The Rich & the Poor

        I don't classify myself as either a conservative or a liberal ~ I just follow the ways and teachings of Christ.  Here are some of my thoughts on the current Wall Street protest movement.

        There is nothing wrong with getting rich, but there is a lot wrong if the rich forget that what they have all came from God and that they have the obligation to aid the poor.  Why do the CEOs of large corporations earn millions in salary and bonuses, even when the company is losing money in some cases?  How much do you really need to live comfortably?  Last time General Electric made a profit around 16 billion dollars and didn't have to pay a cent in income tax.  It seems to me that they could have given away at least 1/16 of that amount to some good causes.  Even the CEO of American Boy Scouts earns over a million in salary and compensation! The president of the non-profit American Red Cross is well paid too ~ over $650,000 a year in salary ~ this fact alone probably keeps many from wanting to donate to the organization.

        As for the poor, if they are not holier than the rich, they will be just like the present rich once they become rich, and the situation is no better.  Basically, if we do not believe in God and do not let God change us, nothing will fundamentally change.  Mark my words.      

Barrier to Full Union

        Today is the Memorial of the great St. Teresa of Jesus, so the subject of self-surrender to God comes to my mind.  Since God is the Lord and Creator of all things and we are merely his creatures, just by common sense we see that our only role is to surrender ourselves to him ~ I just don't see any other logical alternative for us.  Many of us do believe in God, turn to him, pray to him, do works for his glory, and receive graces from him, but we still have not given ourselves over to him completely.  As long as there is still that last barrier between God and us, it will be an obstacle to achieving full spiritual union with him.

God Knows All About Me!

        I know that God loves me, but yesterday I felt good when I realized that God knows all about me.  He knows my thoughts before I express them; he knows my heart, seeing everything in it; he totally understands me more than I could understand myself.  With all this knowledge about me, surely he would know exactly how to guide me, and I'll never be lonely again.  

        This morning's Gospel reading from Luke 12 confirms my thoughts. Some excerpts: "There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.  Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?  Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.  Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.  Do not be afraid.  You are worth more than many sparrows."

Christ Has Come!

        During Eucharistic Prayer at Mass this morning, the memorial acclamation said was: "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again."  Of course, Christ will come again, but what struck me was that he has already come and we must dwell on that and not be so concerned about when he will come again.  As far as I am concerned, he comes to me every time I receive Holy Communion.

Enjoy God Fully

        God is our Father.  God is love ~ he sacrificed his own Son in our place to save us.  He is all mercy and only wants to give us the very best both in this life and the next.  When we receive the Holy Eucharist, he enters us and becomes united with us ~ we're now in each other.  Therefore, enjoy God as much as possible all the days of your life. 

Stages of Spiritual Growth

        These stages can overlap somewhat:
        (1) You believe in Jesus.
        (2) You get to know Jesus.

        (3) You fall in love with Jesus.

Freeing the Free Will

        As long as you still need to exercise your free will to choose the good or the bad, you are not free.  When your will and God's will become one, then there's no need to exercise your free will anymore ~ both you and your free will are now free.    

Worse Sinful Condition

        It is bad enough that you are in sin.  What's worse is that you don't even look at your sin, treating it as if it's not there.  To ignore sin is to ignore eternal life.

Most Intimate, Personal Moment

        The Most Holy Sacrament, the Holy Eucharist, is not held in high esteem by many.  They'd rather sleep late, catch the game on TV, or go fishing than attending Sunday Mass to receive the bread of life from heaven.  How sad that they really don't know the Lord!  How foolish that they "ignore" the very God who made them out of love! 

        Know that the most intimate, personal moment you can ever have is the moment right after you receive Christ in the Holy Eucharist when you and God alone are united as one.

How Near Is Peace?

        The news happening around the world is getting worse each day.  What saddens me the most today is that child sacrifice is still a business in Uganda and the perpetrators are not even placed under police arrest.  Elsewhere we hear assassinations, murders, protests, mutual accusations and threats among the nations...  Back home, ambitious, egoistic, insincere, and unethical politicians place their own interests ahead those of the nation.       

        As long as we leave God out of the picture and do not repent and become humble, there will be no peace for us.  All peace starts with peace in our heart ~ it's that simple.

Truth of Jesus Realized

        After receiving Holy Communion at Mass today, in a instant I realized that the Lord is totally true.

Action Makes the Difference

        Jesus stresses the importance of hearing his word and acting on it so that we may bear fruit. After you hear the word preached in the homily at Sunday Mass, do you act upon it at all? Or your conscience tells you that you should do something and you only go as far as agreeing with it? The Protestants claim that we are justified by faith alone, while we Catholics believe that works are necessary too. In reality, if you truly believe in God, good works automatically follow ~ you can't help it. At any rate, whether you act or not after hearing the word of God makes the big difference. It results in the difference between being a nominal Christian and being a true disciple of Christ.

Our Best Assignment

        Athletes hoping to win an Olympic medal train long hours every day for years.  I know musicians who live for music; if you take away their music, they'd rather die.  Then there are high school students who set their minds on entering Harvard or Stanford, and business persons determined to make a fortune before they are 30 or 40.  Such single-mindedness, such determination, such dedication!  But to whom will the Olympic medal be awarded?  When life is over, will your music still be around?  Will Harvard or Stanford and making a fortune make you truly happy?  If you want to do all these things without involving God, then I'd say that you are basically self-centered.

        Jesus wants us to love our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength ~ here is the best assignment for us!  Replace all your worldly goals with loving God and you'll never regret the outcome.

Opposite States of Existence

        Surrendering to God lifts one to the highest, most wholesome, and realistic state of existence.  At the opposite end, one lives in a transitory, "dream" world, lost and without real hope.  Today's economic woes are our number one concern; but even if every single citizen makes a million dollars a year, as long as we exclude God and remain immoral, we will not be happier nor have peace in our hearts.  

How to Love the Lord

        If you yearn for God, then you must love him.  The way to let the Lord know that you love him is to love others.  You must conquer yourself first so that you become fit to love.  Start practicing with your own family or others close to you.

Union with God Best

        At Mass this morning, the Lord made me see that every moment we live without being aware of him is a moment lost forever.  We should cling to God for dear life because our lives are truly in danger without him.  The best solution is to seek union with him, then we'll be safe and secure in his hands now and forever.

Why I'm Catholic, Steve Ray's Website

        I lost my link list and am unable to start another one using the gadget.  I suspect (not believe) that it's because I have Internet Explorer 9 as my browser and Google is forcing us to switch to Chrome.  Anyway, a website I'd like to recommend is Steve Ray's: http://whyiamcatholic.com/.  I read Steve's book Crossing the Tiber a few years back and have enjoyed watching his presentations Footprints of God on EWTN.  Yesterday I saw him on Marcus Grodi's Journey Home, also on EWTN ~ he was a joy to watch as he was articulate, fluent, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and filled with joy.  So I went on his website Why I'm Catholic and found it to be full of beautiful conversion stories ~ a site as articulate and joyful as Steve himself.

Accepting God's Invitation to Be Chosen

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 22, Jesus told the parable of The Wedding Banquet and pointed out at the end: "Many are invited, but few are chosen."  It starts out beautifully, but ends on a rather sad note. Good questions to ask ourselves are: "Am I invited?" and "If so, am I chosen?"  I want to be a chosen one in the hope of changing the statement to "Many are invited and many are chosen" so as to give more joy to the Lord.