Focusing upon the Lord Always

        Our focus should always be centered upon the Lord. Even when I sin, rather than feeling bad about myself for having offended him, it is much better to realize that the Lord has been hurt by me. In short, think more about God feeling bad and less about me feeling bad. In short, be God-centered and not self-centered. 

On Using Our Time

        A good question. There is so much to seek, explore, wonder, and enjoy in the infinite beauty and everlasting love of God, then why do we waste so much of our precious lifetime bothering with all the ugly, unedifying, even trifling things of the world?   

Peace God Grants

        I believe that one reason why anyone with little faith in God does not have peace in his heart is because he is affected by everything that happens to him. Whereas one who has been drawn close to God is occupied by thoughts of love for the Father, feels the Son in him like a anchor holding him securely in divine love, and has the Holy Spirit screening all incoming thoughts so that nothing disturbing can get through. A blessed state indeed!

Made to Belong to God

      We are not made by God to own anything he has created in this world, since we ourselves are his creatures. It follows that we are made by God to belong to (be owned by) him.  

Only a Two-Way Relationship

        There are really only three possible players in our lives ~ God, us, and all other humans beings. (As for Satan, as long as we are aware of his existence and know God, he may be safely ignored since he just becomes a distraction, a small annoyance at times. He is dangerous only to those who do not believe that he exists.) We must respond to God alone and ignore all other fellow human beings, no matter what they do to us. What I mean is that we still take action following God's will, but we won't let their wrong doings in any way affect our love for God. If someone offends you, it's no different from a tree branch falling accidentally on top of you car ~ he will have to answer to God on his own in the end. You may picture that we are all linked to God upward individually, with no horizontal links between any two fellow human beings ~ a clean and simple image to remember.

Lost Souls Abound

        There are so many lost souls nowadays constituting a huge portion of the population of any big city in both the United States and other Western countries. Let's just say that he is male for convenience' sake and I'll provide a description. He does not know the meaning of life and has no one to guide him. He drifts from one day to the next. If he is working, he is not happy in his job. His family does not support or care much about him. Most likely he has financial as well as marriage or girl friend problems. He has no qualms about trying drugs or engaging in sex with others ~ to him it's no different from going to a bar to have a few drinks. And abortion does not bother him either. He thinks like his friends, not knowing that they are as lost as he is. The whole aim is to get out of or forget his own misery with no concern about morals. In a big cosmopolitan city, if there is any opportunity to have some quiet time appropriate for reflection, he mopes in gloom instead of thinking calmly to figure out how he could change and improve his life. Such souls are not inherently wicked ~ they simply are overcome by secular forces and become helpless. Since there are so many millions of them out there, we need to pray hard that they will discover the love of God one day. 

The Power of Mass

        Today during Mass, drawn by the love of Christ, I yearned to go deeper into him. The Holy Eucharist inspired great reverence ~ I knew that I touched the Most Holy and would not the same anymore!

Abandonment to Freedom

       In today's first reading from 1 Corinthians 4 at morning Mass, St. Paul said that when the Lord comes, he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God. 

         Anyone who truly trusts in God is not concerned about what is going to happen to him because he has left all in his hands. He is willing to accept whatever God sends his way ~ no questions, no complaints; only total acceptance. He welcomes God to expose all that's hidden in darkness and manifest the motives of his heart, for he knows that whatever he receives will be for the glory of God. When one abandons himself to God, all fears and worries are tossed out as well.

Jesus Is with Us!

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, the scribes and Pharisees noticed that the disciples of Jesus did not fast or offer prayers like those of John the Baptist and theirs, but ate and drank. Jesus responded by saying, "Can you make the wedding quests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the day will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days." 

        Today, I see that the Lord has completed his work of salvation, left us with the great gift of himself, the Holy Eucharist, which can lead us to union with him, and he has sent the Holy Spirit to us, to be with us always; the gospel is still being spread around us. Yes, the bridegroom is with us, more intimately than ever! As his disciple, I too feel upbeat and joyful. 

Surrendering to Love

       After receiving Holy Communion this morning, I felt that I was surrendering to the most beautiful love ~ there was nothing more I could ask. 

How the Lord Wins Us Over

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, before Jesus taught his disciples to catch men, he showed them how to catch fish. Jesus told Peter to put the boat out into deep water and pay out the nets for a catch. Peter and his companions had worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but they obeyed. They netted an unbelievably huge number of fish and were completely overwhelmed by the catch. Peter fell at the knees of Jesus saying, "Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man." 

       This is how the Lord teaches and draws us ~ he lets us have a personal experience and we are overwhelmed. Then we know that he is Lord and we are won over. As Peter showed, the winning-over itself is a sweet experience. 

Easy to Possess God

        To build up our body, we need to exercise hard. To earn a higher degree, we need to study hard. To make money, we need to work hard. It is general knowledge that nothing is free and all gains must be earned. Then I started thinking about possessing God ~ it's the easiest of all! In fact, you don't even need to work hard ~ all you have to do is to remain open and passive to the Lord for him to enter so that he may fulfill your desire ~ it is absolutely true!    

Sticking with God

        Before I share today's thoughts, I want to say that I've revised my post Ridiculous Faith of September 4. Since I caught Hannity's interview in the middle, I missed the fact that the Democrats did not mention God in this year's party platform, not in their speeches as I thought. I just read that because of all the criticisms, they've hurriedly added God back to the platform. As far as I am concerned, this is still bowing to the people and not to God. They acted like a bunch of kids not knowing what to do without the guidance of their parents.

       Since God is forever constant, present, patient, and loving, let us trust in him always whether we ride on his wings or go through the dark nights, whether the day is beautiful or gloomy, whether we are healthy or sick, for better or for worse, so that we and God will always be with each other through thick and thin.

One Short Step Away from Paradise

        Since I have a simple mind, the Lord out of his mercy always simplifies things for me to understand. At Mass this morning, I saw that God had made everything beautiful in our universe and we are the only ones who mess things up because we disobey and rebel against God. To correct this wrong, we only need to turn to him, repent, and start loving him ~ that is it! All that's involved is a change of heart and we are given the free will to make it happen. Imagine...eternal happiness just one short step away! Why are we making it so hard for ourselves?    

Learning from St. Teresa

       I am a little over a third of the way through reading St. Teresa of Avila's Life. Here are some virtues she spoke of and one tip on praying she gave:

      (1) Not speaking evil of anyone, no matter how slight; avoiding all fault-finding (not desiring to say of another person what I would not want him to say of me); no talking behind another's back (ch. 6).

        (2) Pray not with the noise of words but with longing that God hears (ch. 15).      

Ridiculous Faith

        I just happened to turn on the news and saw Hannity on Fox News talking to a Democratic governor (I wasn't 100% sure that he was a governor) at the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina. Hannity pointed out that in 2004, God was mentioned seven times in the Democrats' party platform. At the last 2008 convention, God was mentioned just once. This year there is no mention of God in the platform at all. The Democrat responded, without mentioning God, that the party is one of faith. This answer was pretty ridiculous.

        First of all, faith could mean faith in themselves, not God. Secondly, even if the faith was faith in God, it had to be a timid one. Being ashamed of God is to invite God to be ashamed of you (as Jesus had made it amply clear). It seemed to be a case of being more afraid of the people (atheists included) than of God. Thirdly, it also showed the hypocrisy which the Lord could not tolerate ("Woe to you...").  

        Yes, woe to us who treat God this way! 

The Lord Is Too Much!

        This was how I felt after receiving Holy Communion this morning. Every time Jesus enters me, he removes all my discontent, refreshes me, and gives me enough peace and joy to sustain me for a long time until I see him in paradise. Receiving him daily is being filled to overflowing. What a great joy to let his love overwhelm us!

A Beautiful Way to Live

        Today is the Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, pope and doctor of the church. The Entrance Song at Mass reads: "Blessed Gregory, raise upon the throne of Peter, sought always the beauty of the Lord and lived in celebration of that love." What a beautiful way to live! This should be the aim of all disciples of the Lord: seeking the beauty of the Lord and living in celebration of that love.