Sin Resolution

        This morning's Gospel was read from Matthew 5. Jesus made it clear that we must be righteous. Even being angry at or saying "You fool" to someone is liable to judgment. Therefore, what we do with our sins must be resolved. We can either repent and be forgiven or keep the sins to be judged later. Quite uncomplicated.

Created to Know God

        As I was driving to Mass this morning, I became amazed at my own coming into existence and I felt so grateful that God had created me to know him. This made life worth living and I greatly rejoiced.

How to Greet the Lord?

        Last night I had trouble falling asleep because I felt the strong presence of Jesus in me. I started thinking what I would do if I actually see him in the distance. I know that Peter jumped into the water from his fishing boat and swam toward Jesus as soon as the disciples on board recognized him standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (this was after his Resurrection ~ see John 21). I probably wouldn't rush toward him until after he gives me a signal, I don't know. Once I get the OK, I'll probably run as fast as I can toward him, then I don't know whether I should kneel at his feet or dive right into him first.  

Making the Right Choice

       Here's an interesting mathematical question. Suppose you have the choice of receiving for a month of 30 days:

         (a) $10,000 each day.

        (b) one penny on the first day, two pennies on the second day, four pennies on the third day... in other words, you get double the amount of the previous day.        

         Which option would you choose?

        Well, if you choose 'a', you would receive a total of $300,000 at the end, not bad; but if you've chosen 'b', you'd have come to $10,737,418.24 ~ that's way over 10 million dollars!

    Now, choose your answer for the following question:

        Would you rather be (a) the greatest in the eyes of world or (b) the least in  the kingdom of heaven?
     What's attractive at first sight may not be the best choice.

"Christian Hypocrisy"

        Last thought of the day (sad). All the political candidates now running for president have declared themselves to be Christians, yet so far they have spend millions and millions dollars on negative ads many of which are deceptive, misleading, and even false, attacking each other. Have they forgotten the Ten Commandments? The holy saints don't even say one bad word about others. To do whatever it takes to get yourself ahead is just the extreme opposite. Again, I am not judging any of them; I am just lamenting the fact. It's time to ask God to forgive us before asking him for blessings.

Interior Accomplishment

        Somehow the picture of how a large cruise ship is prepared for its cruise came to my mind ~ I must have seen it on a TV travel program once. It's quite impressive to watch that you load tons and tons of food stuff and other items so that there'll be enough to serve thousands of meals for the entire cruise. Man surely can accomplish a lot (I am not even thinking about the Great Wall, the Pyramids, Hoover Dam, Brooklyn Bridge, etc.)! So why not do something as impressive for God? Of course, this would be mostly work you accomplish in your interior, but infinitely more satisfying as what you accomplish is pleasing to God and becomes your treasure in heaven. Yes, why not?    

Learning from Everything

        I am having some shoulder and back pains. I realize that sometimes when you are in good physical shape and see someone in not quite good physical shape, it's easy to take pride in your own condition and somewhat "look down" on the other person. Of course, this is being unchristian. I see that everything that happens to us is permitted by God for a reason. What I should do is to figure out what the Lord wants me to learn from my experience. In the present case, I must remember how Jesus suffered and endured his pains and imitate him. Yes, there is a lesson to learn in everything, no matter how small, that happens to us. What wonderful opportunities God provides us to get close to him!

March Prayer

        This is March 1, the month in which spring begins. In spring, all things renew. When I think of God, this season springs (pun intended) to my mind, for God is the renewer. Pray that we'll let God make all of us new in the spring, for he is our only hope in this disordered, dark world. 

The Height of Christ

        I've been posting about the depth of Christ and how exciting it is for us to enter and explore this depth, both simple and profound. Now I see it more as a height because after you discover more of its beauty, you are lifted to new heights by the Lord. Perhaps I can see it as a width too, as he is infinite in every dimension. 

Be Humbled Before All

        Today's Response to Psalm 51 is: "A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn." I am thinking that the Lord equates loving him to loving others (the least of his brothers and sisters), then if we are to remain humble before God, we are to do so before others too. This will keep us from passing judgment on others. Basically, God wants us to have peace, since a heart contrite and humbled is one that has made his peace with God.

Accomplishment That Matters

         February is coming to an end today and I can't help feeling how time flies again. So, what have I accomplished this month? I've enlarged the irrigation circles under the growing fruit trees, replaced a defective smoke alarm in the house, and done other things like that; but they are just part of what you have to do in life. The accomplishment that truly matters comes down to just how much more I have loved God over the period.

On Forgiving Others

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus taught his disciples the Our Father. Then he added, "If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." Straight and clear speaking. It comes down to whether you want God to be lenient with you or not.

        If there are men who have transgressed against you, then you pray for them. This may be extremely hard, so I suggest that you don't think of them as your personal enemies, but as sinners in general ~ they simply offended God as you did. Besides, Jesus commanded us to love our enemies ~ what beautiful teaching this is! If you can forgive all your transgressors from your heart, you will receive absolute peace and great joy for obeying and glorifying God! This reward alone is worth the work. 

In Harmony with God

        Great feeling at Mass. God is sitting on the throne within my heart in full command. He knows everything about me and I am in total communion with him.

Choice of Future

        Thoughts early today. I can plan my future so that I shall receive the most security, comfort, and enjoyment of life ~ it seems such a natural, sensible thing for me to do. The other choice: I don't know what the future holds, but I know that God knows what he wants for me and I am giving him the honor to unfold the future before me.

Revealing Dreams

        Early this morning I dreamed that I was eating a meal at what appeared to be a big dining hall. I just finished my soup and got up and walked away a few feet to look at some magazines or something for a short time. Then I returned to my dining table and saw that my main plate with nothing touched yet had been taken away already ~ apparently, the server thought that I wasn't going to be back anymore. I was somewhat upset and found and told the server that she should have made sure that I was done with the meal. 

       Then I somewhat woke up and realized that in a dream, I behaved exactly the way I was. In fact, thinking about all the past dreams, I have never reacted in a situation as if I were someone else. For example, if I was kind, then I was never mean in a dream. It's always been me. In a dream if there are still things buried in my subconscious mind, they can surface too, so I may not be the person as good as I appear to be in my waking hours. I want to ask the Lord to remove all that shouldn't be in my subconscious so that I would be truthful even in my dream. This has been an interesting learning experience.

Critical Information

        If you are not at Mass today, I urged you to read the Gospel for today, which is Matthew 25:31-46. It's about Jesus' second coming, the judgment, what love is all about, eternal punishment and eternal life. What's said is crystal clear and all should pay great attention to it because of its critical nature.

Blindly Following Jesus

        Before Mass started this morning, I felt the joy of blindly following the Lord. To follow him blindly is not to be blind ~ what I mean is to follow him unquestioningly with no reservation whatsoever. It's an abandonment in him, a desire to be with him alone, and this brings great joy and freedom.

How to Get Detached from the World

        I see so many people so deeply attached to this material world that this picture comes to my mind. Imagine that each of us is a piece of iron and is positioned between two opposing magnets, one of which is Satan and the other one, God. The magnet of God is so much stronger, but since the hearts of those deeply immersed in the world are open to Satan and not to God, they are drawn toward the former. The only way to sever that attachment and get attached to God is for them to turn around to face him, open their hearts to let him in ~ then he will pull them toward him. Remember that Satan is a master of slavery and God, the Lord of freedom.