A Plethora of God's Gifts

        If you believe, love, and trust in God with all your heart, you will receive at least the following ten gifts from him:  (1) joy, (2) peace, (3) freedom of the heart, (4) patience, (5) courage, (6) humility, (7) compassion for others, (8) discernment of God's will, (9) detachment from the world, and (10) purity of heart.

        In The Fulfillment of All Desire, Ralph Martin, the fruits of union with God include (1) freedom from self-concern and fear of what others will think, (2) a pure heart, (3) an immense fortitude in the service of love, (4) continual prayer, (5) finding joy in everything, (5) rediscovery of the creation in God ~ seeing it as it truly is, (6) heightened sense of seeing good and evil, (7) deep, solid, interior calm, (8) constant peace and joy, (9) the experience of the almost continual presence of God, (10) being dead to every selfish impulse, (11) enjoying habitual sweetness and tranquility, (12) inebriation in the Holy Spirit. 

        All the above and more can be yours, if you so desire.

       

A Great Feeling

        Knowing that God is using you to serve him in some manner.

Are You Really Following God?

        It's easy not to follow God when you are intent on serving him.  Here are just a few examples.

        (1) You start on a project without praying about it.

        (2) You want to be in control of the project.

        (3) You try to do the work all by yourself.

        (4) You feel good when others see or notice what you are doing.

        (5) You are excited about an idea and want to get started right away.

        (6) You are so anxious to serve God that you neglect your family duties.       

Jesus Is the One

        Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.  I looked back in my last post.  If I look back even further to my conversion, I saw how I came upon Jesus, found him attractive, and accepted him as Lord and Saviour.  Over the many years, it was I who was reluctant to go all out to follow him.  He remains forever the same; so, basically, we ourselves determine how much benefit we receive from following him.  (We reap what we sow.)  

        Now that I have willed to go all the way and started tasting the sweet fruit of the spiritual life, I can tell you without a doubt that Jesus is exactly what he claimed to be ~ you needn't look for another.  He warned us that after him there would come many false prophets.  He had already revealed to us all the truths we need to know.  To look for any other who claims to have received new revelations from God amounts to rejecting God.           

Looking Back

        This is sort of a landmark post as I look back.  Before I started this blog, I already felt that I must let the Holy Eucharist occupy a prominent spot in my life.  I should not receive Holy Communion because I am a Catholic and go to Mass, instead I should go to Mass because I want to receive Christ in Holy Communion. I also came across and read The Fulfillment of All Desire by Ralph Martin, a book I mentioned in an earlier post.  Union with God is the end of the journey to God; and if you read about it in that book, you'll want to reach that state of peace and joy.  Gradually, as I received the Lord at daily Mass, I knew that the Holy Eucharist has the power to bring one to full union with God.
        After I started my blog, I wasn't sure where I was going; I just let the Holy Spirit lead.  Now I see that the objective of this blog is to lead as many as possible to union with God through the Holy Eucharist.  What happens from here?  I don't know and am not concerned about it.  Like the Apostles we must get off our duff and follow the Master the moment he calls.  We may have questions, but we do not ask.  The missions of the Apostles were not made clear until after the Resurrection of the Lord.  It doesn't matter what comes next because we follow a most trustworthy guide.  

Sequel to Last Post

        In view of the understanding of our part in God's scheme, to know that we were created in God's image makes even more sense.  Like him, God made us know what love means.  Since God is love, we should be able to understand him.  Hopefully, we will all fall in love with him as is his will.

Why God Created Us

        Last night I was thinking about God's love, then the Holy Spirit made me see something new (and big for me). 

        If God had not created us, then nothing else he had created ~ animals, plants, rocks, stars... ~ would ever know about his love.  Therefore, God created us so that he could be made known to be love.  This means that we are so very special, being indispensable partners to him in his intention.  With this overwhelming realization, we should never see ourselves quite the same again.  The Church is absolutely right in teaching that God created us to know and love him.

Rejoice If God Calls You

        In today's Gospel from Matthew 4, Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James, and John to follow him to become fishers of men and they immediately obeyed.  If you know that God has called you too, then you have a great cause for rejoicing.  What a special gift it is that he has picked you out among the multitude and called you by your name to follow him personally!!!

God Knows Our Heart

        I got called away this morning, so I wasn't able to go to Mass and there didn't seem to be any thoughts to share.  Then I caught part of the EWTN program Reasons for Our Hope, hosted by Rosalind Moss.  If you haven't read about Rosalind, you must find her conversion story and read it, as she is so full of love for Christ and inspiring.  She was a Jew, found Christ, became a evangelical first, and then finally a Catholic.  It must be extra sweet for her to realize that Christ, one of her own, was actually the Messiah her people had been waiting for.  So she became a fulfilled Jew, not a convert like the Gentiles. 

        On this show I caught her saying "God knows our heart" (when she's talking about how the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to tell him that his wife Elizabeth would bear him a son and Zechariah disbelieved).   That is an extra sweet statement to me.  We all like to be understood.  Here the Lord, almighty and loving, knows everything that's going on in our heart, mind, and soul ~ how good and comforting it is!  One more thing to rejoice about. 

Let the Holy Eucharist Seal...

your love for, trust in, obedience to, and inseparableness from God.

On Living Secretly

        The last post dealt with two opposites, one bad and one good.  Here are two more:

        (1) You live secretly in yourself, not letting God or anyone else know about it.

        (2) You live secretly in God, not letting yourself or anyone else know about it. 

On Escaping from God

        This morning the word "escape" came into my mind after I got up.  I saw that so many of us in this world try to escape from God by ignoring his presence or pretending that he's not there.  At Mass today, the Memorial of St. Agnes, the Entrance we read was "Here is a wise and faithful virgin who went with lighted lamp to meet her Lord."  This is just the opposite of escaping from God.  The antonym of "wise" is, of course, "foolish."  Those who live as if God does not exist are indeed fools.     

On Martyrdom

      Today St. Fabian and St. Sebastian share the same Memorial (optional) day; both suffered martyrdom.  We may not suffer physical death because of our faith, but we can be martyrs too in many other ways.  St. Therese of Lisieux is a perfect example.  Her "little way" calls for doing everything faithfully for the glory of God.  To put your own will to death is then a form of martyrdom, not less valued by God.  Anyway, the important thing is to do God's will and not be concerned about what form martyrdom takes.  

"Touch and Be Healed"

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 3, those from the crowd who had diseases pressed upon Jesus to touch him, since he had cured many.  "Touch (with faith) and be healed" is what I hear.  Receiving the Blessed Sacrament is more than just touching him, so don't pass up this golden opportunity to ask the Lord to heal whatever needs to be healed in you.   

Avoid Being Self-Centered

        The other day I had a chance to share some of my spiritual thoughts with a group of people and it went over fine.  Then I thought of more thoughts and shared them too.  You see, that was the moment I took my eyes off the Lord and became self-centered.  The result was that overall it looked like I was wandering from one topic to another.  To be blunt about it, I messed up.  

        The lesson is that as long as we stay with the Lord, we should do fine; but if we decide to do our own thing, self-centeredness takes over.  It's that simple.  I might add that the difference is between glorifying God and serving ourselves.  Learn to distinguish the two from each other.

Move On with God

        This is what the Holy Spirit taught me today during prayer after Mass.

        Never look back.  Never let the past snare you, hang on to you, or slow you down.  Never ever start thinking "I should have..."  The past is gone, so move on.  Start every moment with a clean slate.  Know that the Lord God is ever with you and around you.  In fact, he dwells within you (the Holy Trinity all present).  And God is our Bright Hope, shining and leading us on, so focus upon him alone and follow. 

        Do not follow your own whims or desires, even though it may appear harmless.  Seek God's approval first always.  Also, God does not send gloom into our hearts, only peace and joy; so, open your heart to only what comes from the Lord. 

        Note: The above was not made up to make you feel good; it was heartfelt and  truthful sharing.     

Jesus Is Our Test

        Jesus has come, revealed himself, demonstrated his love, and has done his part. He never showed himself off nor threatened us; he merely presented himself as the truth.  Whether we accept or reject him is all up to us.  We can never accuse him of coercing us in any way.  Therefore, he is a completely fair test for us.  We alone are responsible for our choice.             

The Proud Will Not See God

        The Gospel reading today is from Mark 3.  The Pharisees were so intent on finding a way to accuse Jesus and their hearts so hardened that even after witnessing the instant healing of a man's withered hand, they went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians to put him to death.  They had already made up their mind and closed their eyes.  We still have plenty of people like that today.  It only shows that the proud will never find God.