Two Epiphanic Moments

      The first such moment is when you realize that you had nothing to do with how, when, and where you came into the world, that you brought nothing with you, that you are going to leave this world as you came taking nothing with you, that everything you find in your life was already here all along, that you cannot stay alive without God sustaining you, that whatever powers you think you have are given by God, and that you are truly nothing next to the infinite God ~ you owe everything to him. The next epiphanic moment is realizing that through Christ, despite your nothingness, you are actually greatly treasured by God. The best ending is that these revelations get you on the right track to returning to God forever. This makes life a great fulfilling journey!

Life Is a Battle

        Human life on earth is no heaven. No matter who we are, where we live, and what we do, we face problems. Basically, we all fight for our own survival, but those who have little or no faith in God and those who believe in God have different objectives. The former is only concerned about surviving the present life and their help comes from what they've learned from the ways of the world. By contrast, the latter is more concerned about the survival of the human soul, for themselves and others too, and their help derives directly from their faith in God. In the end, those on their own will lose the battle and those with God, not.                 

Walking in Step with God

        Lesson of the day for me. Anytime I feel strongly about something, I should watch out! Is it from the Lord? Am I rushing ahead on my own? The voice of the Lord is always gentle, so a strong feeling may be more from me than from him. On the other hand, if I lag behind when he wants me to do something, I would lose peace too. It's walking in step with God that brings about the best results.

God Loves Our Trust

        Thoughts from the Lord this morning. We must "forget" all our troubles in him and let nothing bother us. The Lord deserves and loves our trust ~ it's his desire that we maintain his peace in us.

God as Light

         In an old post, I mentioned that "God is light" makes extra sense because Einstein showed that anything traveling at the speed of light would be all over the universe at the same time and God is just that! Then we have Jesus proclaiming that he is the light. Now I see even more analogies between light and God. 

        Light makes it possible to see our path as we walk; Jesus lights up our spiritual path as we walk with him. Light exposes the dark areas and shows the dirt; Jesus exposes what's hidden in the soul and reveals our sins. Darkness vanishes whenever there is light ~ true both physically and spiritually. Light is colorless; God is totally pure. Light itself is invisible and its presence is known by the objects it lights up; God is also invisible and his presence is made known by the beauty of nature, the love shown by his people, the holiness of the great saints, etc. Through light that reaches us, we see the source, for example, a star; through Jesus, we are lead to know God the Father. Light shows the true color of things we see; the Lord reveals the true color (the degree of purity) of each human heart.    

God Awaits Us

        Two days ago, I mentioned the passing away of a church friend. This morning a group of her friends gathered after morning Mass to recite the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for her. The reading of John 14:1-6, part of the Last Supper discourses, after the recitation of the third decade of the Chaplet was in particular fitting for the occasion. Here are these six verses beautiful at all times.

        "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way." Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." 

        Old folks are just waiting for God to take them. It's a great comfort to know that God is waiting for us at the other end too, ready with our new dwelling places he has prepared for us. 

Obedience to God Is...

not bending our own will forcibly to do God's will. In fact, if you are reluctant, you won't even hear his voice. On the contrary, obedience to God is to go passive, to relax in him, to listen and be ready to go along with whatever he sends your way.        

God Knows Everything

        This morning the first part of what Peter said to Jesus when he was asked by the Lord for the third time if he loved him came to my mind (John 21.17). Peter was slightly annoyed and responded, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Peter already knew that Jesus knows everything, and I believe that Peter truly knew. This is of great consolation to me, for it means that Jesus is God, that I can trust in him who's all-knowing, that finally I have someone (no other than God) who totally understands me, and that he certainly would know how to lead me.

Healing of the Soul

        If you expect God to heal your soul, you must bare your soul before him and be completely honest with him. If it shows that you are in the wrong, you must accept it and do whatever is necessary to correct the situation. This is obedience and amounts to surrendering to God. Then you'll be rewarded with healing and freedom of the heart.

Exciting Following the Lord

        What's exciting about following the Lord is that you don't know what's going to happen and you don't want to know it either. Then he delightfully surprises you.

Union Takes Care of Sinning

        In union we become basically Christlike ~ we see and hear as he does; we think as he thinks; and we feel what he feels. Then sin automatically becomes repulsive to us as it is to him. In union, as we are intoxicated by the beauty, the purity, the loveliness, and the sweetness of the Lord more and more, sin becomes uglier, more intolerable, and distasteful to the point that even committing a slight sin would make us want to throw up, so to speak. Naturally, you don't even think about sinning anymore.    

What to Live For

        Yesterday I learned of the death of a church friend ~ she and I were born on the exact same day. I still remember attending her husband's funeral service just a coupled of years ago. Such is the brevity of life, so what should we live for? I know some music lovers who live only for music. I've seen dedicated artists who work daily in a studio, often with background music playing, doing what they are good at and enjoying it too ~ it's easy to envy such an occupation. And there are others who live for the day they'll be able to buy their dream car. All these things or goals can keep us going for a while in our brief lifetime, but they are not really worth living for. What's worth living for has to be something that's also worth dying for! And that leaves only God left. To live for God is to live a meaningful life now on earth and a blissful life later in heaven. To live for God is to live forever!          

Justifying Turning the Other Cheek

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5 at morning Mass, we heard the Lord's hard teaching on turning the other cheek. Can we really accept that? We can if we see it from God's point of view. First of all, God loves everyone. And he has shown his greatest love by dying for us sinners. Secondly, judging is God's role, not our business. Turning the other cheek is not to strike back, to retaliate or revenge. It offers the only hope to peace. The world still follows An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth ~ look what kind of condition it's in now. If we trust in God and leave everything up to him, turning the other cheek becomes our only logical choice. Another way of looking at it ~ if everyone practices it, we'll have a peaceful world. (Admittedly, practicing this teaching before the world is perfect is risking sacrifice on our part, but we must see that it's the right thing to do, for God cannot tell us otherwise.)   

Healthiest Outlook on Life

        I watched the 1988 Italian film Cinema Paradiso. The story was interesting, but the characters like most of us dwelt a little too much on the past. The past, whether happy or sad, is gone forever. Dwelling upon it can really impede one's spiritual progress. When I am enjoying the joy of knowing Jesus, the past becomes irrelevant. Jesus said it right: "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." With Jesus, it's plowing ahead (following the Master) joyfully all the way. It's the healthiest outlook on life we can ever have. 

Catholicism under Attack

        Catholicism is being attacked more than any other religion in the world. (Does anyone dare to say anything negative about the other religions?) Our government, the media, the press, the liberals, the atheists, some Protestant churches, and even certain rebellious elements within are all unfriendly to the mother church. To me, this is the sign that the Catholic Church is the true church of Christ. This is the church that's practicing "love your enemies." It has survived two thousand years and will survive till the end of the world, as Christ had assured us. By contrast, no one attacks a church that does not hold onto any rigid standards, lets everybody in, and tries to keep all members happy by not looking deeply into any of the Christian truths that might stir up controversy.

God Initiates All Good Things

        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.

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.