Loving Jesus First

        As I was doing a good job washing the dishes tonight, I was aware that I was doing it for Jesus.  Then he made me see that I must love him more than myself.  That is the way to freedom.  I believe that this is a truth that's clear to many, but following it could be hard. 

How to Feel Great

        To those who have not completely come to Christ and his Church yet, I offer the following thoughts.

        (1) It can be an awful feeling to be estranged from someone of your own family or anyone close to you.  I have known of cases in which a person near death finally wants to reconcile with those he's estranged from.  It's a great feeling to be back on good terms with everyone.

        (2) After you leave home for a while, you get homesick.  You finally return home and get that great home-sweet-home feeling ~ if doesn't matter much whether you have a shabby place or live in a magnificent palace.

        (3) I always feel good after taking a shower, shaving, combing my hair, and putting on some clean clothes.  You are now clean and well-groomed, feeling like a brand new person.  

        When you go all the way to Christ and his Church, you receive all three of these great feelings.  First, you are no longer estranged from God, more important than any of your family members.  Secondly, you know you have come home, your true home on earth and in heaven.  Thirdly, you will feel clean and renewed, beginning a new life in Christ.  Only God can make you feel this great.    

God Touches

        In the Gospel, we read about the woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.  She touched the clothes of Jesus and was healed.  I am thinking that in various ways the Lord touches us too, wanting to heal us.  Whenever I feel his holy presence, experience sudden joy, or want to do his will, he is touching me.  Most of all, as I receive him in Holy Communion, he touches my whole being to the extent that we become one.  The Lord in heaven unites fully with a soul on earth ~ what a glorious event! 

Happy and Free Is the One...

who seeks the will of God, finds it, understands it, embraces it, and does it with all his/her heart.   

Be Heavenward, Not Earthbound

        I caught a classical music program on TV, featuring the songs of Schumann, one of my favorite composers.  The music was great, singing beautiful, and the lyrics pure poetry.  Even though what I heard was enjoyable, somehow I felt that the whole thing was "earthbound."  And I realized that the experience provided only some momentary pleasure, nothing more.  On the other hand, God uplifts the heart heavenward and touches the soul at its deepest level, drawing you to him for all eternity!  There is just no comparison.   

Most Perfect Short Prayer

        The most perfect prayer is the Lord's Prayer, taught us by Jesus himself.  By extracting "Thy will be done" from the Lord's Prayer, I feel that I have the most perfect short prayer.  Saying it meaningfully requires our surrender to the Lord first.  To say it is to want to be in union with him.

Alleviating Jesus' Suffering

        As I was meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary after Mass, I felt sorrowful that I couldn't be there to alleviate in any way the suffering the Lord experienced on his way to Calvary.  Then he made me see that I still could do it now, since he still suffered.  Let's love him even more as the world spurns him!

Seeing One's True Worth

        Not knowing God can cause much unhappiness.  For example, you can feel lonely and become over-attached to a pet.  There are even men who spend thousands of dollars to buy a life-size silicone doll to be their make-belief wife.  Others feel self-pity or the emptiness of life and are driven to drink at the bar.  Jealousy, envy, anger, intolerance and the like are all symptoms of unhappiness.  

        The good news is that once you have established a good, close relationship with God, everything gets straightened out.  To me, the best part is not seeing that you are now a better or worse person, but that you are important to the Father and you are loved by him.        

Ousting Prejudice

        The Lord has shown me that I must not harbor prejudices within my heart.  If John the Baptist were to appear today, how would I view him?  Would I conclude that he is probably mad?  When Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth."  Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" That was prejudice, all right.  But there are often small preconceived notions quite subtle and not readily detectable.  For example, I felt less attracted to a saint solely because the name didn't sound as attractive as the names of some other saints (thank God I finally realized).  I am certain that many do not come to the Lord or his Church because they are prejudiced or have wrongly conceived notions.  We must always search the heart and ask the Lord to remove all prejudices, large or minute, so that we may discern clearly and do his will freely without impediment.     

Reason to Live (Back to Union)

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, we hear from Jesus the familiar "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."  To ask, to seek, to knock ~ this is what the Lord wants us to do to discover the love of God.  Not too long ago, the message was to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow him.  And Jesus wants us to not be anxious about tomorrow nor be afraid.  Of course, we must remain humble and not judge others.  There are just so many counsels to heed to.  

        All this brings me back to union with the Lord.  If we do become one with the Lord, then we'll be thinking and feeling like him.  We'll always ask for the right thing from God.  Since we are already in and with him, denying ourselves and following him are no longer issues to deal with.  And the cross becomes something to cherish and I suppose that we can find another word for it.  Freedom and peace of the heart ensues, and humility and compassion for others grow.  To seek union with God is to follow him all the way.  Along the way, complying with the Lord's requests will be taken care of.   

        When you receive the Lord in Holy Communion, it is the perfect time to seek union with him.  Let this physical union deepen the spiritual one each time.  This is indeed the reason for us to live. 

Fire of Love

        At Mass after receiving the Holy Eucharist, I felt that Jesus was the sweet fire of love, burning up all that's impure within the soul.  What remained was filled with his pure love.   

Some Random Thoughts

        In view of the possibility of a nuclear disaster in Japan due to the recent earthquake, it seems that God sets limits to how far we should explore on our own.  We discovered nuclear fission so we're able to build reactors as well as the bomb and look how much trouble it has gotten us into.  Maybe there are things we should not touch, like the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden.  I see cloning as one of these areas.  The Lord wants us to seek his will, listen to him and follow him, but mankind has taken off in the opposite direction, forgetting that we reap what we sow.           

        Looking at our earth, a relatively puny, round body in the universe.  It's covered mostly with water, so our continents are basically islands amidst the vast oceans.  We are like creatures marooned on these islands for a limited period of time ~ how then can we call these lands our home?  To just plan for a good education, a good job, and financial security for ourselves in the world but nothing beyond is sheer folly. 

See Jesus in Everyone

        Today's Gospel reading is from Matthew 25.  Jesus speaks of coming in glory to separate the sheep from the goats.  He makes it clear that he is in the hungry, the thirst, the stranger, the naked, the ill, and the imprisoned.  Whatever we did for one of these least ones, we did for him.  Such beautiful and powerful teaching from the Lord is again a cause for rejoicing.  

Listening to God Means...

not holding any of your own strong views; rather, it's letting God shape all your views. Listen well and you will speak well.  

How to Receive Joy

        Love and serve the Lord as if you don't even exist. 

On Fantasizing

        People fantasize to gratify themselves.  The one who knows the Lord lives in reality and is content and peaceful.  Therefore, the desire to fantasize no longer exists.  The joy of knowing God simply detaches one from all desires for self-gratification. 

The Loveliness of God

        After receiving the Lord in Holy Communion, I felt the loveliness of the Lord.  It's an indescribable loveliness only the heart can "see."  I know that God has created us so that our heart will not rest until it has found rest in him.  Now I believe that God has also created the heart for us to see his loveliness. 

Keeping Conscience Clear

        I went to vigil Mass today.  The first reading is taken from Genesis 2.  Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  So we all now have a conscience.  The thing is that as we sin more and more, our conscience gets muddy and dull.  But if we submit ourselves to God, the Holy Spirit will wash it clean and sharpen it to the point that we don't ever wish to offend God anymore.  With a clear conscience, we can bask in the glorious light of God, enjoying his presence.