Jesus Restores Happiness

        I saw myself in a mirror this morning.  When you look at yourself, it's good to ask if you see a person that is truly happy.  If not, then you probably have been shaped too much by the world and need Jesus to lift you up.  As St. Bonaventure explains: "Happiness is nothing other than the enjoyment of the highest good.  Since the highest good is above, no one can be made happy unless he rises above himself.  But we cannot rise above ourselves unless a higher power lifts us up.  Divine aid is needed, and is available to those who seek it from their hearts humbly and devoutly through prayer."   

Preparing to Bear Fruit

        Today's Gospel reading is from Matthew 13, the parable of the sower, given by the Lord describing how various people receive or react to the word of the kingdom.  My own reaction is to open myself completely to him, to be receptive to his word, letting him sow or pluck whatever he wishes in my heart.  The soil must be properly prepared before it can bear fruit and yield manyfold.

         

How Not to Judge Others

        Jesus tells us not to judge others.  Can we form opinions about them?  Can we criticize them constructively?  Can we correct our brothers and sisters for their own good?  I believe that the answer is yes to all these questions if we do it without diminishing our love for them.  If someone bothers or disturbs us and we look down on or even feel less compassion for the person, then that's judging.  It follows that if we don't judge, we retain our inner peace.  This, I believe, is the way the Lord intends.  

All About Love

        After finishing reading Julian of Norwich Showings, I have become extra aware that Jesus came into the world to reveal to us that God is love.  That is, all of God is love.  This is the central message.  This is basically the definition of God.  He created everything out of love.  He loves us.  He loves us so much that he wants us to love him back, and he provides us with this love to do it.  Love leads us to eternal happiness.  Love is the answer to peace on this earth.  To love is to do God's will.  To love is to be free.  It's all so clear now!  Let's follow love, our God, to complete both his joy and ours.   

Ideal Hiding Place

        Hide in Jesus so that when others see you, they'll see the Lord.

Jesus, Our Joy

        This morning at Mass, I particularly felt that "Jesus is my joy."  We are both awaiting the day when we'll meet face to face.  

The Lord Deserves Our Best

        You may want to save money by not getting the best things for yourself or just do minimum to patch things up to get by, but when it comes to do something for the Lord, you must absolutely do your best to give him the very best  because he deserves it.  After all, all good things come from him.  Even when you do a little thing like washing some dishes for love of him, do it with total dedication and love and you'll be rewarded with peace and joy.    

On Doing God's Will

        If you picture God's will as water flowing downstream in a river, then not doing his will is like struggling in the water trying to go upstream ~ you'll either end up exhausted going nowhere or loose your footing and be swept helplessly downstream.  The one who does God's will flows downstream with the water effortlessly and even has time to enjoy the sceneries along the way.  Once you go along with the Lord, you'll be surprised to find that you are really a natural because he does it all for you.  Surrender to God and find out for yourself.

Consecration to the Sacred Heart

        To die in Christ in this life is to live with him in the next.  I saw this truth at morning Mass.  After the celebration was over, I did the Act of Consecration to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque's version).  I now anticipate that the Lord is going to make my already-beautiful spiritual journey even more beautiful. 

On Desiring Eternal Life

        Is desiring eternal life being selfish?  It seems so, but God wants us to have eternal life!  Therefore, desiring it actually conforms to his will.  It is wrong only if you desire it more than you desire God.  The right approach is to desire (love) God alone, then you'll get eternal life at the end as well. 

God's Everlasting Love

        God loves us with a constant love that never changes.  When we sin, we just sadden him ~ his love remains the same.  When we do his will, we make him happy ~ his love still remains the same.  In other words, he cannot possibly love us any more or less.  Being aware of this should give us both consolation and confidence.

Union Leads to Strength

        Jesus said, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or house divided against itself will stand."  In other words, unity produces strength.  And we all know that.  So if we are in union with the Lord, then we'll have maximum strength since the Lord stands forever.

God Is Fair and Just

        This morning as I was having some dry cereal for breakfast, I thought of all the plants that provided the ingredients and the labor involved in making the cereal.  And I saw that God provides everything we need to live in this world, but they don't just fall into our lap from the sky ~ we must hunt to get the meat, plant to get the veggies, and work for everything else.  This is all fair and just.  

        Now, when it comes to eternal life, there's nothing we could do on our own to get that.  God knows it and this time he provides everything.  All we need to do is to accept what he has provided us, his Son Jesus.  Again, fair and just.       

Pray and Trust

        I pray hard for a number of people I know and care about.  Sometimes I get discouraged because nothing seems to happen.  Again, reading Julian of Norwich, I learned that it is the Lord's who made us pray ~ he initiated our prayers and shall answer them in due time.  It's true that my prayers are all for his glory.  In other words, we should pray wholeheartedly and trust wholeheartedly too.  

God Shall Prevail

         The Lord runs the universe, sustaining all lives.  Nothing can happen without his permission.  Even sins provide the chance for us to become victorious over them.  Jesus has completed his work of salvation by dying on the cross for us.  He is still doing wonders today ~ converting us, healing us, warning us, giving us joy...  God shall always prevail and there is nothing you can do about it.  The fact that the world is in such a bad shape is because we mess it up sinning.  The wise should start believing and following the Lord right now.  To do otherwise is to ignore the inevitable reality. 

Ego vs. God

        Ego is something that's easy to live with because it makes you feel important, but at the same time it can make you lose peace or even feel miserable.  If you let ego be your guide, then it's a foregone conclusion that you won't ever find happiness in this world.  I think the person with the ego knows it, but breaking that sticky bond by human power alone is usually hopeless. 

        God, on the other hand, is seemingly not easy to live with and can make you feel uncomfortable too when ego gets in the way.  But once you get to know God, he becomes a pure joy and grants you peace and freedom of the heart.  You are no longer a slave to your ego, for God can purge it as much as you wish.  Again, this is true.

Abandonment to Love

        I am thinking about the tremendous love of Jesus for us, a love so great that we cannot possibly imagine.  This love practically swallows up all our troubles and problems ~ that is, nothing matters anymore under such love.  Let us abandon ourselves to this love. 

Finding Rest in Jesus

        Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11 was about the yoke of the Lord being easy and his burden light.  We who are disciples share the same sorrows and carry the same burdens as the Lord and find great consolation in that.  The sorrows turn sweet and the burdens are lightened.  In the case that a sorrow is caused by ourselves, the Lord even removes it completely.  He is our rest.