To Know God Directly

        Today's Alleluia verse from Mass reads: "Receive the word of God, not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God."  The more you listen to the word of God, the more you come to know God.  Of course, the direct way to know God is to go straight to Jesus.  Read about him in the Gospels and pray to him unceasingly.  Most and best of all, receive him reverently in the Holy Eucharist.  Once you achieve deep union with him, you will know that you know him.  You and God are now one. 

God Is...

infinite, everlasting, what he claims to be: "I am," and then some.  To complete the picture, we must not forget that he is also Love. 

Obedience Is Beautiful

        God is beautiful and it follows that following him is also beautiful.  The best way to carry this out is to be obedient to him. 

        In today's reading from Hebrew 1, Paul tells us that God spoke to us through the Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe.  This is a complete turnabout from his early days during which he persecuted Christians relentlessly.  Then Jesus called and he obeyed.  Again, in the Gospel reading from Mark 1, Jesus calls Simon, Andrew, James, and John to become fishers of men and they obey him by dropping everything right there and then to follow him.  

        Obedience to God leads to eternal life, while rebellion against him brings on eternal separation from him.  Learn to say yes the moment God calls and he'll fill your heart with joy and peace.

Self-Consciousness Is Self-Centeredness

        Earlier today I said something quite normal (nothing extraordinary) in the presence of others and was self-conscious about it; immediately afterwards, I realized that I was still self-centered because I cared about what others thought of me.  I should be solely concerned about what God alone thinks of me.  If doing his will causes others to misunderstand or even laugh at me, so be it.  The self must decrease to nothing before God. 

        Later, the homily at today's Mass (Feast of the Baptism of the Lord) confirmed this.  The priest emphasized that "we are not to fall into the trap of always thinking what I can do, but to concentrate on our relationship with God."  We must get our priorities right.

God Fills "Nothing"

        An afterthought to the last post.  To be nothing before God makes us empty, and we are ready to let God wipe out our sins and fill us with his love and graces. 

"Nothing" Is Beautiful

        We are merely instruments in God's scheme and are nothing before him.  All glory should go to God alone.  Many in our world seek fame and fight for recognition; they love to bask in the honor and glory bestowed upon them by other worldlings.  By contrast, to be able to humble oneself to become "nothing" before God is downright refreshing and truly beautiful before him. 

An Ego Test

        If you feel hurt or get upset when someone misunderstands or blames you and you really haven't done anything wrong, then you still have some of that ego in you. Here's a chance to ask God to crush it for you to remain peaceful.

Planned Parenthood Exposed

        At http://www.UnplannedWebcast.com, you can register to hear Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director, talk about her new book "Unplanned."  The webcast has been scheduled for next Monday, Jan. 10 at 9 PM Eastern (8 PM Central, 7 PM Mountain, 6 PM Pacific) and the book is coming out the following day.  She is going to reveal the shocking details of what she saw inside the abortion business...and why she resigned her job and joined the pro-life movement.  This should be a huge event.  Watch it if you can and tell others about the webcast and the book too.

Doing God's Will

        This thought came to me today.  I could very well do only what I feel like doing, take control of my life and be just myself.  I may even achieve something in this world, making a name for myself and even benefiting others as a result.  I could really enjoy my own "freedom," even though I may have to fight many battles along the way on my own.  Well, I used to think and live that way.  Now I see clearly that if I were to go through all my life like that and do not change to become a holier person before God, then I shall have wasted all my time on earth.  In other words, I busy myself all life and end up being still the same old me (or possibly a lot worse).  

        Doing one small will of God is infinitely more meaningful and meritorious than doing one million wills of my own.  I am happy that by God's grace, I had come to realize this truth. 

The Depth of God

        I had sensed the great beauty and sheer perfection of God in the past.  Today at Mass I sensed the awesome depth of God.  I would like to remain deep in him, learn from him, and draw all I need from this depth.  I believe that if I continue searching and exploring in it, I'll discover even more treasures, wonders, and be amazed.  There is unlimited power in this depth for us to tap.  God is all we need, more than sufficient for us.  I could even say that God is too much of a good thing for us.  Thanks be to Jesus for revealing the Father to us. 

Distributing God's Love

        This is kind of a sequel to the last post.  Since God loved us first, we can think of ourselves as empty vessels, continuously filled to the brim with God's love, as we distribute this love to others as needed.  This should help us remember that we are not the source of this love, but merely channels of it.

God First Loved Us

        St. John reminds us today that we love God because he first loved us (1 John 4.19).  It's easy to think that we do his will because we love him, whereas the right reason for doing his will is because he loves us.  It's his love that makes us love him back and love others. 

Connect or Reconnect to God

        We adults forget most of the things that happened to us in life when we were at a very young age, but certain things do stick in our mind.  I still remember vividly when I was perhaps around six, the time I went over to a person sitting in a chair in the kitchen at home ~ she's not even a member of the family, but she was very endearing to me.  I walked over to her, sat on the edge of the seat between her legs, and leaned back on her.  She  didn't even try to hold me, but I felt so good and secure just being with her, touching her ~ there was definitely a connection there.

        This was how I felt this morning during prayer before Mass.  Now I have God the Father holding me close to him, letting me know that I am his and I belong to him. This was such a rock-solid, good feeling that only God can provide.  What the world needs is love and the sense of belonging ~ there are so many lonely and lost souls out there. They need to connect or reconnect to God, so that they'll know where to go and to belong.

Do You Really Know Jesus?

        At the Last Supper, when Philip asked Jesus to show them (the disciples) the Father, Jesus responded, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip?  Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?"

        This makes me think that we could be a follower of Jesus for a long time, hear him preached every Sunday at church, read many books about him, participate in parish activities, and still do not know him or the Father.  To avoid this pitfall, seek total union with the Lord.

Small Pain, Big Gain

        Today's Communion verse, Matthew 19.29: "Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life."
        This greatly helps me in giving up certain things in life.

St. John on Love

        I love St. John, the Apostle.  His writings are simple, clear, and to the point.  In today's Mass reading from 1 John 4, he makes it clear that

        (1) we have not seen God, but if we love one another, God remains in us,

        (2) God has given us his Holy Spirit so that we know that we remain in him and he in us,

        (3) God is love and this love is brought to perfection among us who remain in him,

        (4) love and fear are mutually exclusive.  One who fears is not yet perfect in love. 

        St. John here gives us much food for thought.  To those who are still afraid of the physical death, let me say that nothing can match the power of God's love.  Let this love fill you to leave no room for any fear.

God Can Do It!

        First of all, nothing is impossible with God; and if God is love, he must be reasonable always.  I think we can all agree to that, unless you are an atheist. 

        It's clear that Jesus wants us to be holy, humble, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, and as loving as he is ~ this has to be totally possible or he would not have asked (demanded) of us.  If you say "I cannot do it," you are right; but God can do it!  With this all settled in your mind, steam full speed ahead with your spiritual growth.

I Shall Live Forever!

        The Communion verse at today's Mass is John 6.51: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."  What's stated is crystal clear (unless you don't listen or just try to figure out what you think it should mean).  I know I am going to live forever, not because I am extra holy or arrogant in any way, but because I trust in what Jesus had said plainly.  I believe that the bread he had given us in the Holy Eucharist is his flesh and I do eat this bread at Mass every time.  Therefore, I shall live forever as he had promised.