How Good to Be Penitent!

         Today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo.  I felt particularly good when we were doing the Penitential Rite, confessing to God that "I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do..." ~ it just seemed so fitting for us to confess to the Lord.  He has the power and is ever ready to free us by making us pure.  It's as if we have a safety net ready to catch us at any moment.  Let us be prodigal sons or daughters returning to the Father.  We can only go wrong if we stay away from him.    

Proof of Truth

        The more you believe in Jesus, the more you find him beautiful.  To me, this is the proof of truth.

How to Live Today

        From today's Reading 1 from Romans 14 at Mass: "We shall all stand before the judgment seat of God . . . each of us shall give an account of himself to God."  Like death, this is unavoidable and is as it should be. You've heard that we should live as if today is the last day of our life ~ it's equally valid or even more immediate to say that we should live as if today is the day of our judgment before God.

Sin Has No Place

        As a Eucharistic minister, I sometimes have to get consecrated hosts from the tabernacle to visit those who are not able to attend Mass at church.  When kneeling before the open tabernacle, I really feel the presence of the Lord.  If I am sitting in the very back of the church, far away from the tabernacle, I just do not get that same intense feeling.  This morning at Mass, the Lord made me see that this was merely psychological and that it's erroneous to think that his Holy Presence is only limited to the tabernacle area or the interior of the church; in fact, he is present everywhere, transcending space.  Therefore, sin has no place anywhere.      

Clear-Cut Message

        Today is All Soul's Day.  In the Gospel reading from John 6, Jesus spoke to the crowds, "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day."  The message just can't get any more clear-cut!

An Exclusive Relationship

        When we pray to God, don't expect things to change, but expect God to change them.  Trust God alone, not people.  Do God's will only and not follow anyone else.  Praise only God.  Do everything through him, for he is our agent.

Live and die for God.  Remember that it's always between you and him.

Salvation Most Beautiful

        This is the first day of September, appropriately the Solemnity of All Saints.  The readings of the Mass were extraordinarily beautiful:

        (1) Reading 1 from Revelation 7.  

        A great multitude from every nation, race, people, and tongue stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.  They cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb."  [We need salvation, yes, and God provides just that!]

        One of the elders spoke up, "These wearing white robes are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb."  [The precious Blood of Jesus has made our robes snow white!]

        (2) Reading 2 from 1 John 3.

        Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.  We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.  [Pure souls in all white robes!]

        (3) Gospel reading from Matthew 5.

        On the mountain the Lord taught the Beatitudes.  [What beautiful teaching!  Let's live these sayings and we'll be amply blessed.]

        Last, the pastor reminded us that we are eternal!  We don't just die and become nothing.  Do we want to live afterward eternally with God or not?  This is to be settled while there's still earthly life in us. 

Two Beautiful Situations to Be In!

        (1) Praying to the Lord with all your heart and then trusting in him with all your heart.

        (2) Letting the Holy Spirit move you before you take each step.

The Coming-Home Process

        When I first accept Christ into my life, I searched for a Christian church to join.  I knew there's the Catholic Church, but since there were just so many more Protestant churches around, it seemed that the Catholic Church was an oddball among the many Christian churches. As a brand new convert, I just didn't know much ~ a Christian church is a Christian church. I even looked into Christian Science. Once I found a friendly church with a pastor that gave good sermons, I joined and became a member.  I was happy, so I just never wondered why the various Protestant churches belonged to different denominations or if there was an original church that started from the time of Christ.  Happy people are content where they are and don't search or look elsewhere. It's only after I noticed some of the questionable practices and disunity among the Protestant denominations that I began looking outside Protestantism.  I believe that's how it happens to most Protestants who have come home to the Catholic (meaning all-embracing) Church.  The oddball church, usually the last choice on the would-be convert's list, turns out to be the one and only choice.     

Responding to God

        In today's Reading 1 at Mass from Romans 11,  Paul writes: "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!"  After I heard that, it struck me that God is truly awesome that to exalt ourselves before him would be sheer folly and the only sensible course for us to take is to remain humble and obedient, period! 

Interior Freedom Matters

        Today I saw hundreds of sea gulls circling in the sky with great ease and freedom.  The sight made me wish that I could fly too.  Ironically, it happened over a large prison facilities with all the inmates housed in massive concrete buildings with narrow windows that looked almost like slits.  I asked myself if I preferred physical freedom over imprisonment.  The answer: One choice is not necessarily better than the other if one doesn't have any interior freedom in the Lord.  In fact, there are inmates who are grateful that imprisonment has brought them back to God.  Being imprisoned with interior freedom is definitely better than being outside of prison without interior peace. 

Formula for Spiritual Success

       I am reading the Gospel from Matthew 23 for tomorrow's Sunday Mass in preparation for a service I'll be conducting.  In it Jesus says, "Whoever exalts himself  will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."  Here is the formula for spiritual success.  If I exalt myself, I may win some temporary admirers, but I'll never win any hearts.  I'll never be content either, for discontent is the reason for self-exaltation.  The very reason we follow and adore the Lord is because he is humble and meek and he serves others.  The Lord knows how to win hearts, so let's listen to him.  

God to Be Accepted in Toto

        It comes to my mind again today that we must accept God in toto.  Truth is truth only because it's true as a whole.  If we accept God in all, then we must likewise accept the Church he built upon Peter, our Catholic faith, and her teachings.  Thus, to accept only certain teachings and reject others is to not believe that God is the whole truth.

On the Road to Suicide?

        Patrick Buchanan's new book is entitled Suicide of a Super Power: Will America survive to 2025?  I have not read the book nor am I a follower of Buchanan ~ the title just caught my attention.  I remember that in the 50's in Ohio, most people didn't even lock their front doors when they went out.  Those who'd been divorced kept it quiet because it's not something to let everyone know about.  Look at today how bad crimes are and how people go on TV to tell all the sordid details of their lives.  We have come a long (wrong) way in a short time.  Abortion is now legal.  Couples living together is nothing to be ashamed of.  The latest news ~ Catholic University of America is being sued by one individual over having crucifixes on classroom walls considered to be "offensive" to the Muslim students.  What ridiculous charges next?  The alarming fact is that one frivolous person can now make all the rest suffer.  People are becoming gods ~ is this what freedom is all about?  We are now absolutely in a moral crisis.  You'd better believe that this nation is well on the road to suicide!  God is our last and only hope, but it's hypocritical to ask God to bless us when we really don't have any true desire to repent and return to him.  It's not too late to turn around, but the time is getting short.

The Love of Christ

        In today's first reading from Romans 8, Paul is convinced that nothing can possibly separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  He's very emphatic about this and I am willing to go along with him.  Knowing that someone cares for you is always a consolation.  Knowing that God loves you should bring great elation to the heart!  The gift of the Holy Eucharist instituted by the Lord affirms his love for us, and I received it this morning with a special joy and appreciation.  Would that the world were aware of the everlasting love of Christ for us!  

Existing for God

        In the dark and quiet of the night when I am awake with nothing to distract or disturb me, I particularly sense the presence of the Lord.  I can easily contemplate him, pray to him, tell him what's in my heart, or just ask him questions. 

        Now, in darkness imagine that all that is around you is gone ~ the bed, the whole house, the earth, and all the stars.  What's left is just you in the empty space, which is nothing.  In the absence of gravitational pulls, you become weightless.  There are absolutely zero reference points around you, so the question whether you're stationary or moving is pointless.  The only thing you're aware of is that you exist, as a point in nothingness.  Since God transcends both time and space, it's also pointless to ask where he is at any time.  He is the alpha and omega.  He simply exists, so he is present everywhere at all times.  Without God we are truly lost in space and exist for nothing.  On the other hand, with God we can celebrate our existence, for we have God to exist for ~ our best reason for living.                       

A Better Traveling Picture

        These thoughts are a continuation of my post yesterday, Just Passing Through.  I see the Father in heaven as the goal of my journey, my destination.  The Holy Spirit is my GPS as I travel forward.  The Mass I attend is a stop for rest along the way.  At each stop, Jesus refuels and invigorates me.  As long as I don't look back, it should be smooth sailing all the way. 

Just Passing Through

        Today I was standing in my home living room and realized that one day I wouldn't be seen in this room (or the entire house for that matter) anymore.  I clearly saw that I was just passing through and I resolved to travel light, not to let any baggage weigh me down on my journey.  I recalled that when Jesus sent out the seventy-two on their mission, he told them to carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals (Luke 10).