The Lord Is Hurting

        I am still thinking about my post The Falling Away from God which I put up yesterday. If you had read that BBC report and the readers comments, you might feel just as sad as I am. At Mass this morning, the picture of the suffering Lord floated into my mind ~ it's an image of how he looked on his way to Golgotha to be crucified. Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 22 was appropriate. In this parable of the wedding feast told by Jesus, the king invited many guests to this feast he gave for his son, but some ignored the invitation or refused to come. Others even mistreated and killed the servants dispatched to summon the guests. The king was enraged and destroyed them. Then he invited whomever his servants could find in the streets. One man came, was spotted not dressed in a wedding garment and also got punished. Jesus' last words were "Many are invited, but few are chosen." Today's situation is no different or perhaps even worse. The pressing question is: "How may we console the Lord?"

Seeing the True Jesus

        Today at Communion time at Mass, I understood that receiving the Lord was to obey and submit myself to him. After Communion, I saw the loveliness of the Lord and questioned how people could possibly reject him. May he be adored forever!

Never Question God's Way

        In the Gospel reading taken from Matthew 20, Jesus mentioned "the last will be first, and the first will be last" in telling the parable of the workers in the vineyard. I think that the saying means that God can do whatever he wants and we have no right to question him. Even if my interpretation is wrong, what I have interpreted it to mean is still correct.

On Praying for Enemies

        Today is the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Praying for our enemies is hard, so let's look to the Holy Mother as our example ~ she prays for everyone without exception and intercedes for all of us. Enemies need even more prayers than friends, so let's pray without being discriminatory. 

The Falling Away from God

        Atheism is on the rise (check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19262884) ~ people, including many lukewarm Christians, are rebelling against God. I feel sorry for them more than for the Lord. Like the ones who crucified Christ, they just don't know what they are doing! How sad that they do not know that union with God is the most beautiful state of existence and if everyone achieves that state, earth will become like heaven. Is there any hope for them? Definitely yes, only if they'd realize that God's mercy in infinite and that nothing is impossible with him.

The Holy Spirit & God's Will

        This morning after I woke up, I sensed that it is the Holy Spirit who prompts all followers of Christ to do God's will. You could say that the Holy Spirit "is" God's will because to know the Holy Spirit is to know God's will. Let the Holy Spirit lead us in every little step we take.

Making Union Easy

        When we attain union with God, it is God who does all the work by his holy love. All we need to do is "be open to him." The degree of difficulty following the Lord is inversely proportional to how much we open up to him ~ which is saying that the more we open up, the less difficult it is for us to follow him. 

Going by the Lord?

        Jesus entered the world to become one of us so that he could spread the good news of our salvation among us. And we have only one life to live in which to catch this critically important message of love, not before our birth or after our death. The period that's open for us is brief and unpredictable ~ I am speaking from the point of view of someone who has already found and accepted this truth. The Lord patiently awaits us ~ if we do not grab him soon enough, he'll be out of reach forever! This message is urgent indeed. 

On Guard with Humility

        Today I realize that we should watch out for pride even when the Lord is giving us joy. We must not let any such good feeling or other rewards affect whatever residual ego that's still left in us. This is tricky business; but to be safe, it's essential to receive all good things with great humility.

God Alone Suffices

        After receiving the Holy Eucharist this morning, I felt that I was ready for death since I already possess the Lord. "The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack" (Psalm 23), exactly!

Following the Lord Perfectly

        The Gospel story from Matthew 19 at Mass tells about the young man who wanted to gain eternal life and asked Jesus what he must do. The Lord told him to keep the commandments. Since he had already observed them, he asked what he still lacked. Then Jesus told him that if he wished to be perfect, he should go sell what he had, give to the poor, and go follow him. St. Francis of Assisi did it ~ should we do the same if we wish to be perfect? For practical reasons, we may not be able to do it, but the bottom line (what Jesus really wants from us) is that we do not get attached to anything we possess so that we may be free to follow him. 

Remaining in Jesus' Love

        Today is the Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church. The Communion Song (John 15.9) reads: "As the Father loves me, so I also love you; remain in my love, says the Lord." "Remain in my love" ~ how tender and beautiful! Jesus has already shown us how great his love is. To remain in his love is to be in paradise, with our happiness now and forever ensured!

See How Jesus Evangelized

        I look at Jesus to see how he spread the good news to others. He did it with great compassion, teaching and healing people along the way. He never did anything to promote himself, to show how good he was. He never forced others in any way to believe in him ~ he simply preached the gospel and let them decide whether to follow him or not. We must look to his example as we evangelize the world for his sake.       

What to Do with God's Love?

        A friend of mine used to say that he was happy any day he woke up, checked the newspaper obituary column and didn't find his name listed there. Of course, he was not being serious. This morning I woke up and felt happy because I knew that God still loved me, and I am being serious. Knowing that God's love is always there for me is a great consolation and joy. Each of us must ultimately deal with it ~ to accept or reject this love. 

God's Infinite Mercy

        Besides love, infinity is other word by which to remember God. It would take infinite creative power to create just a single blade of grass. But I am thinking about his mercy. I can be the most wretched sinner of all and if I just turn to him, repent, and seek salvation, then I instantly become his son. This is only possible if his mercy is infinite. It is fitting for us to show our appreciation by taking advantage of this mercy.

The Lord Is Joy

        Our pastor today gave a beautiful homily on Jesus as the bread of life. The Mass became a celebration for life. Receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord is entering him, his world, to be transformed into a new creature beautiful for him to behold. There is no greater joy in this life than letting God give us whatever he wants to give us! Jesus is joy ~ how can he not make us joyful? All in all, a beautiful day today!

True Bread of Life

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass, John 6:51-58, Jesus made it absolutely clear in his discourse to the crowds that he is the living bread that came down from heaven and whoever eats this bread will live forever; and this bread is his flesh for the life of the world. The Jews who heard Jesus quarreled among themselves and questioned, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" It's obvious that they never doubted that Jesus was not speaking symbolically. Normally, when Jesus told a parable and if there was anything unclear to the listeners, he would explain its hidden meaning. Here, he's not using a parable and there's nothing to explain ~ he simply responded by repeating what he had said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life... For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood..." Even his disciples found the saying hard and difficult to accept; some of them left him. Now, did it strike you for a moment that Jesus didn't literally mean what he said?

       The belief that Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist had been held by all since the beginning of the Church. Those today who think that the Lord only offered the bread and wine as symbols are misinterpreting his words to fit their own erroneous belief. In doing so, they miss receiving the most holy of all the sacraments, making it impossible to achieve the most intimate union with him in this life. The Holy Eucharist, Christ himself, is the center of worship in the Catholic Church. Nothing, not even the Bible, can replace that.

Keeping the Soul Safe

        Because God loves us (or if we love him), it is our duty to keep our soul safe. This means that we must avoid all external influences that can cause us to sin and remove all internal urges to sin. The best and only solution is total immersion in God, a.k.a. union with God.