You give myself completely to God ~ he starts to transform you ~ gradually you become like Christ ~ finally, realizing that you and he are alike, you yearn to become one with him ~ you fall deeply in love with God and your deepest desire is fulfilled.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Becoming Master of Our Life
To straighten everything out in our life and become master of our new life, all we need to do is to go straight to the very highest top, our God, and hand ourselves over to him. Then he will help us become his faithful, truthful, and trusting children. In the process, we'll invariably fall in love with him, learn to love all others and have no more enemies. The Lord will handle our tendency to sin and our own struggle to overcome our own sins will be no more. Nothing will be able to deter us in any way. When we are OK with God, everything is OK with us. (In other words, the superior way is to seek union with God first.)
Mutually Beneficial
When God gives you a certain task to perform, it is a very beautiful thing because he gets to use you to accomplish his will and you get a chance to please and glorify him.
On Receiving Holy Communion
Practically everybody receives Holy Communion nowadays at Mass. Do they receive the Lord merely out of habit? Do they seriously understand what they receive? Let me relate to you some of the things St. Teresa says about reception of the most Blessed Sacrament in Chapter 34 of her The Way of Perfection.
She advises that we don't lose so good an occasion for conversing with God as is the hour after having received Communion. We should strive to leave our soul with the Lord ~ he is within us. This is a good time for him to teach us and for us to listen to him. Since you have the Lord himself present, strive to close the eyes of the body and open those of the soul and look into our heart. And he will reveal himself to us. [I would like to vouch for the fact that I made the most spiritual gains during the time I shared my heart with the Lord after receiving him in the Holy Eucharist. On the average, I spent about 40 minutes each time.]
Teresa continues. His Majesty lets all those who love and desire him greatly know that it is he who is present in the most Blessed Sacrament; these are his true friends. Whoever is not his true friend will never trouble with requests that he reveal himself. Such a person will hardly have fulfilled what the Church requires when he will leave and quickly forget what took place. Thus, such a person hurries on as soon as he can to other business affairs, occupations, and worldly impediments so that the Lord of the house may not occupy it. [This is worse than not receiving the Lord.]
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Nothing to Be Bothered About
If people say wrong things about me, I am not bothered simply because what's said is not true. Then there are people who falsely believe in some things about me, and I feel that I should explain things to them to clear up any misunderstanding. Now I see that these two cases really belong to the same category, so the second case no longer bothers me. It is God's understanding alone that matters. Since God always understands, there is not a thing to be bothered about.
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.
Monday, October 8, 2012
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."
Sunday, October 7, 2012
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!
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