Sometimes we expect God to fit our specifications of him ~ how unreasonable! Instead, we should find out what he is truly like and fit ourselves to what he requires of us.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Joy Doubled
In doing the Stations of the Cross after Mass, at one place John 16:22 was read: "But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you." My heart was already rejoicing. Hearing that no one will take my joy away from me simply doubled my joy!
Beyond Touching Jesus
As I received the Holy Eucharist at Mass this morning, I felt more than seeing, touching, and embracing the Lord ~ I felt the total physical and spiritual union with him.
Sweet Isolation
As one is drawn deeper into Christ, he necessarily feels his isolation from the world more. But what sweet isolation! for God is so much more interesting that the mundane world.
Our Hours Will Come
In today's Gospel, we also heard at the end that the authorities tried to arrest Jesus, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come. I realized that there is an hour for everything in our lives too. Based upon how we live for God, when these hours will arrive is determined by God. The faithful waits for them with total calm.
Where Are We From?
The Gospel reading today was from John 7. Jesus, teaching in the temple area, let it be known that he came from the Father, who sent him. As disciples of Christ, we can similarly claim that we came from Jesus, who sent us.
Is There Reproductive Justice?
Yesterday I attended a forum on "Reproductive Justice: Does a Woman Have a Right to Choose?" at a local college. The panelists were made up of five well-known pro-choice, pro-abortion females. Naturally, abortion was the biggest issue among the reproductive rights claimed. What I basically saw was that they don't believe that anyone, not even God or Church, should tell a woman what to do with her body, not admitting that the child conceived is not really a part of the mother's body. They admitted that abortion terminates a life, but it's the mother alone who knows whether it should keep the baby or not. One panelist had gone through an abortion herself and knew how painful an experience it was, so she wanted to make sure that others would have an easier experience ~ why didn't she make sure that others wouldn't have to go through an abortion?
They used the position taken by Catholics for Choice to bolster their own. I almost laughed out loud when one said that the bishops should not tell women what to do with the unborn because they don't have any children themselves. I wanted to tell them since they don't really know God, they are not qualified to preach to others on moral matters.
I believe that they're probably all church goers and do care about women's welfare; but unfortunately, they are misguided. Until the heart is touched by the love of God and converted, the chasm remains between the pro-abortion camp and the pro-life one. I also sensed that they might feel that the pro-lifers care only about the unborn ~ how I wish they know that we love the pregnant mothers, the unborn babies, and even them!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Growing Old Profitably
In theory, Jesus can transform us instantly into a holy person. In practice, how much we change is proportional to how much we let him change us. In other words, we reap what we sow. My thought today is that as we grow older, our bodies get weaker; one excellent way to balance or counteract that is to grow stronger spiritually. That is, as we age, we let Jesus change us more and more, if not the whole way instantly.
Ego Talk
What is always puffed up? Answer: the ego. As long as it's puffed up, it'll get punctured sometimes and hurt you. Only God can take the ego away. Once it's gone, you'll never be hurt that way again.
Without the ego, whether people praise or ignore you, it doesn't matter anymore. You are here to serve the Lord alone and do whatever he asks of you. The big gain is inner peace.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The Invisible Person
A truly humble person is one who is oblivious of himself, for he is only concerned about serving God. He welcomes only things that give praise to God, with himself totally excluded. You might say that he is invisible to himself.
Unique Christian Relationship to God
The Gospel reading for today's Mass is John 5:17-30. Again, what Jesus said was crystal clear. He revealed that God is his father and that they are equal. This is great news for us who follow him. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught us to address his father as Our Father, so God is our father too. By the same token, all Christian become truly brothers and sisters to each other. Since only Christians address God as Father, we are indeed special among all who believe in God. Treasure this unique relationship and thank Jesus for it.
To Hear God Clearly
I've learned that to hear the Lord speak to your heart clearly, it's best that you first surrender all your thoughts to him so as to be in tune with him. Otherwise, either there'll be no communication or what comes across may not be all from the Lord. By the way, surrendering your thoughts brings peace to the heart too.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Martyrdom for Us
A Christian martyr is one who willingly suffers death rather than renounce his or her faith in Christ. Chances are we who are faithful will not meet actual physical death, but we must be willing to suffer any other thing less severe for love of Christ. It is immensely satisfying to stand on the side of Christ and glorious to add more glory to God.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Becoming Fearless
People are afraid because they are aware of their own existence. When one has only Jesus on his mind and Jesus in his heart, he then forgets all about himself and he becomes fearless.
RIP for the Living
RIP is the abbreviation for "rest in peace." We normally pray for the deceased to rest in peace. Then I started thinking. To rest in God is to rest in peace. When we rest in God, we trust in him and rest in his infinite love. The end result is peace. So, why not start to rest in peace while we're still alive?
Decisions Are Important
When Mary said yes to God to become the mother of Jesus, her decision affected all of mankind. Our daily decisions may not be that influential; but nevertheless, they are consequential. Every decision is important to God and you. At judgment time, all your past decisions will be reviewed by God.
God Backs Us
Today is the Feast of St. Joseph. In the homily at Mass, the priest brought up St. Bernardine, who said that when God chooses you to do something, he will supply you with all you need (courage included) to make it possible. This is comforting to know and I believe it. There are times you feel that God is speaking to you about doing something, but you feel somewhat insecure (me doing it?). This is a good time to remember what St. Bernardine said.
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