One Beautiful Act

        Submitting ourselves to God so that his will becomes our will. 

Sitting at the Lord's Feet

        The Gospel reading at Mass was taken from Luke 10, the well-known Martha-Mary story. Jesus was at their house and Martha was burdened with serving, while her sister Mary just sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha complained to the Lord that Mary had left her by herself to do the serving and wanted Jesus to get Mary to help her. The Lord replied that "Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." I see that Martha's work was necessary, but perhaps her attitude was not the best. One thing is clear ~ we must set spending time with the Lord as our first priority in life. Better yet, integrate the awareness of his holy presence into our lives, then we shall be sitting at his feet and listening to him speak at all times.  

We Are Apostles Too!

        In today's first reading from Galatians 1, Paul mentioned the Apostles before him, since he was called by the Lord most likely three years after the Apostles were. It dawns on me that the Lord can call anyone at any time. We who have been called are to be his apostles too! We can imitate the original Apostles by following the Lord everywhere, listening to him, learning from him, obeying him, and even dying for him. We are given the chance to continue spreading the glory of God today ~ what an honor and privilege!  

Achieving Sanctity Anywhere

        For those of us who do not belong to a monastery or convent, we can also live a life of prayer and obedience to God. For the religious, there are established rules to follow and personal guidance. The difference may be likened to that between working out at a gym under the supervision of a personal trainer or working out at home by yourself on your own machine. The same result can be achieved. You don't need to be a religious to achieve sanctity or union with God. The Lord's help is available anywhere.

God Calling

        Yesterday I mentioned that the Lord made me yearn for him. Today he made me see that it's his way of calling me to serve him even more and better. Then I would be more in union with him, fulfilling my desire.

Give God Freedom!

        St. Teresa of Avila in Chapter 28 of her The Ways of Perfection wrote: "The Lord doesn't give himself completely until we give ourselves completely. He never works in the soul as he does when it is totally his without any obstacle, nor do I see how he could." This is really saying that God does not have a freehand in shaping us if we have not surrendered to him totally. Wonders happen only when we let God do whatever he wants with us.

God and the World

        (1) Care only about what God thinks of you; never mind what the world says about you. When the world praises you, consider it a curse because it can snatch you away from God. When the world condemns you, consider it a blessing because you are now closer to Jesus. As for God, he'll never condemn you, and any praise coming from him will make all the praises you can get from the world look like dung. 

       (2) Following God and following the world are like two tracks running parallel to each other. Which one you travel on is a matter of great consequence. Many travel on the world track and occasionally get on the other track or get on it the last minute ~ this is not good enough. We should stay on the track to be with the Lord at all times lest we risk losing our life in the end. 

Sweet Words of the Lord

        Today's Communion experience. When I heard the priest repeating these words of the Lord at the Last Supper during consecration of the bread and wine: "Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body which will be given up for you" and "Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins," these had to be the sweetest words I had ever heard. I was ready to be transported to anywhere he wants me to go.

Lost Divine Origin

        In today's 1st Reading at Mass from Galatians 1, Paul wrote: "...the Gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ." I can't help lamenting the fact that today we have so many Christian denominations following various human leaders whose teachings do not agree with each other's. They all have their own way of interpreting the Scriptures and own version of the gospel to preach. Chaos and confusion result when humans replace the divine.   

Into Jesus!

        Before Mass began this morning at church, I experienced a tremendous yearning for Jesus. I just wanted to be totally absorbed into him, to be "lost" in him, to be an integral part of him.... You don't just want to be drawn to him ~ you want to be drawn into him! What happened? The answer is that the powerful, sweet love of Jesus leaves an indelible imprint on your soul and you are transformed forever. He then sends you on an enthralling journey heading straight for heaven where your name is written. Do you think that you can wait?

Be Single-Minded in Serving God

        We are to give ourselves entirely to God and not be concerned about how much of himself he is going to give us. Our duty is to love and serve him irrespective of how much we are going to gain for ourselves. God will never shortchange us in the end. Jesus said to Thomas, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed" (John 20.29). I could also hear the Lord saying: "Blessed are those who have not received any consolation from me and have believed."

We Need God!

        This evening I sense just how much we need God. If there is no God and we are strictly left to ourselves, how can we possibly lift ourselves up any higher? We would be "buried" in our world all our life. We wouldn't know which way to turn for sure and where we are going to end up ~ in other words, we'd be groping in the dark, as it were. Then I think of God. Jesus has made the way absolutely clear. By his power and grace, he lifts me up high and one day I'll be as high as where he is and that day is coming fast, since life is so brief. It's as if the train is passing through and if you don't get on board, you are going to be left behind for ever. What a difference Christ can make ~ we do need him!  

After Entering Jesus

        In John 10.9, Jesus said, "I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved...." I did mention earlier how I discovered the inner spaciousness of the Lord, so the saying "I am the gate" now takes on a new meaning for me. Figuratively speaking, once I enter him, I see all kinds of treasures in this infinite space and I get very excited, eager to explore the immense riches there is. Complete freedom has been granted me to learn, absorb, and enjoy ~ this is truly dwelling in the house of the Lord!

Another Look at Abortion

        Today the first Sunday of October has been designated Respect Life Sunday by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. So it is the right time to take another look at abortion. 

         A person may choose to abort the unborn child, but please do not consider it to be your right. Does saying you have the right to terminate (I am not using the word "kill") another human life sound good to you? You can say pro-choice instead of anti-life, call it a fetus instead of an unborn child, argue that the unborn is not a person yet (even though the dictionary defines a person as a human being)...there is no getting around the fact that abortion ends another life ~ in this case, a totally innocent, defenseless life of your own child, a life whom God has created! The total number of victims that had been terminated by the Nazis during the Holocaust is estimated to be between 11 million and 17 million; the number of legalized abortions performed in the U.S. alone since 1973 has exceeded 50 million! If abortion is truly OK, then I suppose I could also say that there is no such thing as evil anymore.    

Helpless Before God

        Today's Communion experience. Because there's no Mass scheduled at the nearby seminary this morning, I went to a church almost seven miles away. I was impressed by the large turnout on a Saturday. 

        Before receiving the Holy Eucharist I asked the Lord to fully remove all my sins because I desired the closest possible union with him. After receiving the Holy Eucharist, he gave me more joy than usual, so much so that I could hardly contain it as it penetrated my soul. I became totally helpless before the Lord. When God wants to do you a favor, there's no use turning away or fighting it ~ he just accomplishes what he wishes to accomplish. See how he changed St. Paul from a persecutor of Christians to a faithful disciple! We can take advantage of this facet of the Lord. If we fail to change ourselves on our own, surrender to him and let him do the work, then it'll be done without our help. 

Jesus Challenges Us Again

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Luke 10, Jesus said to the seventy-two disciples who had just returned, "All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." These are truly earthshaking statements that we must take seriously ~ either they are completely true or completely false. I can vouch for their truthfulness because through Christ I now know the Father.

Jesus Is Everything to Me

        Today I feel that Jesus is the one who sustains me every moment; keeps me alive and will give me life after my death; is my bright hope, refuge, guide, inspiration, and much, much more; grants me freedom of the spirit, peace, and the sweetest joy; is all I need; and makes me want to live with zeal and die for him happily. You can totally destroy me by taking him away from me. But that is not going to happen because nothing in the world can possibly separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus the Lord (Romans 8.38-39). Therefore, I keep rejoicing.

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.