Holding Up & Basking in God's Light

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6 for Mass, Jesus said to the crowd, "No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or set it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light." The whole purpose of the light is for all to be able to see. Jesus is our bright light and our role is to show him so that all may see him through us. Therefore, let every move be as the Lord wants us to make.

      Jesus continued, "For there is nothing that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light." This is true because he knows everything about us already. Face this truth and lay ourselves completely open before him so that he may enter to transform us into the most desirable creature to him.  

Muddy Thinking Is Dangerous

        The German Catholic Church is in the news. Catholics make up about  30% of the population, but the number of congregants leaving the church rose to over 180,000 in 2010, with the increase blamed on revelations of sexual abuse by German priests. The question Jesus asked the Twelve after all his other disciples were shocked by his bread of life discourse and left him comes to my mind: "Do you also want to leave?" (John 6.67). To leave the Church because of the imperfections of her members is muddy thinking ~ mixing the perfect Lord up with all the sinners. If imperfection is that important to one, then shouldn't he look at his own imperfections first? For one who has true faith in Jesus, that faith will not be shaken the slightest bit, in fact, will even increase, even if every other Catholic in the world, including the Pope, becomes evil! The Church is the Body of Christ. Leaving her is cutting your own lifeline to Christ! Seek union with Christ so that you may always have clear thinking.

True Humility

        Yesterday I saw that if one has true humility, then he must be willing to accept any suffering the Lord sends his way. Jesus' Passion makes this clear, a point I really never looked at this way before. In any case, to be truly humble is willingly accepting anything the Lord sends you. 

Freedom of Speech

        Recently, an anti-Muslim film came out, causing worldwide protests and the loss of many lives. Is freedom of speech a good thing? It must not mean that you can say anything you want. For the average person, this freedom must be guided by good common sense. For disciples of Jesus, freedom of speech is a nonissue, for they follow the Holy Spirit in what they say; that is, they let love dictate what they say. (Read James 3 to learn how to tame our tongue.)  

Certainty About Jesus

         Early his morning the sky looked striking. It was filled with soft, fluffy, white clouds in hues of grey and pink, produced by the rays of the early sun. The sky was more cyan than blue. Anyhow, each color complemented the others perfectly ~ I knew that I was seeing a beautiful sight. If someone told me that what I saw was really ugly or that the scene was in black and white only or that it was really an illusion, I would instantly knew that he was wrong. 

        Then I thought of Jesus. I know that he is divine, he loves us, he is truly beautiful, and he is our Lord and God; but there are plenty people who do not believe in God or cast doubts upon him and discredit or even ridicule Jesus. We hear about the prehistoric man, our evolution from the monkeys, whether Jesus ever existed, the de Vinci code story, and just in the news the discovery announced by Karen King, a professor at Harvard Divinity School, that Jesus might be married, based upon what's written on a tiny scrap of papyrus she had (King is the author of The Gospel of Mary of Magdala, What is Gnosticism?, The Secret Revelation of John and other books on what's considered to be heretical literature). Just as I was certain about the beautiful sky I saw this morning, I am certain about what I believe about Jesus. Therefore, anything else said about him becomes totally inconsequential.        

A Most Private Moment

        Today's Communion experience. After receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist, I felt that I was having the most private moment of my life. If I were all by myself, that would only be a most lonely moment, not a private one. But being totally with the Lord alone ~ that is private.

Impure Motivation & False Humility

        I've been advocating letting God enter us to take away our struggle in making spiritual progress. Of course, this does not mean that we don't do anything besides opening ourselves up to God. A couple of things I've recently sensed and would like to share: (1) Pure motivation is something we have to work on. It's easy to respond and say to others the way we normally do, but they are times I still detect that my response is motivated by some self-centeredness. (2) False humility is sometimes more difficult to discern. If God has a message for us to share, we should do it for his glory. If we are concerned that we might draw attention to ourselves, that could be false humility. Basically, we do what the Lord wants us to do and not be concerned about whether people are going to praise or criticize us.   

Thinking About Jesus Alone

        People think about the past, not because they enjoy doing it, but because unhappy events and experiences haunt them, keeping them unhappy. People also think about the future with worry or hope. Since the future is never certain, always an unknown, they feel unsettled. So what should we think about? Jesus, of course, for the Lord is an eternal joy! Dwell on or in him and we'll have interior peace.

Living for God Alone

        People do not know us as God knows us. If we are concerned about what people think of us, we can't help being dishonest or hypocritical at times. Therefore, we should be concerned about what God thinks of us only, he who knows everything about us already. By living for him alone, we remain honest and genuine at all times. 

Rejoicing in Being Called

        Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9 records how Jesus called Matthew to follow him. Of course, Matthew didn't know what's really in store for him yet, but we now know that when God calls us, it's because he loves us, the Father has chosen us, and he is ready to bestow upon us the greatest honor of our life. It is a time appropriate for great rejoicing ~ jumping up and down and shouting for joy are not out of place.

God Can Make Us Holy

        Continuing reading St. Teresa's Life has convinced me further that when God grants us a favor, it's impossible for us to resist. Without his help, we'd be struggling all our lives trying to be holy; but when God lends a hand, it's done for us! In today's first reading at Mass from Ephesians, Paul urged all to be humble and gentle with patience, to bear with one another through love, and to strive to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. His advice is good, but to be able to follow it is another matter. Of course, there has to be the faith in Christ to start out with. Then help from the Lord is absolutely necessary to guarantee success. Again, seeking union with God will satisfy all requirements.

Yearning for God

        Today is the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle. Before Mass started, I felt that the Lord was asking me, "What do you want of me?" (I felt like asking him the exact, same question?) What I want of God is all of him to satisfy my yearning for him. A little bit of him is just not enough because he is just too beautiful! If you call that greed, then it is a holy greed, a good greed. God is someone you can never get tired of having more and more of. 

Serving God Big

        Most of us don't get the opportunity to do anything big for the Lord ~ that's OK. What we can do is to do every little thing perfectly with humility and joy for the love of God, then he would be greatly pleased. This is a sure way of building up our treasure in heaven. In fact, this is a sure way to sainthood for anyone (read about the little way of St. Therese, the Little Flower).  

Peter, the First Pope

        Paul referred to Peter as Cephas (see last post). Cephas is the name given to Peter by Jesus (John 1:42) ~ it is a Syriac name meaning "rock." Later, Jesus said to Peter, "I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." To me, it is clear that Peter was made the head of the Church by Jesus. 

Evidence for Resurrection

        Today's first reading at Mass came from 1 Corinthians 15. Paul told that Jesus, after he was raised, appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, and then to more than five hundred at once, most of whom still living at the time Paul wrote his letter. Next, Jesus appeared to James, then to all the Apostles again. Last, he appeared to Paul. All these appearances point irrefutably to the Resurrection of the Lord. 

God amid the Self-Destructive World

        Yesterday, I saw that judging or not forgiving others is destructive. We not only hurt our own health, but also go against the will of God. Today I see that the whole world is heading for self-destruction. Without knowing the love of Christ, it has gone mad or insane beyond mere foolishness. Scanning the news any day and you'll see how sad the state we are in. One bright item today on BBC News is worth a look because these astronomy photographs show how small we are and how stunning and great God is. They also tell us that our earth cannot last forever. Here is the link ~ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19637073. 

Enjoying the Lord

        Today's Communion experience: I simply let my heart, spirit, and soul enjoy their union with the Lord through the Holy Eucharist.

Letting Jesus Raise Us

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, outside the gate of the city Nain Jesus saw that a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, a widow. The Lord was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep." He then stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.  

       If Jesus can raise the dead like that, then we can also "play dead" by setting our own will aside and letting him raise us to a new life. In John 11:25-26, Jesus aid, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." So, to believe is to be raised, and we shall live.