The Way to Evangelize

        St. Stephen was stoned to death when he was spreading the gospel. He simply wanted to share the good news, not trying to shove it down others' throat. Contrast this with someone who pussyfoots around, so afraid of "offending" others' feelings ~ it's almost like being ashamed of God. The way to evangelize is to be filled with love for others, follow the Holy Spirit's lead and not let your own will get in the way. Then leave the outcome to God without any concern, not even for your own life.  

To Be Absorbed by God

        After receiving Communion, I keenly sensed that only God is important and I am basically nothing, like a particle of dust. It's entirely fitting for me to become truly nothing before the Lord and be absorbed by him entirely.

Don't Miss Surrendering

        During Communion time, I saw another chance to surrender myself to the Lord. Now, suppose God appears before you and calls you by name, how would you respond? Under such circumstances, I should think that total surrender would be the only option. Therefore, I saw that it's entirely fitting for me to surrender once again before receiving Holy Communion. After we die, the chance for surrendering is gone too.

 

Showing Our Trust

        Today is the Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr. As he was stoned, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."  Jesus himself before he breathed his last cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit." It strikes me that it would be most suitable for us to commend our spirit into God's hands at any moment to show that we do trust in him with confidence.

Planning Ahead

        Since the Lord is all-knowing, every little thing you do for him will earn its reward. So, little by little, store up your treasures in heaven.  

The Christian Vocation

        Posted on YouTube is a video titled Reaching Beyond... It is about Irena Orlov, a pianist who came from Russia via Israel to the United States, teaching now at the Levine School of Music. She is an inspiring, admired, and loved music teacher to her students, their parents, and her colleagues. She has the gift of making all her students, both talented and not quite talented, open up to and fall in love with music. Even psychiatric patients responded to her intuitive approach using music. Hence she's also known as a music therapist. She is happy because she has found her vocation which benefits and helps others.

        I start to think about vocation for anyone who follows Christ. Normally, the choice between being a religious and being a lay person comes up. Then I realize that the vocation for every Christian should be loving the Lord with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength ~ nothing more. Blessed indeed is the one who should choose such an exalted, noble, yet humble vocation.  

Second Lesson of Christmas

        At morning Mass, as the congregation was reciting the Lord's Prayer during Communion Rite and reached the line "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," the Lord made it very clear to me that this is not a general request, but should be a personal one for the one who's saying the prayer, in this case, me. In other words, I must always do God's will and not let others do it for me. This lesson echoed the first lesson.

First Lesson of Christmas

        The pastor at this morning's Mass gave a good teaching. He talked about when he was young, long before he became a priest, how his younger brother used to annoy him a lot and he just rather ignored him and let his mother deal with and take care of him. Then he realized one day that he must start loving his brother too and the relationship changed. This experience also helped him in answering God's call for him to enter priesthood later. It's true that we tend to avoid dealing with anyone in the family or others we know who has certain problems and forget that it is our duty to show our love and concern for anyone within our reach. There is not a time to stop loving the Lord.   

Faith Made Precious

        I've been thinking about our faith in God. If it's too easy to believe, then we won't appreciate our faith much. Just as in the case of collecting unemployment insurance, if it's made too easy, we are likely to take it easy and not look for a job eagerly (I actually know of someone who use the break to take a vacation). Or if free education is available, the incentive to study hard is usually not there. God has given us the free will and he has revealed just enough to us so that when we choose to believe in him, the faith becomes precious. We get the perfect balance.

"The Boy Who Met Jesus"

        I believe that many of us have heard or read about Immaculee Ilibagiza, a survivor of Rwanda's holocaust. When Mary appeared in Kibeho, Rwanda, in the early 80's, the holocaust was foretold as a warning. Our Lady of Kibeho had been approved by the Church in 2001 and Immaculee had already written a few books on  the Rawadan genocide as well as the apparitions of Kibeho. The book I want to mention is Immaculee's The Boy Who Met Jesus. It may be hard to get nowadays, but it's worth reading. The boy's name is Segatashya and the messages Jesus gave him are definitely important for us to know. They confirm our belief that God loves us.

A Prayer God Cannot Refuse

        After receiving Holy Communion with the consecrated host still in my mouth, I asked the Lord to heal my mind, heart, and soul. This is a prayer he always honors.

The Lord Is Joy!

        God's love accompanies everything he bestows upon us. That's why when he gives you joy, you spontaneously want to share it with all others. (God always wants to make us less self-centered.) I have received so much joy from the Lord that at this Christmas time, I just want to get to the top of the highest mountain and yell at the top of my voice for all to hear: "The Lord is Joy!"

Great Contentment

        At church this morning before Mass started, I felt the great possible contentment in my heart. I was aware that I am in Christ, the Truth, and Truth is where I want to be, my dwelling place for all eternity.  

God's Perfect Justice

        Here on earth in court, a lawyers or yourself can defend you and a lot of talk may get you off the hook; but when you face the Lord, who already knew what's in your heart and mind, all talk will be useless. Since God is truth, all-knowing, and knows all about us, everyone will receive perfect justice at the end. For this, both saints or sinners can greatly rejoice.          

God Honors...

anyone who performs an act of love in his name.

No New Year's Resolutions

        Today is December 22 and some people are already thinking about what New Year's resolutions to make this time. For the devout Christian to whom every day is the beginning of a new year and a day to love the Lord to the fullest, New Year's resolutions would be superfluous. 

Linked to Christ

        During prayer after Mass, I looked at the altar and realized that Christ was present in the consecrated hosts inside the tabernacle and that I had just received him in Holy Communion a little earlier. I immediately became aware that I was already linked to him intimately like a branch on the vine. The feeling was a mixture of surprise, astonishment, and gratitude.  

Yearning of the Soul

        As the soul desires greater intimacy with the Lord, it yearns for more and more of him. To seek union, the soul is ready to receive as much as the Lord is willing to grant to quench its thirst. The soul will not be fully satisfied until it sees the Lord in heaven face to face.