Practice What You Believe

        If you believe that God is our Lord, that he created us and the universe, that he provides for all our needs, and that he loves us, then so live that what you believe is made clear to both God and all others. 

Wonderful Eucharist

        During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, upon hearing that the consecrated bread and wine were referred to as "the bread of life" and "the chalice of salvation," I just knew that what I was about to receive is going to make me well spiritually.

Gospel Examples for Us

        Today's Gospel reading at Mass comes from Mark 12. First, Jesus pointed out how the scribes liked to go around in long robes, accepting greetings in the marketplaces and seats of honor at banquets, devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers ~ they would receive a very severe condemnation. We are not scribes, but in our own way we might have acted like them too ~ we'd better watch out.

        In the second part of the reading, Jesus gave us an example in contrast to the scribes above. He observed that a poor widow, from her poverty, put two small coins worth a few cents into the temple treasury ~ she contributed all she had, her whole livelihood! Jesus pointed out that this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury, who had contributed from their surplus. It's true that the wealthier we are, the harder it is to let go. Such attachment to wealth prevents us from becoming selfless.  

Union with God Is for All

        Now that I realize that seeking union with God is the best way for all Catholics to become holy, I am wondering why we didn't and don't hear much about it. Thinking back, I see that in my early days, I didn't even know what union exactly was. Later I read about saints in union with God and automatically assumed that it's a state only saints enter into. So I believe that we don't consider union as a goal because (1) not everyone aspires after holiness and (2) we assume that it's beyond our reach. Of course, the fact is that union is for everyone. Christ asks us to be perfect, and to be in union with God is to be as perfect as we can be, like the saints. Therefore, have courage and break out any box that might be confining you. Speed toward peace and freedom in God!             

Jesus Our Center

        Be occupied with Jesus at all times and leave all other things on the periphery. Direct all that we do at him. 

Let Only God Affect You

        If we do not have any quiet time or if we cannot stay calm emotionally, it'd be difficult for us to hear God's voice. I feel very sorry to see that so many Catholics or other Christians let others affect them so much to the point that their own faith starts to weaken. Some actual examples are in order. One woman's best friend was a devout Catholic, but when that friend discovered that she had views leaning toward feminism, the friend dropped her. Of course, that greatly hurt the person and affected her faith. Another person was shocked when a priest came to her home for dinner on a Friday during the days when they're supposed to abstain from eating meat felt like eating meat and dispensed with the obligation. This shook her faith. Another one remembers that she had a most abusive nun as a teacher in school and when the parish priest came and told the whole class that they're lucky to have a most saintly teacher who's going to heaven, all the kids couldn't believe what they heard. Of course, it's possible that the priest really didn't know the truth and saw it that way; but nevertheless, the damage had been done. Most likely everyone has something to tell that has affected their faith. (I shouldn't deny that there are many who have had good experiences that strengthened their faith. My wife became a Catholic mainly because she had a nun who treated her most kindly.)

        Let's realize that we are all sinners, religious or lay. See how perfect Jesus our Lord is because he is God, then we shouldn't be shocked by what all the sinners do any more because they are not God. Therefore, we need to focus upon the Lord alone and not let anyone else affect our faith! If you want to look at sinners, look at ourselves first. Do we also shock others by our behavior? How do we affect the others' faith? In conclusion, let only God affect you. 

A Prayer for Love

        "I love you, Lord; love me." Praying thus, you show your willingness to let God love you.

Only Way to Peace

        At church before Mass started, I saw how amazing God was ~ his creations, his love manifested in so many ways, the example of Jesus... Then I saw that any negative thought or emotion such as anxiety originated with us, not God. The only way to have interior peace is to let God transform us so that we'll be in harmony with his will. And to let him transform us begins with surrendering to him. We may not have what we've wanted before, but we'll have peace. What's amazing is that once we have God, we'll want the same thing he wants for us.

Questioning God's Existence

        Had the chance to watch the 2002 film The Pianist on TV. It shows how the polish pianist Wladyslaw Szilman struggled to survive the onslaught of Nazi tyranny during World War II. The Jewish population were rounded up and treated horribly. In one scene, one family member of the pianist asked in great apprehension if there was a God. It's totally understandable that we question God's existence when things go bad and bleak. My thoughts as a Christian are that if I already know the Lord well, then under no circumstances would I doubt his existence, but I might wonder what the purpose was behind all that had happened.   

Feeding Priorities

        As I was frying some eggs for breakfast this morning, I thought briefly that the soul needs to be fed too. Since the soul is more important than the body, feeding the soul should have priority over feeding the body.

Practice Run for Heaven

        Living a holy life on earth is like making a practice run for living in heaven. If you succeed well now, you'll need little or no adjustment to make later. A good preparation makes the difference.

Free to Serve God

        One is free to serve God when he has fully surrendered to him. If he hasn't yet, then he cannot be totally free to serve God because he still has to serve himself. 

God's Timing

        I did not want to tell others about my blog because it's the message that's important, not the one who posts. But lately, I no longer feel uncomfortable in telling others when there is the opportunity to do so because the Lord has placed a new urgency in me to spread the message (that he wants to draw all to union with him through the Holy Eucharist). What I have learned is that God has a timing for everything and he'll let your heart (not head) know when the right time has arrived. (This simply eliminates all anxieties.)

The Union Joy

        When you surrender yourself to God, he looks down upon you and sees that there are no more obstacles in the way to keep him from shaping and transforming you freely, and he is filled with joy. He works on you until you are fully in union with him and you are filled with joy.

The Holy Spirit as Fire

        The Holy Spirit burns off all the impurities of the heart, heals the soul with his warmth, and sets the heart on flame with zeal for the Lord.

Meekness and Humbleness

        Communion time thoughts this morning. If you were a house and remain meek and humble like our Lord, then you would be like a house that's built solidly upon a rock, which is the Lord himself, strong enough to withstand any assaults from without. Meekness and humbleness are the noblest strengths, not weaknesses.  

A Union Analogy

        We who love God all want to be holy. Striving to become holy is analogous to climbing a high mountain. When we reach the top, we are holy. Normally, we climb one step at a time. This requires discipline and involves a certain amount of struggle. Often we even fall back after some advance has been made. The whole process is slow and arduous and we may not even reach the top in our lifetime. 

        The alternative is to seek union with God first. You could say that there is a helicopter available to fly you directly to the top in a short time. The problem is that you've never flown like that before ~ you are afraid of the unknown and wonder if the flight will be safe at all. Also, even though you know that the view at the top must be fantastic, you look around and see that where you are, the scenery doesn't look that bad. So you decide that the quick ascent is not worth the risk involved, and you continue to struggle. 

        The truth is that once you put the fear of flying aside, the helicopter will take you quickly and safely to the top of the mountain and you'll have the most magnificent view. Now, you look down and see that you have eliminated all that arduous climbing.

        The helicopter lift is God's arm lifting you up to him. You could say that the Holy Eucharist is already the ticket in your possession for you to board that flight. When you reach the top, you are in union with God. From there, what you see is what God sees. 

The Joe Biden Joke

        Vice President Joe Biden is known to be a Catholic, yet you can never tell by his consistent pro-choice stand. Recently, on "Meet the Press" he expressed that he's absolutely comfortable with granting same-sex couples the same privileges enjoyed by traditional families before President Obama came out later with his public endorsement of gay marriage. Biden credited the TV sitcom "Will and Grace" for changing his view of marriage. So we have a supposedly Catholic who lets secular TV shows shape his views and ignores the clear teachings of the Church. If this is not a joke, then what is it?