Today's Gospel reading at Mass came from Matthew 24. Jesus told his disciples to stay awake and be prepared for the hour at which he will come. We hear that we should live as if it is the last day of our life ~ it makes equal sense. Jesus may not show up in our lifetime, but it doesn't matter ~ the wise would get ready anyway. Then I realize that Jesus is already present spiritually with me at all times and this awareness is sufficient to keep me on my toes. I shall talk or pray to him whether I am doing anything or not, getting him involved in all things at all times ~ an excellent way to prepare for his coming.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Freedom and Joy Again
After receiving Holy Communion, I experienced great freedom. This is the freedom that comes naturally from leaving all up to God as opposed to getting stressed out for having to take care of all things on your own. I also felt so happy and grateful that God knows my heart ~ since he sees exactly what is in it, he is free to purify and do whatever is needed to keep it pleasing to him. What a grace!
What We Should Want to Do
Today is the Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist. As we learn from Matthew 6, today's Gospel reading: King Herod married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip; Herodias, harboring a grudge against John the Baptist because of his disapproval of the marriage, wanted to kill him; when the king was delighted with the dance of his daughter, promised to grant her whatever she asked of him, she went to ask the mother and Herodias asked for the head of John the Baptist.
King Herod, his wife Herodias, and the daughter ~ all three did exactly what they wanted to do, with no concern for others. They are great examples for us because they show exactly what we should not be like. For us, there is only one thing we should want to do, God's will.
Spiritual Battle, Another View
You must agree that we are all engaged in spiritual warfare, with both God and Satan fighting for our souls. But there is another view, with Satan just playing a side role. Our main battle is really one to be fought against ourselves. If we overcome ourselves, our rebellion against God ceases and our personal battle is over. Now we are with God. If not, then Satan wins.
Promises You Can Count On
In John 6, Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." And a little later, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." Since the first promise has already proven to be true as I no longer hunger nor thirst, you can confidently count on the fulfillment of the second promise that we will live forever if we receive the Holy Eucharist, when we pass from this world.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Be Bold and Humble
Boldness and humility make an ideal coupling for any disciple of Christ. Be bold means never being afraid to speak out or act for the glory of God. Be humble means always forgetting about your own ego (if there's still any left) and concentrating on serving God alone.
To Deeper Union
I had a tooth that had cracked, so it was pulled out. It looked like it did not heal right and had started bleeding. At Mass this morning (memorial of St. Augustine), my mouth was full of blood when I received the Holy Eucharist. The mingling made me feel in a way that I was drawn even deeper into union with Christ. Also, it taught me to unite all my sufferings with his.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Receiving God's Mercy
As I received the Lord in the Holy Eucharist this morning, I felt that it was a most merciful act for him to enter the sinful me. It was merciful of him to look more at my intentions and less at the actual state of my soul.
Let the Transformation Begin!
God has made each one of us into a unique creature. We all have different personalities, traits, talents, etc. And God leads us to him along different paths too, but he has one individual plan for each of us ~ he wants to mold each one of us into the perfect person as he has envisioned. So give the Lord the green light and let it begin. Don't expect to experience the same thing as any saint has experienced, but the end result will be just as satisfactory to God (and you'll be extremely satisfied too).
Think Far Enough Ahead
It was a beautiful morning with the sun out in the blue sky and the temperature just perfect, yet I knew that this would pass. Daytime is already getting shorter; soon there'll be colder, rainy, windy days and some plants will freeze and die ~ this has happened every year. Our life is also passing and soon we'll come to the end. We all tend to enjoy the good times and not think far enough ahead. Jesus asks us to store up treasures in heaven ~ this means that we must be aware our future after this life is over. (This kind of vision may rightly be described as heavenly.) As long as we have this awareness, we can enjoy the ongoing good times and accumulate treasures in heaven at the same time.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
God the Source of Our Joy
After I received the Holy Eucharist this morning, I also received a dose of the sweetest joy from the Lord. Once you taste it, you gladly reaffirm your surrender to him. It's fitting that so great a love is the source of such joy.
We Needn't Stand Alone
The Lord impressed these thoughts upon me during morning Mass. Each one of us is a unique being created by God and given a distinct soul and his own free will. Each of us alone makes his choices in what he thinks, says, and does. We came into the world alone and will depart from it alone. When God speaks to us, he speaks to each one individually. When we face God later, each person will have to answer to him strictly on his own. So it's alone all the way. Ultimately speaking, no one or anything can come between God and us ~ we alone are responsible for ourselves.
But we can take advantage of the situation by reversing it! Let's seek union with God and become one with him now, then we shall never stand alone anymore. Nothing can come between God and us ~ you can say that again!
Saturday, August 25, 2012
God Delights the Humble
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 23, Jesus pointed out the hypocrisies of the scribes and the Pharisees to the crowds and his disciples. He then told all that "whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
This is absolutely true because when you remain humble in the Lord, he always delightfully surprises you from time to time. True delights only come to the humble, for the high and mighty have only one way to go ~ down. The greatest reserved "surprise" for the humble will come, of course, at the end of this life.
Peace as Our Guide
"Peace be with you" ~ that's how Jesus greets his disciples. God always wishes us peace. So if you have great peace, you know that you love him. If you don't have peace when you do something, then it could very well be that you are not doing his will.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Ignoring the Devil Again
Many years ago, I read St. Teresa of Avila's classic Interior Castle. I am starting to read all her collected works. In the Introduction of the volume, I read: As for devils, she could say with complete freedom "I pay no more attention to them than to flies" and that the key element of her teaching about the devil is the utter uselessness of all fears concerning him. She also said, "I don't understand these fears, 'The devil! The devil!' when we can say 'God! God!' and make the devil tremble." It is gratifying to learn that she confirms what I have posted. That is, as long as we occupy ourselves with (or hide in) God, we may safely ignore the Devil.
Dear Atheists:
You believe that man invented God and use him as a crutch. I want to tell you that you've got it all wrong. My God did not come out of man's imagination ~ for your information, he came into the world almost 2,000 years ago and revealed to us who he is. And I did not seek him because I needed a crutch ~ it was his amazing love that drew me to him. I never expected to choose him ~ it was he who chose me! Keep your minds open and you might just be called by him yet.
About Atheists
Atheists do not believe that God exists, so they don't know how they got here nor the meaning of life. To Christians, not a single word of Jesus can be ignored, but the atheists wipe out the entire Judea-Christian history and the Gospel records. The gate to heaven is narrow and the road to it steep and atheists choose to tread the easiest way. Unfortunately, they don't know that it's the wrong way. And they have no guides and are shaped by the world they happen to be in. They are basically self-centered, claiming that there is no God, but setting themselves up as gods ~ no different from being idolatrous. The test of faith is the giving up of oneself and obviously, they totally flunked it.
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