All About Love

        At morning Mass today, I realized that I was back again. Why did I want to receive the Lord again in the Holy Eucharist? I've received him countless times already and he has poured grace upon grace on me, and I am now completely open to him. The answer that came up in my heart was that I wished to receive him simply because he is love and it's this love that has made me love him.

To Experience the Greatest Freedom

        I've been weeding outdoors for a few hours. The weather is perfect, and even if spring is not here yet, new weeds have come up. Rather than bending down each time to pull the weeds, I like to sit on the ground and move sideways. I enjoy the solitude alone with God.

        Today he made me see that if we make him number one in our lives, that is, if we are willing to give up everything for his sake, then we shall experience the greatest freedom. Now, this could strike fear in us. I must hasten to add that it does not follow that once we have expressed our willingness, God is actually going to take everything away from us. No, not at all! The Lord only likes to test us, for he loves us so much that he wants us to be his completely. If we pass the test, for sure more blessings will come our way and great freedom is just that first blessing.                   

        [Recall the story in Genesis 22 about Abraham following God's order to offer his son Isaac up as a burnt offering? When Abraham was ready to slaughter his son, an angel appeared and stopped him. Because Abraham passed the test, God promised to bless him and his descendants.] 

Transfiguration & the Eucharist

        As I was meditating on the Transfiguration of Jesus, the fourth Luminous Mystery of the Rosary, I thought of the changing of the elements of the bread and wine, when they are consecrated in the Eucharist, into the body and blood of Christ. Looking at the consecrated bread and wine is much like looking at the untransfigured Jesus ~ you see an ordinary human being, yet he is divine.

Let's Do Great Works

        Jesus promised us that whoever believes in him will do great works (John 14:12). How good it is to let God accomplish great things through us! And this includes the transformation of us.  

Do All with Your Heart

        This morning I got up before six and it's still quite dark outside. Figuratively speaking, I could say that this is what God sees when he looks down upon the earth and sees the hearts of the billions of sinners. Then I saw the bright beacon of light that is Christ, shining among us; but the people who see it do not understand because they do not see it with their heart. To see the truth, we must involve the heart. When we believe, we must believe with our heart. When we love, we must love with our heart. In sum, do all with our heart for God, then we shall shine in the darkness too.

Life of Wonderment

        As I said in my last post, I felt very content in Christ. But at night when I am supposed to fall asleep, I often stay awake, still amazed and overwhelmed by the love of Christ ~ who am I that he should care for so much? The Christian life is a life filled with great wonderment.

Being Content with God

        My only feeling this morning at Mass was contentment. The first part of Psalm 23, a psalm of David, describes it well ~ "The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. In green pastures he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me; he restores my soul. He guides me along the right paths for the sake of his name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are will me; your rod and your staff comfort me." 

        Now I know exactly how David felt. He has the same God!

Happiness in Christ

        Left on our own to pursue my own happiness, we'll never be happy ~ you can count on that! That's why Jesus came along to show us the way, which is to seek his will and not our own. Believe me, he knows what he's talking about. Following him leads to freedom, fulfillment, and interior peace. Some may have found peace in this life by some other way, but it cannot be at such an exalted level because happiness in Christ is never ending, becoming even more intensified after this life!

Hypocrisy for Fools Only

        Today's Gospel reading from Mark 7 reveals the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the scribes. Today's government officials, politicians, businessmen, commercials... do no better. There is not much trust among our own people and among the nations anymore. But for Christians, hypocrisy has no place ~ a Christian must be 100% genuine, for God sees right through the heart. To be hypocritical is to try fooling God.  

We Are the Chosen!

        After hearing the reading from 1 Kings 8 and the Resporsorial Psalm at Mass today, I was amazed that the Israelites had believed in one God from the very beginning ~ they had to be the chosen people by God. Then I saw that we Christians were a chosen people by God too. I felt this especially after receiving Holy Communion, for I became a chosen one among the chosen.  

Why Love Jesus

        Last night on PBS radio, someone whose upper body got completely burned in an accident was being interviewed. He said that when it happened, he knew that there's nothing he could do about it and that later no medication could stop the pain he suffered. Now he's finally recovering. Right away, I thought of hellfire which you can do nothing about and causes pains that cannot be eased. What's worse ~ you will never recover from it! Even though you don't hear too many fire-and-brimstone sermons preached nowadays, it doesn't mean that there's no punishment after death anymore. What I want to tell all is that never, never end up in that place of inferno! If you are not a believer in Jesus yet, believe now and you won't have to worry about those fires anymore. Better yet, believe out of love for him, for he loves you! 

What Life Is Like

        You may know the saying "Life is just a bowl of cherries," which really doesn't mean too much. To me, it all depends upon if you know Jesus or not. If you don't know him, I'd say that life is more like a bad dream or movie with an unknown ending. Once you know Jesus, life becomes absolutely real and you know exactly how it's going to play out. I know because I have lived both.

God Grants Peace

        I caught a little bit of an EWTN program Living the Discerning Life, based upon the teaching of St. Ignatius of Loyola and presented by a Father Gallagher. The topic was Spiritual Consolation and Desolation. A line caught my attention ~ Fr. Gallagher said that when you are under tension, rest in God and it will go away. I totally concur here. For without God, the tension will go away only after the cause of your tension is removed. With God, you turn to and rest in him and he will give you peace, for he is greater than us.

God Dwelling in Us

        Today's first reading at Mass from 1 Kings 8 talked about the Lord dwelling in the cloud that filled King Solomon's temple after the ark of the covenant of the Lord had been brought into its sanctuary. This really made me think of us as temples of the Holy Spirit that the Lord dwells in us as well ~ something I knew but perhaps never quite fully realized. Every time I look up into the universe, I feel humbled. Now the creator of this universe actually dwells within me ~ I must take my time to digest this! The more I think about this, the more overwhelmed I am, and the more amazed and appreciative I become. Yes, the cup overflows! 

Why I Like My God

        There is only one God and I like him as revealed to us by Jesus, that he is all love as demonstrated by Jesus, God Incarnate, himself. Some other religions also believe in God, but he is not so personal nor conceived as Love. Still other religions teach you to be kind and loving, but they do not have any clear conception of God. That's why I choose the God of Christ, most incredible, yet most approachable. 

No Point of No Return for Us

        Look at what's happening in Syria. During this so-called Arab Spring, some leaders are wise enough to initiate reforms or step down early enough to prevent worse unrest. In Syria, it seems that President al-Assad has already gone beyond the point of no return in dealing with his own people rebelling against him.   

        Then I thought of our loving Lord. With him, as long as we are still alive, there is no point of no return for us. It's never too late to return to him. Anytime we are ready, he is ready ~ this is the beauty of his great mercy, guaranteed by his love for us. How blessed we are!       

God Our Only Hope

        There is just so much bad news you hear from all over the globe. Again, I want to remind all that God is our only bright hope. Focus on the fact that God has turned many human beings into saints. So if we all let God transform us, then we'll have a peaceful world ~ it's as simple as that. In reality, of course, not everyone will listen to this truth, but this does not invalidate the truth that God, the God of Christ, is our only hope.          

The Christian Life

        The Christian life can be said to consist of two parts. You find Christ, believe in him and ask him to come into your life ~ this is the first part. You want him to transform you until you become like him ~ this is the second part. It's in this second part that you become holy, experience freedom, and know that you are now a new creature. Without this part, you are only a Christian in name only.