The Peace Formula

        The absence of peace in the world can be traced directly to the absence of peace in the human heart. Our self-importance has replaced God. The solution is clearly to humble ourselves so that we may surrender to God. The reward will be peace in our hearts and peace in the world. This is so obviously true, yet so hard to realize! (Simeon's prophecy at the Presentation of the child Jesus that the Lord would be a sign of contradiction comes to my mind.) 

Totally Yours, Lord

        After receiving Holy Communion this morning, I just knew that the secret of happiness is to be totally God's, then all things minor or major other than him no longer matter. I was ashamed that earlier I got a little emotionally perturbed over some trivial matter.

Being Crowned by the Lord

        Today is the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. At the Presentation of the child Jesus in the temple, Simeon prophesied that a sword would pierce Mary's soul. The Gospel Acclamation reads: "Blessed are you, O Virgin; without dying you won the Martyr's Crown beneath the Cross of the Lord." So one can be a martyr without undergoing actual physical death. Anytime we endure suffering for the sake of Christ, we are martyrs and the Lord crowns us ~ what a great honor!

Embracing All of Christ

        Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. My after-Communion thoughts were that I must embrace all of Christ, including his sufferings. But by my nature, I love to just focus upon the love of God and unreservedly place my trust in him ~ this is why St. Therese of Lisieux appeals to me so much, for her approach and ways are simple like that. 

All Gifts Are from God

        By the way, today is the Memorial of St. John Chrysostom. After receiving Holy Communion, I wanted to love God even more, but felt utterly powerless to do so. So I had no choice but to ask him to help me because I realized that all gifts come from him.

What God Wants from Us

         Today's Gospel reading from Luke 6 at Mass was all about loving your enemies and not judging others ~ these teachings of Jesus distinguish Christianity from all other religions. What the Lord said was radical and stunning. Some excerpts: "...love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you... To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well... ...for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful... Stop judging... Stop condemning... Forgive..." 

       Here's another way of seeing it. We are to realize that every single person is someone God loves to death! And he teaches us this way because he wants us to be free! He wants us to be like him so that we may live with him for all eternity! If we wish to be good children in the Father's eyes, we might as well be good all the way, and we can do that with the aid of his transforming love. The Lord wants us to know only him, to know love, for he is love.

Supernatural Gift

        Every time after I have received the Holy Eucharist, the Lord grants me some particular feelings. This morning I sensed that this Most Blessed Sacrament is indeed supernatural, a miracle, and my soul was being fed by it. The desire I had was to want to be totally his.

Knowing the Holy Spirit

        To experience the Holy Spirit, surrender to him first. Then you'll feel his gentle prompting and presence as he walks with you through all things. I did question his presence in the past and he revealed to me that he is always with us, as Jesus had promised to his disciples before his Ascension. So don't look for him, just surrender to him.

Wonderful God

        When I look at the stars and into the vast space, I am awed and humbled by the Lord God who created the universe and everything that it contains within. Compared to him, I am truly nothing. How extremely foolish or even sinful it would be for me think that I can accomplish anything on my own. Then I look at how the Lord God sent his only Son to die for me to have me saved, I instantly feel that I am the most important object to him in the entire universe. Being loved for being nothing ~ what a wonderful God!   

Interacting with the Lord

        I am a finite creature with very limited intelligence and knowledge, whereas the infinite Lord God has unlimited wisdom and knowing. It is his love that bonds us together. I most enjoy interacting with him because I learn and gain so much from him. It's impossible not to become a better and happier person under his influence. Eventually, he raises you to a new height of existence, your heart free of worldly attachments and filled with internal peace. 

9/11 Reflections

        Today is 9/11, a day we can't forget. It's a tragic day that lead to more tragedies worldwide and still continuing to happen. All I can say is that peoples have not truly known God. I doubt that there were many atheists involved in carrying out the terrorist attacks and our counter strikes ~ both sides invoked God and saw the other side as the enemy or evil, but no one really knew the true God as revealed to us through Jesus Christ correctly. They either believed in God falsely or just followed their own will, overriding the Lord's. It's been like that throughout history. Jesus was right when he said that he had come for division (Luke 12). Just be sure that you have the humility and meekness to truly follow God's will.    

Taking Care of the Soul

        The soul is the most important and the only imperishable part of us. If it does not live on forever, then all the talks about heaven, hell, and God break down and our whole life becomes totally meaningless. Anyway, I believe otherwise. Therefore, I want to place my soul in the best possible care. Therefore, I give my soul entirely over to the loving Lord who created it in the first place. As it turns out, he is the only one who takes care of souls. 

Sin & God's Mercy Warnings

          (1) Sin, if ignored, can destroy the soul.
       (2) God's mercy, though infinite, must be claimed when you are still alive before Christ's Second Coming.   

The Spiritual Journey

        The first step of the spiritual journey is the conversion, letting Jesus into your life. The final step is entering heaven to meet the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit plus all the angels and saints. The in-between part of the journey is seeking the beauty of God, celebrating his love, and enjoying union with him. If I may be so considered to be the publicity agent for this journey, then Jesus is your host, the Holy Spirit your guide, and the Father in heaven, both the trip sponsor and your insurance provider. Everyone is welcome to sign up for this once-in-a-lifetime, exciting, life-changing adventure.

Learning to Pray Appropriately

        I pray the Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy daily. Often I said these prayers first thing in the morning as if I wanted to get them over with. Before morning Mass started today, I saw that it was really a form of anxiety and seriously speaking, I wasn't listening to the Holy Spirit. By listening to him, I knew that I should acknowledge the fact that I was coming before the Lord and should prepare my heart for Mass, not trying to finish the Rosary before Mass began. Even after Mass, I should thank the Lord first before presenting any petitions. In sum, I must pray appropriately at all times ~ another good lesson from the Holy Spirit.   

Let the Lord Do It!

        I am continuing reading Life by St. Teresa of Avila. She has made amply clear that it is the Lord who does everything. The gifts she received, union, ecstasy, levitation... all came from God. Even a lesser gift such as tears we cannot possibly induce by ourselves. When we progress spiritually, it is the Lord shaping us, drawing us to him. Here the secret of attaining rapid progress is revealed. Since we cannot do anything on our own, all we need to do is to remain open and passive and when the Lord sees our desires, he will do the work for us and our progress is assured.

Ascension for Us

        As I was praying the second Glorious Mystery of the Holy Rosary, the Ascension of Jesus, this morning, he made me see that I should have my ascension too! Of course, I won't have the bodily ascension as the Lord's, but after I die, my soul will ascent to him by his power. Yes, wherever Jesus is, his sheep will be there too because his sheep always follow the master shepherd. Another exciting day for me! 

God Our Most Intimate Companion

        There are people whom I have lived with or known for all my life or all their lives, but I know that we'll never know each other 100%. With God, it's different. He already knows me thoroughly, for he is all-knowing and my creator! How do I know him? He is much easier to know than any other human creature because he is honest, trustworthy, straight forward, and completely open to us. Jesus has come and shown us what the Father is like! Once you know God, you know him all at the most personal level.