My Funeral Wishes

        (1) The cheapest coffin is good enough for the body. Wasting money on anyone, dead or alive, is wasting money.

          (2) Eulogy is inappropriate; only God deserves praise.

        (3) The service should be a celebration for the beginning of a new life in paradise with the Holy Trinity, the fulfillment of my most ardent wish. Any tears shed should be tears of joy.

        (4) Only prayer can help the deceased; elaborate or fancy services satisfy only the living, not the deceased.

         (5) A simple tombstone should say something that glorifies God.

The Horror of Abortion

        Today I attended the 10:30 Sunday morning Mass. This Mass usually draws many families, but today I saw even more children wandering away from their parents and making noises. When I saw these beautiful young creatures, the horrible thought of abortion came to my mind ~ millions of other equally beautiful God-given lives had been snuffed out before they even had a chance to be born, in this country alone ~ it's the horror of horrors! How do we expect God to forgive us if we do not repent and turn around? How kind of future will this country have? I agree with Mother Teresa who said that the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. Do your part to end this crime against God and humanity.

Learning While Serving

        In serving God, we do good not only to others, but also to ourselves because God shapes and teaches us in the process. I always learn something when the Lord shows me how I could have done the job better, and that means I should be a better person in some way. When God makes you a better person, you become a happier person too.   

Knowing Jesus Makes a Difference

        This morning I attended the funeral service of the decease friend I mentioned a few posts back. He was a good man, volunteering for a lot of good causes, so the turnout at the service was quite impressive. Since he was not a religious person, God was never mentioned. And on top of that, the large room in which the service was held was rather dimly lit. As a result, I couldn't help feeling some gloom. In no way I was judging him, for God is perfectly fair and just and I had prayed for his soul to rest in peace; nevertheless, I couldn't help feeling that I was living totally in light, seeing my life and soul in great clarity. This is the difference knowing Jesus has made.  

Proper Prayer Focus

        People who exercise with weights are advised to put 100% of their effort in lifting the weight and not waste any energy on exhibiting any strains in their face. Piano players are also advised against exaggerating their playing gestures. There is a point here which I can apply to praying. If there is something that weighs heavily upon our heart, the intense emotion we feel while we pray to God is best channeled 100% into putting our trust in God, thereby relieving the burden on us. It is, instead of trying hard to want to lighten the load by ourselves, concentrating upon letting God do it for us.      

Ashamed of Jesus?

        In Matthew 10, we learn that Jesus said to the twelve disciples before sending them out, "Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father." Fair enough. I should think that being too embarrassed to let others know that we have faith in him is basically denying him. Timidity is a sign that we have not given the Holy Spirit free rein yet. A timid Christian is an unfit one, for he cannot bear much fruit. Since the Lord always spoke the truth, we must take his words seriously. Not paying attention to the above-quoted sayings can bring about dire consequences.

The True Born-Again Experience

        During Communion time at Mass, I want to die in Christ, so that I can live for him. 

That Independent Feeling

        At Mass this morning, I feel for the first time that I am independent of the world, which will have no influence on me, and that I can stand tall and straight on my own in God. 

Know When Satan Shows Up

        Being human, sinful thoughts do pop up in our minds. If we discard them right away, no sin is committed. But if you feel the temptation to dwell upon them, know that this is when Satan has found you and you must turn to the Lord instantly to avoid being drawn into sin. If you are in union with the Lord, you are secure in him and these occurrences are merely little annoyances you can easily disregard.  

Faith Makes Life Extraordinary

        Gospel reading at today's Mass came from Matthew 13. Jesus did not work any mighty miracles in his own native place because of the lack of faith of the people there. That is why the people who have no or little faith find their lives quite ordinary, while those who strongly believe in God experience great wonders and are always amazed at how the Lord works in their lives.

A Perfect Request

        If you truly love the Lord, then ask him to make you perfect. You do it for his sake and not at all for your own. We owe everything to God, so let's not shortchange him. Not asking for this favor is not believing that he can make you perfect. Look at all the saints he has made and you know that he can make you one too. It's the perfect way to show your faith in him and love for him.  

Why I Want to Go to Heaven

        I want to go to heaven only because I want to go home, back to my creator who loves me, and to dwell with him, my Lord and God, forever. Putting it humorously ~ without him, it's just no fun.

Knowing God Is Knowing the Future

        If one does not know God, then the future to him would be just the later years of his life. To plan for his future is merely to plan for better living as he ages. To him, this is very much long-range planning. Now, for someone who seriously believes in God, the future is the next life for which he plans now. He knows that his present life is extremely short and planning for it alone is planning for something that will soon vanish. It just shows that when you know God, he gives you vision and wisdom to keep you on the right path.

Pope Benedict & Teresa of Jesus

       A deacon friend just sent me Pope Benedict's reflection on the spirituality of St. Teresa of Avila on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the Carmel Reform movement. I would like to quote some sayings by the Holy Father and some by the Saint the Holy Father quoted. They are beautiful and inspiring (any emphasis is added by me.)

       Pope Benedict: "Holy people are those who humbly let Christ penetrate their soul and act through them, who truly allow him to play the lead in all their actions and aspirations, inspiring every project and sustaining every silence."

     St. Teresa: "A life of prayer consists in being on terms of friendship with God, frequently conversing in secret with him who, we know, loves us."

        St. Teresa: "The friends of God should be strong, in order that they may support the weak."

        Pope Benedict: "Following in the footsteps of Teresa of Jesus allow me to say to all who have their future before them: may you too, aspire to belong totally to Jesus. Do not be afraid to say to Our Lord, as she did, 'I am yours; I was born for you, what do you want to do with me?'" 

        There is nothing I can add.

Following God Faithfully

        Life as a whole is a big opportunity for us to practice trust in God. We are often unsure about what we are supposed to do, but these are the perfect moments to remain patient and wait for the Lord to speak to or lead us. We don't question, just follow. Later, when we look back, everything will be clear to us. What we are sure of is that following God faithfully is heading toward heaven.

Ego Is Up to God

        I recognize again that ego is one of most difficult things for us to annihilate because it grows easily and can be deeply grounded in us already. Nevertheless, it has to go if we truly love God and want to become humble. Its removal would be a huge battle for us to fight alone; but with God's help, it can become relative easy. The amount of ego we have is inversely proportional to how much we submit ourselves to God.  

God in Contrast to Man (Us)

        Yesterday I saw a short 1948 British classic film clip on Classic Arts Showcase on TV. It reminded me of the old Alfred Hitchcock and many other movies. It's quite obvious that everything was staged for maximum dramatic effect. I thought of other shows in the entertainment business and the many artworks created by man ~ they all seem so contrived and artificial. The crop of contemporary classical music compositions is to me also more craft than art, cleverly written but sounding mechanical and sometimes repetitive after you listen to the musical greats, such as Beethoven and Brahms. I am not downgrading these man's creations because they are achievements, interesting and pleasing many ~ I am only stating what I feel. Then I turn to our God, who is totally natural, genuine, and pure ~ how refreshing, invigorating, and inspiring for a change.  

Most Endearing Words of Jesus

        During the Eucharist Prayer at Mass, when the priest was repeating Jesus' words: "Take this, all of you, and eat of it: for this is my body which will be given up for you." I underlined "my" because when I heard it, it was so personal that I stopped right in my track and felt that such love and sacrifice absolutely deserved my complete surrender to him. Soon later, the priest repeated again Jesus' words: "Take this, all of you, and drink from it: for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me." These words were so endearing that my joy overflowed.