this fact can sharpen our conscience and help us become holy.  As I remember, I said once before: we are completely naked before God and have absolutely no way of hiding ourselves in any way.  So take full advantage of this by making ourselves look good before him.  

Jesus Has Full Authority

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 21, the chief priests and the elders of the people questioned Jesus' authority.  (They were always trying to test or trap him.)  Of course, the Lord knew exactly how to foil such attempts by turning the table on them. 

        Jesus, being Lord of all things, has full authority to do whatever he wishes.  If we accept this, then we must accept all the teachings of his church, our Catholic Faith.  If we do not accept certain teaching(s), then we basically pit our own "authority" against that of Jesus.  To want to stand on the same side as the Lord, we have no choice but to obey all his teachings as taught through his church.      

Christ the Light of the World

        Jesus is the light of the world.  And sin is darkness.  Where there is light, darkness vanishes.  A sinner who's willing to let Christ shine upon him will be brought out of darkness into light, while anyone who turns away from him will remain in darkness.  As Christmas approaches, my prayer is that the whole world will turn to Christ to bathe in his divine light for all sins to vanish forever. 

How Often Do You Think of the Lord?

        When I ask myself this question, I almost want to cry.  I used to not think of the Lord so much, even at Mass.  That was some time ago.  It's easy to spend time doing the many mundane, routine chores.  So many hours spent just to maintain the house, the yard, etc., and so much time wasted on watching meaningless TV shows.  Those were the hours squandered and lost forever.  God just wasn't that important.  On a 1-to-10 scale, where do you rate his importance to you?  Any number below 10 is doing him injustice.

        With his grace, God can draw us close to him and we gradually think of him more and more.  Then finally, we enjoy his presence so much that we cannot think of anything else but him.  This is fulfillment.                

Let God Lift Us Up

        People love to talk about something that happened and impressed them.  They often retell the story or experience over and over again to others.  The thing is that when we dwell on  one thing like that, our hearts get weighed down and become "leaden."  What we should do is to always lift our thoughts up to God ~ before, during, and after any event.  This is so to keep our hearts light and free.  Let the beauty of God's love replace all our heavy, non-beneficial thoughts.  This post echoes an earlier one titled "We Are What We Think."         

God Repays Us Justly

        Today's Communion antiphon reads: "I am coming quickly, says the Lord, and will repay each man according to his deeds."  It all seems clear and logical to me.  There are good and evil in this world.  And we have a just God who repays each person according to his deeds.  That is, we get exactly what we deserve ~ how can you object to that?  God's mercy rules.  This makes life meaningful.

A Form of Judging

        Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11 shows that people at the time formed wrong opinions about both John the Baptist and Jesus.  John came neither eating nor drinking and they said that he's possessed by a demon.  Jesus came eating and drinking and they said that he's a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.  It shows how people had preconceived notions and formed subjective opinions without knowing all the facts.  This is still true and common today.  To me, it is a form of judging against which Jesus advised. 

Total Dependence upon God

        This was what I was made aware of as I drove to Mass this morning.  I saw that the road I was driving on, the car I am driving, the growing trees that line the road on both sides, the clouds above, etc. ~ everything around me and myself included ~ were all absolutely dependent upon God.  This awareness freed me, humbled me, and puts me in my right place before God.  As I drove to Mass, I knew that the Holy Eucharist I was to receive soon would again be what I was to depend upon spiritually for nourishment and support.  

           

Stopping Habitual Sinning

        One way to stop committing habitual venial sins is to picture that every time you commit such a sin, you prick the Lord with a sharp needle point.  It may not hurt too much, but it still hurts.  Imagine how much he suffers if you offend him this way day after day and year after year.  If you have any heart, you should avoid hurting him at all costs.  After all, he is your Savior!     

Live in God's Time

        Let's face it: we'll never be able to do all the things we'd like to do nor finish doing the many things we've started on in our lifetime.  Recognizing and accepting this fact will alleviate or eliminate our anxieties we normally feel.  We simply do our very best and leave the outcome to God ~ that's what he expects.  To go beyond that is being prideful.  Let all things be done in God's time.  Yes, patience is a sign of holiniss.    

Total Submission to God

        At Breaking of the Bread during Mass today, as usual all prayed "Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us" twice, then "Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: grant us peace."  I just felt that that's the perfect moment to submit myself totally to God.  Without his mercy, I wouldn't be able to survive; and without God, I wouldn't be able to gain true peace. 

Our Living Faith

         Since Jesus actually came into this world ~ the Gospels clearly record his life and his teachings have been handed down from the Apostles through the centuries to us, unbroken ~ our faith in him is a concrete, living faith.  Life is the arena in which we practice this faith and also the crucible in which this faith gets tested and honed.  See every happening in our life as a chance to exercise and perfect this faith, a God-given gift more precious than any material thing we can own or even our own life, for life without faith is emptiness.     

Mary's Cooperation

        Another thought on this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

        Adam and Eve disobeyed God and went astray.  Through Mary, the new Eve, Christ came to us and we were brought back to God.  We who believe are no longer lost.  The circle is now complete.  How blessed we are!  Thanks be to God.  Thank you, Mother, for your cooperation. 

Our Special Role

        Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Our Holy Mother is obviously a specially-favored creature chosen by God to carry out his plan.  Let's not forget that each one of us is given a special role in God's plan too, not so prominent but just as important in God's eyes.  We must do our utmost to fulfill our assigned function or duty, which is revealed to us through God's love and our loving him back.       

Love Must Rule

        1 Corinthians 13, 13: So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.  Indeed, it is because God is love and there's nothing greater than God.  Anything done without love is ultimately empty.  It struck me today that even being pure is still being neutral.  To get into positive territory, we must actively love.                 

Prepare the Way of the Lord

        Today is the Memorial of St. Ambrose.  In Reading 1 from Isaiah 40, we hear "A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!  Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!"  This was before Jesus came into the world.  This same verse is still relevant because now he comes to us each time we receive him in the Holy Eucharist.  The desert and the wasteland are now us and we must prepare ourselves properly so that the Lord may find us easy and comfortable to enter.

 

The Presence of the Lord

        The Lord is present everywhere in our universe.  Receiving the body and blood in the Holy Eucharist particularly makes me aware of his holy presence.  You'll have to have a heart made of stone not to be affected by it.  Once you experience his loving presence, you'll want to give your heart to him and you'll never be the same again.

God Always Helps

        Any time I have something troubling me, I go to the Lord ~ I know that he has a solution for me; in fact, for any problem you may have ~ no doubt about it!  But sometimes you do have to search your heart hard to get in touch with the Holy Spirit dwelling deep within you to find the solution.  This is "fun" because you know that you'll have peace when you receive the answer.  Often the situation doesn't change externally ~ the Holy Spirit simply helps you perceive the problem correctly and shows you how to deal with it.  God is always understanding and reasonable.  He loves to help us if only we'll trust him.  You can never lose with his help.