Jesus Challenges Us.

        In the same story of the paralytic, Jesus actually forgave the man's sins first.  Then, knowing what the scribes and Pharisees were thinking in their hearts, to show that he truly had the authority to forgive sins, he ordered the man to rise, pick up his stretcher, and go home as well. The crowd was astonished and struck with awe. Who wouldn't be?  Our Lord is authoritative, knows everything and exactly what he's doing.  He is absolutely unique among all the religious leaders in history.  If he is not truly God, then he must be the biggest liar who has ever lived.  Again, Jesus challenges us. 

Faith Must Shine

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 5: A paralyzed man on a stretcher, not being able to get through the crowd to get to Jesus, was lowered through the tiles on the roof into the middle in front of the Lord. He made quite a dramatic entrance. Jesus healed him because he demonstrated his great faith. We too must let our faith shine in every way at every opportunity we get. 

The Beauty of Christ

        The beauty of Christ is not merely perceived through the senses, not even sensed by the heart; it is etched in the soul of the one who's deeply in love with the Lord.

A Way to Remain Humble

        Looking at our great Creator and realizing how small and imperfect we are is an effective way to keep us humble.

God's Love Frees Us

        God is real, not empty talk.  Christ had come and finished his work of salvation; God had demonstrated his unconditional love for us.  How can we not love God?  I believe it's because of our self-love.  We need to be loved and put ourselves in place of God to love ourselves.  What does that accomplish?  Nothing, because it's a dead end ~ it just shuts God's love out of our life.  It's by replacing this self-love with God's love that we can break out of our self-isolation and be set free, for God is greater than us.  By letting in God's love, we become greater too.  

Most Importance Relationship

        For each of us, there is a whole list of things, such as our health, our house, etc., that  we want to maintain in good condition for as long as we live. What should be at the top of every list is "Our relationship with God." This should be of first importance to us, for a bad relationship with God invariably turns life into a shambles.

God Is Freedom

        Today is the Memorial of St. Francis Xavier.  At Mass, somehow St. Francis of Assisi entered my mind and I felt the great freedom he felt when he gave up all his worldly possessions to follow Christ. Indeed, letting go in God and freedom are synonymous.   

The Unavoidable Meeting

        As one past post mentioned, there are many who are greatly interested in Jesus' Second Coming.  Whether it's seeing the Lord then if we are still alive or facing him after we die, it's all about meeting with him ~ that unavoidable, critical moment of either great joy or great sorrow.   Let's get ready for that meeting while we still have time.      

Transforming Life into a Joy

        Life is full of ups and downs and it's the downs that usually get us.  Most recently, a married couple, our friends, is on the verge of breaking up, causing severe emotional stress to themselves and others.  We all experience pains, disappointment, suffer losses of various kinds, receive unfair treatments...  Peoples in many other countries face even more and greater disruptions and dangers of life.  It seems that life is good only temporarily in all those intervals between the "down" moments.  This is reality!  What can you expect when you throw billions of sinners together on a relatively small planet?  So it comes down to how we are to deal with life.  Personally, I believe that believing "Christ is the way" is the way to go.  By following him in this life, we are actually preparing ourselves to live the heavenly life with him for all eternity.  This is how we transform our present life into a joy.       

Lessons for the Troubled Heart

        I've been praying and listening hard because of the burden I mentioned last time. And I have learned the following.

        (1) God does not want us to be affected by any false accusations we face. Don't ever let lies upset your composure. Only what God thinks of you matters.

        (2) If your heart is troubled, go deep into the Lord. Center on him alone and obey him in all things, then you are ready to face any unknown.  

        (3) Any time is the time to start following the will of God. It's never too late to put your trust in him. This is the way to get you out of any mess you're in in time.

        (5) No matter what, never harbor any hatred, bitterness, or resentment toward others.  The peace of God needs to be preserved in your heart for you to hear the Lord speak and for you to be able to think clearly.

        All the above may seem hard to accomplish, but our God is God of the impossible!

    

First Burden of December

        On this first day of December, I have a quite weighty matter on my heart, so I am praying deeply for directions from God. I know which way I would go if I were without faith. But now I must seek God's will no matter how difficult it may turn out to be.  One thing I want to be sure is that whatever action I take will draw those involved (who don't have much faith in God in this case) closer to him or at least not make them go further away from him. May the Lord provide me with discernment and strength.   

Reaping What I Didn't Sow

        When we get to go to school, especially college, we must appreciate the fact that all the knowledge and information that have been found and discovered during the prior thousands of years are there for us to acquire and absorb. In a relatively short time, we are able to reap what we really did not sow, in a way.   

        These thoughts made me think of the good news of salvation that had been revealed to us by Jesus Christ. I feel so blessed that when I was born, the good news was already here.  Everything I needed to know for living a good life and securing eternal life afterwards was laid open before me.  In this case, it's truly reaping everything I did not sow because God had done it all!

Called for a Reason

        Today is the Feast of St. Andrew, apostle. He was one of the first disciples called by Jesus to follow him. Jesus then called the others one by one. When the Lord saw Nathanael, he said, “Here is a true Israelite.  There is no duplicity in him.” Jesus knows each one of us inside out.  When he calls us to follow him, it is for a definite reason and we must respond immediately as the early apostles did.  Following Christ is the most exhilarating, fulfilling, and rewarding life you can possibly lead. 

Jesus Is Our Joy!

        Jesus is already the way, the truth, and the life for us.  In addition, he is the light of the world.  My heart was filled with great joy after receiving him in the Holy Eucharist this morning.  To me now, he is also the joy of the world, our joy.  In him, joy overcomes all sorrows.

Road to Freedom

        No one can set himself free ~ only God can set us free.  Surrender to God to embark on the road to freedom. 

To Be Truly Classy

        There are many vain people in this world who go for name brands. They wear expensive name-brand watches, name-brand coats, and even name-brand underwear. (Speaking of underwear, I will never buy the Calvin Klein brand only because of the company's indecent, sexy ads featuring young, semi-nude men and women.) These wearers think that they are classy, even though others don't think so, let alone what God thinks.  To be truly classy in a class of its own, be pure and humble before the Lord. One is truly classy only when God thinks so. 

Sin Can Be a Curse

        Earlier today, I posted "Sin Is a Blessing." This is true only if you realize that sin is bad. Otherwise, it'd be more like a curse.  When I see someone committing a sin, even a small one, I feel sorrowful because nothing we do can escape God; later that person will have to account for that transgression. Today's Gospel message from Mark 13 is relevant: "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come."

My Greatest Blessing

        No doubt about it ~ it is that God had called me through his Divine Son Jesus.  It is the greatest because there's absolutely nothing else that could possibly benifit me more. It resolved the riddle of my life forever.  Jesus' saying "The truth will set you free" turned out to be true!