God is the source of all good things. He first loved me and I accepted his love and was able to love him back. Then he entered me through the Holy Eucharist and made me feel his presence, and I in turn was able to enter him so that we are now in each other.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Lovely Mary
Today is the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What comes to my mind first when I think of the Blessed Mother is her loveliness. She is lovely because she is pure (immaculate) and is obedient to the Lord. She is the perfect model for us to imitate.
Serious Business
Loving God is serious business. Take the people who play the stock market. They attend workshops, subscribe to newsletters, read the bulletin boards, keep up with market analyses, make sure that they have the latest technical tools, and watch the market like a hawk. West Coast players even get up extra early in the morning just to wait for the market to open. Isn't loving and serving God at the least just as important? Seriously, we really should love God as if our life is at stake. As a matter of fact, our eternal life does depend upon our effort! The stock traders or investors lose most of the time despite their diligence and acumen, but those who love God seriously is assured of great rewards in the end.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Jesus Is the One
Today's Gospel reading comes from John 19. We learn that after the Crucifixion of Jesus, the Jews wanted the bodies of Jesus and the two who were crucified with him to be taken down before the sabbath day arrived. The Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. The soldiers came and broke the legs of the two crucified with Jesus. When they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side and immediately blood and water flowed out. All this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled: Not a bone of it will be broken. And again another passage says: They will look upon him whom they have pierced. (Earlier, the soldiers took and divided Jesus' clothes among them. But since his tunic was woven in one piece, they cast lots for it. Again, all this happened to fulfill the Scripture passage: They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots.) Of course, there are numerous other Scripture passages which Jesus had fulfilled. To me, this is solid basis for believing him to be the Messiah, our Savior, the Son of God.
Learning from the Meek & Humble
Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Gospel Acclamation read was Matthew 11.29ab: "Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord; and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart." Would you learn from someone who is meek and humble? The world is full of teachers who are impertinent and proud. They are good at teaching you the ways of the world. But if you're interested in the ways of God, then learn from teachers who are meek and humble.
Invitation to Union with God
Is union with God beyond reach for most of us? Is it for saints only? The basic question now boils down to whether we can become saints. The answer is definitely yes, since God can accomplish anything. Therefore, union with God is definitely within our reach. In fact, I believe that the Lord wants all of us to reach that state when he asked his disciples to be perfect, as the heavenly Father is perfect. When you are in perfect union with God, he does not ask for anything more because that's the most we could do for him. The fact that he's letting you receive the Holy Eucharist, his true body and blood, is already telling you that the road to full union is now open. My brothers and sisters, take advantage of this privilege so that you may speed fully ahead to enter the most beautiful state of human existence ~ to be Christlike and one with God!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
The Rebellious Ego
Right now there is dissent within the Church. Not that long ago, the Church of Ireland made news; right now the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an organization of American nuns, is in the headlines. All I can say is that a true Catholic must always follow the teachings of the Church. Unfortunately, the religious are no different from the laity ~ they also have egos. If you have an ego, then Jesus can not truly be your Lord ~ it's that simple. Again, seek union with God and your ego will be replaced with humility.
God Is All-Knowing
For one period of my life, I enjoyed woodworking and built quite a few pieces of furniture. I would work out the design, purchase the materials, cut and shape them, and finally assemble all the parts together. Then I would paint or stain the piece. Since I made the whole thing, I knew all about each finished piece. Once I cut the material too short and the width of the intended storage cabinet had to be scaled back. Another time a cutting mistake caused the grains of two parts of a tabletop not to match up. In other words, the defects, covered-up or not of each piece, I knew.
Since God made each one of us, likewise he knows everything about us. In fact, since his mind is infinitely superior to ours, he knows us through and through, and sees all out defects, our sins. So, living as if God exists is not good enough ~ we must live, being aware that he knows everything about us.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
No Excuse for Sinning
I remember that once I sinned and after I overcame it, I became much stronger spiritually. At the time I thought erroneously that God must have permitted me to sin for the good to come out at the end. Now I see that God can draw good out of anything! He'd much prefer to see that I do not sin than to see me sin and have to rescue me.
God of Choice
Today's Reading 1 on the Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua comes from 1 Kings 18. Although the people of Israel were required to worship exclusively the one Lord, they also got comfortable worshiping Baal, the god of rain and storm. Then Elijah showed them the true power of the Lord. Worship of many gods was virtually universal in the ancient world. Today, looking at all the major religions, I see that only the God of Israel, as revealed through Christ, comes across clear and precise and most of all, personal. That's why I am a Christian.
Complete Trust in God
I don't dwell on the past anymore, but sometimes I still wonder about the future like how something is going to turn out. To me, this is also a sign of my lack of complete trust in God. I am looking at Jesus as my example. You might say that not to wonder about the future is inhuman, but I say that we must be superhuman to trust in God and not question him about anything.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Christ Simplifies Lives
I've been observing people. These are in general good, decent people, but they all live such "complicated" lives and feel weighed-down. I've come to the conclusion that it's because they are attached to the world, to the past, and are involved with others who lead equally complicated lives. On the other hand, those who know Christ well lead uncluttered, liberated lives because they are not attached to the world or the past and are involved with the Lord only. They love others, but in a detached way.
Praying to Be Perfect
When we are not perfect, people cannot see the Lord in us. When we are, then they see him. So my prayer today is asking the Lord to bare my soul and expose all my faults so that I can become more perfect.
Don't Speak for God
Yesterday I had the chance to talk to someone about the Catholic faith. As often happens, you can let enthusiasm get in the way. Afterwards, I realized that I should have said some of the things in a different way. Thinking about what had transpired, I learned another lesson.
When we try to convert someone, the best approach is to listen first. You must not be anxious to lay what we have to say on the other person. Of course, argument must never happen. In other words, we should remain calm and loving, and not get emotional. After all, it's God who does the converting, not us; so we should not speak for him! You could say that we must not meddle in God's business ~ we are merely instruments in his hands. In all things, let only the Spirit prompt us to say what he wants us to say.
Monday, June 11, 2012
The Inescapable Moment
This is the moment when we leave this world. You may not think about it now, but it will surely arrive. It could be a painful moment because you must leave all your possessions and loved ones behind. You may have already resigned to the fact that you cannot take anything with you, but leaving the loved ones is harder to deal with. For those who have no faith in God, they are heading into the unknown and I believe that they would feel a mixture of fear and sorrow. How about those who had faith once? They may have even more fear now, but may turn back to God in the last moment. As for those who believe in the Lord with all their heart, the overwhelming joy of meeting their Savior will overwhelm any sorrow they might feel. They want to witness to others to the very end that God is love and that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.
No Pain, No Gain
In the bodybuilding world, the idiom "No pain, no gain" is proven to be true. In the spiritual world, it applies also. If we live an easy, comfortable life with no money or health problems whatsoever and with everything going our way, I doubt that we'll ever make any progress spiritually. On the other hand, as is made clear in today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount: God blesses the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and those who are insulted and persecuted and against whom every kind of evil is uttered falsely because of Christ. Their reward will be great in heaven.
God's Joy vs. World's
God's joy surpasses any joy of the world. This is because God plants the joy in the heart, rewarding the soul, while the joys of the world remain at the physical or cerebral level, feeding mostly the ego.
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