Depending on God Only

        There are those who seek security (happiness) in wealth. Some of them after amassing a huge amount of wealth would lose it and become distraught to the point of not wanting to live anymore. And they are those who count much on the love and support of their family. When the family breaks up, their world falls apart too. These are all real cases. So, what are we to do? Dependence upon God only is the answer. This is not merely making a convenient substitution ~ it fundamentally solves your problem. Depending upon God frees you from being attached to all the things and people of the world. You can still enjoy your wealth while you have it or love your family while they are around, then you'll have God always, giving you the true security, love, and support you need. "God is all we need" not only sounds logical, but is also true, for he is real.

Connecting to God, a Picture

        Jesus is the best evidence that God is definitely out there or with us, but you would not know unless you are connected to him. Some people are just not interested in connecting to him, at least not yet. Others do not attempt to make a good connection and get disconnected sooner or later. Some make a partial connection so that the flow of God into them is restricted and as a result, they never really get to know God well. Then we have those who make the full, firm connection, allowing God to flow into them freely, receiving grace after grace to overflowing, attaining spiritual union with God.             

Peter Proclaiming the Truth

        From Reading 1, Acts 4:1-12, at Mass this morning, we hear Peter proclaim bravely to the leaders of the people and elders about Jesus, "He is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved." What a bold statement (the one I italicized) it is! It's another one of those challenging ones that impel you to accept or reject without compromise. I accept this statement because this Peter is totally out of character with the Peter prior to the Resurrection of Jesus ~ he is now filled with the Holy Spirit. If what he proclaimed is true, then Christianity stands out as the bold truth.     

For Sinners to Know

        The own thing good we can say about our sins is that they can one day make us repentant and turn to God. Once we've returned to God, he then takes away the sins and we may feel so happy and free that we don't even think about that we ever sinned before. Now, be preoccupied at all times with the Lord in whom you exist ~ you no longer exist on your own!

A Union Edge

        If you love Jesus, but have not reached full union with him, it's more likely that what you think you should do to glorify God are basically your ideas, and they may even disturb your inner peace. When you are in union with the Lord, he and you will be of one mind and he will show you what to do, and you will experience constant inner peace.

Holy Eucharist Most Intimate

        At Communion time, it was clear to me that receiving the Holy Eucharist is truly the best way to achieve union with Christ. Since we still live in a physical world, I just can't think of a better way of attaining intimacy with the Lord by consuming him truly present in the Holy Eucharist. Both physical and spiritual union take place so that Christ and we become one in each other as Christ and the Father are one. 

Protecting the Lord

        At Mass this morning, I felt the Lord dwelling within me and I wanted to protect him within me. Of course, I am the one who needs his protection, but I could protect him in the sense that I'll do my best to draw others to him so that he would be offended less by sins. This should be the desire and goal for all his disciples. 

Faith Necessary for Finding God

        Read about Jesus in all the Gospels. If you believe that he is truly God, then everything you read would make perfect sense to you. But if you start out believing that he is not divine, then all the stories would absolutely make no sense and you end up knowing even less. In a way, this shows that Jesus is the truth and that faith or at least some faith is necessary for finding God. 

Soul over Body

        God can heal our soul and our body. The soul is more important than the body because the soul does not perish, but the body has no life of it own. When we ask the Lord to heal our soul, he readily complies as the soul is what he loves and a healed soul is a saved one. Our request for healing of the body is granted only if it'll help us spiritually toward saving our soul or give God glory in some other way, as the body, whether healed or not, will perish soon one day.

Cause for Joy

        This morning's Entrance Song, Matthew 25:34, at Mass: "Come, you blessed of my Father; receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, alleluia." As I read that, my heart leapt for joy. The Response to the Psalm (#105) echoed my feeling later: "Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord."

Keeping the Lord

        As St. Paul points out in Romans 8, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. To reject this love is indeed to be foolish to the extreme. On the other hand, if we do accept this love, then neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to take our Lord away from us.

Being Cut to the Heart

        Today's Reading 1 comes from Acts 2. On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jewish people, "Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, there were cut to the heart. I think that every Christian should feel at least once in his lifetime cut to the heart. Let the Holy Spirit do the cutting, causing a sweet pain most beneficial to the soul.   

Jesus' Promise Confirmed

        Jesus told his disciples that he is with them always, until the end of the age. As I received the Lord in the Holy Eucharist today, once again his promise was confirmed.

Honesty Is Best

        Today's Gospel reading comes from Matthew 28. To cover up the fact that Jesus had risen, the chief priests gave a large sum of money to the soldiers guarding the tomb to spread the rumor that the disciples came and stole the body while they were asleep. This was to satisfy the governor in case he hears about the news and to keep themselves out of trouble. And the false story was circulated among the Jews. So there were a cover-up, bribery, deceitfulness, self-preservation above all else, and the misleading of others ~ hypocrisy all around. By contrast, when Jesus saw Nathanael (Bartholomew), the soon-to-be Apostle, coming toward him, he said, "Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him." How blessed it is to be as honest and straightforward as Nathanael was to the Lord!

Prayer for Loving God

        To answer my own question posed in the preceding post, I propose that at the start of performing anything, we pray humbly to the Father: "All for you; all in your hands."

Easter Joy

        When Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, God made the definitive statement that we have hope in him and that hope is Christ. So, Lord, filled with Easter joy how can we love you even more?

God Calling Us by Name

        It's Holy Saturday. I had some time and watched The Redeemer, a film I prerecorded on EWTN earlier. It's an old production filmed in Spain. Throughout the film, you only see the back of Jesus. I didn't care for the voice of Jesus used ~ it was too husky and sounded Hollywoodish. Nevertheless, the film does have some poignant moments. I was moved watching Peter's face right after he denied Christ for the third time and the cock crowed. I shed the most tears when Jesus cried out aloud on the cross "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit" just before he breathed his last. Then Thomas didn't believe that Jesus had risen and the Lord showed up and called Thomas to him to check out his wounds. That's when I knew that the Lord calls us too ~ how good it is to hear him calling us by name!   

Sweet Sorrow

        I attended the Good Friday service, the Passion of the Lord, at my church. This was a solemn service for the fact that Jesus underwent so much agony, suffering, and unimaginable pain for our sake. Yet, the sorrow he experienced and that we feel for him are both tinged with sweetness, for in his sorrow Jesus accomplished his work of salvation and in ours, we receive faith and hope. For the Christians, joy is ever present, on or beneath the surface.