Learning More from St. Teresa

       After finishing reading her Life, I am continuing with her The Way of Perfection which she wrote for her nuns under her charge. Here is a couple of important points that is good to know. 

        (1) Love:  The love we have for others is to be perfect. It must not be affected by how attractive or unattractive the person we love is, how much affection we have for the person, or whether he or she is going to appreciate us or love us back. In other words, the love must be the pure, unconditional love of God. In this way, we remain free. (By the way, the more St. Teresa was persecuted by others, the stronger her love for her persecutors grew.)

        (2) Detachment:  Not only are we to be detached from all things of the world, we are to do so from ourselves. Humility and detachment always go together. This way, we become fearless of anyone.

Let God's Will Prevail

         Today is the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, who actually lived the gospel. After receiving Holy Communion, I saw in my mind the following. 

        To be transformed by God is to be drawn into Christ. Once we have completely entered the Lord, transformation takes place "automatically" ~ we can't help it because the consuming love of God simply melts our heart and we are completely his. Let God's will prevail and miracles happen.

Awesome Holiness of God

        God's holiness is awesome, the most awesome spiritual state I can think of! Relative this holiness, every other single spiritual state is to be evaluated. The extreme opposite to God's holiness, wickedness or impurity, is exposed as the ugliest state. Without God, there would be no absolute concept of holiness. The fact that we can conceive both holiness and wickedness proves that God must exist.

Eternity Matters

        Today's Communion experience. Before receiving the Lord, I saw his goodness and great mercy. After receiving him, I saw that this heavenly bread was preparing me for eternity. I then realized that everything God does has to do with eternity. He just does not solve our problem for a day ~ he plans everything for eternity, since he himself lives forever. Jesus did everything with the goal of saving us for eternity. If we do everything with eternity in mind, we shall be with our infinite God for all eternity.    

Head over Heart This Time

        The heart matters the most to the Lord. Today I see that the head can be helpful too. Once we are convinced that God exists and loves us, we can tuck that information away in our head. Then if we experience dark nights of the soul, encounter strong temptations, or when our faith is being severely tested, we can retrieve that information, hold onto it, knowing that it is certain and that feelings and emotions are not to trusted, and ride through the trying times.  

Going All Out After God

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9 at Mass, Jesus said to some would-be followers, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God." For us, it means that we must go all out in following God. This is as it should be. It's very much like competing in a race. One should run as fast as he can without looking back if he wants to be rewarded with eternal happiness in heaven at the end.        

How to Gain More Humility

        A saintly person regards all others to be holier than him or her. In reality, this cannot be true, but it's a great way to practice humility. You could say that going overboard provides the cushion you need. It's like an arched bridge or one of those long truck beds ~ the slight upward curve provides a lot extra strength for carrying the load, hence a greater safety factor. Similarly, being "over-humble" is a good way to become more humble. 

An Ideal Relationship

        When you are in deep love with God (a common occurrence in Christianity), you are aware of your loved one's presence at all times. So your receive strength, courage, consolation...whatever you need to accomplish his will, right then and there. It's an ideal relationship!

Praying without Effort

        After Mass ended, I tried to pray without saying any words nor thinking any thoughts since the Lord already knew what's in both my heart and mind. So I just rested in him and enjoyed his presence. Sometimes trying hard is achieving less. I don't need words or thoughts to reach the Lord ~ he and I are already in each other!  

Jesus to "Detoxify" Us

        The sad reality today is that as we grow up in our secular, materialistic, egocentric world, our thoughts, speech, actions...all become rather unholy, if not downright evil. Younger people are looking up to the wrong persons as role models. Our only hope of becoming pleasing to God is to let Jesus "detoxify" us by ridding us of the effects of all the "poisonous" influences of the world. Fight evil with God's love and we can become holy and wholesome again.

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.)