St. John the Baptist said that he's not even worthy to carry Jesus' sandals, yet Jesus asked him to baptize him. Jesus is the Lord of all, yet he washed the feet of his disciples. He is my God, yet I can talk to him as if he's my brother. He is all holy and mighty and I am a wretched sinner, yet he offers himself to me daily in the Holy Eucharist. The Most Worthy died for the unworthy to save them ~ it just gets more and more amazing.
Friday, October 7, 2011
The Best Unity
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus said, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house." A divided nation will not have peace and a family disunited falls apart. It's very clear that strength comes from unity. Therefore, unite with the very best and mightiest and you'll have both strength and stability. How about union with the Lord?
A Joyful Situation
At morning Mass, I felt joyful that I may freely turn to God at any time and that God may freely draw me close to him at any time.
A Better View on Life
Again, I watched some of the videos on Steve Jobs online. One is titled "Death is life's best invention" (according to Jobs). His view was that since death is unavoidable, the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. This view worked well for him, but will not satisfy a true Christian because it does not offer hope, is somewhat vague and self-centered, and sounds more like a temporary fix. I might subscribe to his view if I didn't know of a loving God. Now I know that there is life after death and true satisfaction comes only from serving God selflessly.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Why Reject Jesus?
After sensing that Jesus is the life (read my last post), I realize that he can also forgive your sins, make you pure, heal all your interior wounds, help you kick all your bad habits, replace your worries and anxieties with freedom and peace ~ basically, transforming you into a brand new creature. If you still do not accept him, yet cannot say that he is all false, then you owe it to yourself to search your soul hard to find out why.
Jesus as the Life
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life." Today as I received the Lord in Holy Communion, I particularly sensed him as the life. He's not only sustaining my present life, but also breathing new life into me, preparing me for the eternal life. The Lord creates, rejuvenates and resurrects life.
Life Without God
I still recall the time when I lived just for myself and had some great times. Now I see that one instant of joy received from the Lord is better than a whole lifetime of good times enjoyed without him. In a nutshell: Life without God is ultimately empty.
Being Great Before God
Yesterday Steve Jobs of Apple died at the age of 56 and as expected, it was big news. Jobs was a gifted man with vision, one of the greats in the eyes of the world. His creative and innovative ideas had resulted in material products that benefit the world in many ways.
I started to ask God what is great in his eyes and how he measures successes. The answer I received was quite simple. We are great to God when we are humble and he measures our successes by how much we love him and others.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Our Wake-up Call
As I watched the news on TV this morning a little bit, I saw continuous reports on shooting, murder, court trial, government cover-up and scandals, Wall Street greed... All this should serve as a big wake-up call for us, for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6.23).
Making Surrender Easier
Rather than thinking that you must surrender first in order to have more of God, see that it's basically you desire more of God first, you remain open and God then draws you to him until you are all his.
The Greatest Revelation
That God is love and we are the objects of his love. How big is this love? John 3.16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." The answer is both incredible and shocking. Let's respond to this revelation appropriately.
Get the Real Life
At morning Mass, the priest started the Eucharistic Prayer with "In memory of his death and resurrection, we offer you, Father, this life-giving bread, this saving cup." I was instantly hit by the two adjectives, "life-giving" and "saving." Indeed, the Holy Eucharist, if properly understood and believed in, has the saving power and can give us the real life. This is not our present life in the world, but life everlasting with God in heaven.
Our Place Before God Ignored
The first verse from today's Entrance Antiphon from Esther: "O Lord, you have given everything its place in the world, and no one can make it otherwise." In the Gospel from Luke 11, Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer ~ this is the prayer that precisely defines our place before the Lord. It's sad that mankind in general today is ignorant of its God-given place and asserts its own independence apart from God, resulting in sinful thoughts, words, and deeds.
Monday, October 3, 2011
The Love Journey
The Communion verse at Mass, Lamentation 3.25: "The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to those who are searching for his love."
Looking for God is really a journey in search for love. There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of. At the end, you'll find love waiting for you. The reward is so great that you forget all the hardships and difficulties of your trip.
A Picture of Contrast
Just before Mass started this morning, this picture appeared in my mind. God is light and this light fills the whole universe. But those who do not know the Lord do not see the light because they are all blindfolded. They bump into each other and into walls as they move about and try vainly to lead others also blindfolded. In sum, they don't know what they are doing! Then those who know the Lord, basking in his glorious light, know exactly what they are doing as they go about doing God's will.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Heed God's Warning Now
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 21, Jesus tells the Parable of the Tenants to the chief priests and the elders of the people. At the end he says to them, "The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit." This is a warning to all who do not take the Lord seriously. It's so easy to go to bed and expect to wake up the next morning for another day, not at all thinking about God or your eternal destination; but there's always the probability that you may not see tomorrow. It's true that God's mercy is unlimited, but our lifetime is not. Heed the warning while we still can!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
To Be like St. Therese
Today is the Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. She is my beloved saint. I first read her The Story of a Soul and was deeply moved by her simple love and trust in Jesus. There's great joy in her childlike faith. Her Little Way shows that we can all be saints ~ this was eye-opening for me. I truly admire her.
At today's Mass, the Alleluia verse from Matthew 11: "Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom." And the Communion verse from Matthew 18: "Unless we change and become like little children, says the Lord, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven."
I am thinking of the ambitious, the well-educated, the sophisticated, the self-centered, the self-reliant, and the proud of today. How hard it would be for them to turn and become like little children! Then, of course, nothing is impossible for God.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Good to Be Humble
There are many people full of pride. They may be Catholics, other Christians, especially those who attack the Catholic Church, or atheists. Anyway, the more pride they have, the harder they'll fall in the end. As for the humble, they don't have this problem because they are already at the bottom and there's no place to go but up and the Lord will see to it that this happens in the end.
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