On Entering the Kingdom of Heaven

        Today is the Memorial of the Guardian Angels. In the Gospel reading taken from Matthew 18, Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven." Here is the key to entering the Kingdom of heaven: we are to believe in the Lord with no pride whatsoever and with complete trust. Any resistance can come only from us, not God.

Happy to Be Getting Older?

        Yes! The reasons are simple. First of all, knowing Jesus everyday is a joy and now I am getting even closer to seeing him, the one I love, in person. Secondly, for each day I live on, it's more time for me to be drawn closer to him ~ after this life, I won't have this chance anymore because I'll be either with him or not. The Lord knows exactly how much longer I shall live and I know that the time I have left will be exactly right for me. 

The Only Guideline We Need

        Today is the Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, my beloved saint and spiritual director. The Entrance Song, adopted from Deuteronomy 32.10-12, reads: "The Lord led her and taught her, and kept her as the apple of his eye. Like an eagle spreading his wings he took her up and bore her on his shoulders. The Lord alone was her guide." This last sentence I italicized impresses me the most. This should be our guideline: "The Lord alone is to be our guide." 

Better to Be like God

        It crossed my mind this morning that God is a quiet gentleman. He waits for me most of the time and gently nudges us once in a while, never hitting us on the head or doing anything like that. He is always genuine and sincere. On the other hand, we are often loud and get violent, emotionally anyway. We inflate ourselves or try to be a different person when we want to impress others or achieve our self-centered goals. In other words, we are not what we really are. With God's help, we can become true to ourselves at all times. There'll be nothing for us to pretend or hide anymore; the true person reflecting the light and love of God comes through. And we'll be as quiet, gentle, genuine, and sincere as the Lord. After all, we are created in his image.  

Inspired by the Dominican Sisters

         I thought I had done posting this month, today being September 30. Than I saw the film Beloved ~ The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia on EWTN TV featuring the sisters in Nashville, Tennessee. They showed so much joy in Christ that I had to cry a little bit. So now I have a few more thoughts to share, inspired by what I saw and heard in the film. 

        (1) Whatever we do, do it for God and doing becomes a joy. 

      (2) Life is short ~ there are just so many years, so much good health and energy and we are old and then die. So how are we going to spend our life?

        (3) One sister said, "Only truth can satisfy you" ~ absolutely true!

       (4) One of the greatest joys is to bring others to Christ. Bringing them to other good things of the world is just not the same, unless it's so directed by God.

      (5) There are millions of attractions in our world and the Most Beautiful One is Christ, so pick him out and let him alone draw you. Then he will make both you and your life beautiful!

Why Go to Mass?

      Jesus died for us out of love so that we may be free. We are deeply touched and moved by this great act of mercy. Then we rejoice in our freedom. Going to Mass is to celebrate that freedom!

Jesus, a Sinner's Paradise

        Before I received Holy Communion this morning, I knew that if I were to see all the glory in that elevated host, I would be blinded. I then felt the acute need for Christ, for I was such a great sinner before him.

       After I received Holy Communion, I sensed the breadth, height, and depth of the Lord, as immense as the universe. In this tremendous space, I have complete freedom!

Sinner's Routes

        The Gospel reading came from Mark 9. Read verses 42-48 and you'll see how horrible sin is to God. Jesus also made it clear that with sin we cannot enter the kingdom of God and that there is punishment for sinners.
        There are only two routes for us to take: (1) Repent, be forgiven, and enter the kingdom of God. (2) Remain unrepentant and receive due punishment. (One of these is unthinkable.)

The Foolish Rich

        Reading 2 at today's Sunday Mass was taken from James 5. In this epistle, James warned the unjust rich. The last sentence of verse 3 had a chilling effect on me when I heard it read: "You have stored up treasure for the last days." Storing up treasure sounds like a good idea, but if "the last days" are the last days of this life, then all efforts were just plain wasted. A very sad story, indeed. 

Sweetest Spot in Existence

        The core (or heart) of Christ is the sweetest spot in the whole universe and beyond. The deeper you enter it, the sweeter the taste you experience.

Desire for Change

        If you ask most people who already have some faith in God if they should become holier and love God more, I believe that they would answer yes and yes. Yet it's so difficult for them to spring into action to make the necessary changes in their lives. I believe that when we are comfortable, we tend to remain stagnant without any strong incentives to get us moving. It all comes down to how strong our faith is and how much we really know God. Do not forget that being lukewarm is nauseating to Christ (Revelation 3.16).

Time Stood Still

        Today is the Feast of St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael, archangels. After I received Holy Communion this morning, I knew that I was with the eternal God and time stood still in those few moments. 

Drawing Powers

        The drawing powers of the world attract us because they can give us pleasures or fulfill our desires. Why do we attend a pop concert, a ball game, a political rally...?  Note that these powers can hold us as slaves.

        The drawing power of God is attractive because God is sincere, genuine, unselfish, and pure love. He draws us to set us free!   

To Surrender to God Is...

to obey Love.

God the Life-Changer

        I have another name for our God ~ he is the life-changer. In fact, this is the purpose of his coming into the world, to change our wretched ways of life so that we may be saved. With our cooperation, he can turn our lives completely around ~ all the saints are living proofs. And his work is always lovingly performed with us reaping joy and satisfaction at the end. 

Keeping God's Love Pure

        When we show God's love for others, we must not contaminate this love with any of our impure intentions. This means being detached from those we love. This is not a contradiction ~ it just ensures that the love we feel and show is kept pure.  

Our Highest "Achievement"

        This has to be that we reach union with God. I placed quotes around the word "achievement" in the title because it's God's doing, not really our achievement. Union with the Lord is embracing all of him willingly! God became man in Jesus, now by his power we become like him. This is the achievement!        

Best World to Live In

        At Communion time, I felt that only Jesus could satisfy my soul and I do have him! In fact, I was ready to let his engulfing love annihilate me. After Communion, the noises (people talking, walking...) around the church didn't bother me, for I just wanted to be with the Lord alone. People live in different worlds ~ the worlds of politics, sports, entertainment, music, arts, etc.). How I wish that we all live in the world of Christ, the most enjoyable of all the worlds!