Basically, we all want to be gods, so we disobey the only true God by shoving him aside or ignoring him (as we don't have the guts to confront him directly). An onlooker on the side would see the scene of billions of battles being waged by each psuedo-god against the true God. I feel sorry for the psuedo-ones because they are basically fighting a losing battle. And I feel sorry for the Lord because it's billions-against-one and these battles do hurt him because the wounds are inflicted upon him by his own whom he loves.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
A Gift in Waiting
If you do not know God through Jesus, you'll never know if he is the true God or not. Once you believe in Jesus and come to know God more and more, this Lord will let you know without a doubt that he indeed is the true God. This is his gift for those who love him. Now you are well on your way to freedom.
God Makes Us See Right
Once you know the Lord, you begin to see the world by his standards, and the world falls far short ~ you see that it is in such a sorry, pitiful state and is dull, boring, and even nauseating in God's presence. Know the Lord and his glorious light will reveal the true worth of everything to you.
Monday, October 22, 2012
To Be Rich in Heaven
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12 at Mass, Jesus told the parable of the rich fool. In it, God said to the rich man, "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong? Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God." Let me add that in Matthew 6, Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, but store up treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." So we need to set our hearts on eternity. Store up treasures in heaven starting right now by doing everything that matters to God and you will be rich in heaven.
Living in Each Other
Today's Communion experience. Jesus comes to live in me and there is no need for me to live on my own anymore, for I now live in him.
A Blissful State
Be perfectly in tune with the Holy Spirit so that he fills all of you so that you no longer are aware of your own existence so that he guides you in everything to glorify God.
Destined to Belong to God
The Response to Psalm 100 at this morning's Mass: "The Lord made us, we belong to him." If he did make us, then what did he intend to do with us? To discard us? To leave us alone? To enslave us? I don't think so. Jesus told us that God even takes good care of the birds and flowers. To love us has to be the answer. That's why he reached out to save us when we went astray ~ he wants us to belong to him.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
God, Creator of Our Universe
This is October, the month in which 30,000 to 100,000 people witnessed the miracle of the sun near Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. The extraordinary solar activity, lasting approximately ten minutes, occurred after Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the three young shepherd children at noon. Here I quote from Wikipedia: "According to many witnesses, after a period of rain, the dark clouds broke and the sun appeared as an opaque, spinning disc in the sky. It was said to be significantly duller than normal, and to cast multicolored lights across the landscape, the shadows on the landscape, the people, and the surrounding clouds. The sun was then reported to have careened towards the earth in a zigzag pattern, frightening those who thought it a sign of the end of the world."
This just made me realize that whoever can move the sun easily like that had to be the creator of our universe.
How to Experience the Holy Spirit
Children in my parish are preparing to receive confirmation, so I think of the Holy Spirit. If you read my old postings, you might remember that I questioned the Lord at one time how I might know that the Holy Spirit was dwelling in me. Now I fully understand that if we do not surrender to the Holy Spirit, we will not experience his presence in us, for he is most gentle. How much his power is felt by us depends upon the extent to which we surrender to him ~ you can say that we are in the driver's seat. To go at full speed, surrender fully to receive full power.
Irresistible Love
Communion experience. Pure love hit me and I was rendered totally helpless. The only choice left is this blessed state is to surrender and be annihilated by this love. God does more than healing the soul!
Challenged to Serve
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 10 at Sunday Mass, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Again, the Lord challenges us and he knew exactly what his mission was. We must absolutely pay attention to these sayings of his, for neglecting them risks not entering his kingdom of heaven. Let's believe that he did come to give his life to save us and ask him to empower us to be meek and humble in order to serve.
Differing Desires
I see that all my past desires for things of the world are self-centered because I wanted them to satisfy myself. But the desire for God is different ~ when he draws you, you are touched and moved by his love and the desire for him is given to you by him. Therefore, this desire is basically self-giving. Self-centered desires always enslave one, while the self-giving desire for God makes you feel even freer.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Permanent Resting Place
Today's Communion experience. After receiving Holy Communion, I knew that I had found the place of rest, the Lord. For the time being, things are never settled. Then one day I'll be resting in God's permanent peace.
Expect to Receive More
Jesus said to his disciples, "To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Another way of saying this truth could go: "Expect more and you will receive more; expect nothing and you will have nothing."
The Evil of Entertainment
I want to talk about the business of entertainment in this country. It is a huge business that sucks in practically everyone. Television, radio, stage shows, concerts, gambling casinos, magazines, websites, YouTube broadcasts, i-pads, background music, even advertisements and commercials...all aim at entertaining you. We become so addicted that we have to listen to music while exercising or doing homework, watch a TV show when we are cooking or balancing checkbooks. The big names in the entertainment business have egos to match, their admiring fans following them everywhere. Entertainment has a place in our society, but when it starts to "dominate" my lives, the balance is lost. It robs us of prayer time, keeps God away from us and even leads us into sin when it's impure. In short, too much entertainment definitely endangers our soul.
Believe Now and Question Later
St. Teresa in her Meditations on the Song of Songs writes that we are not to dwell upon the many mysteries of our faith and what we do not understand in the Holy Scripture. I agree that as long as the message of salvation is crystal clear and we are certain that God loves us, it's sufficient for us to submit to him with all our heart. "Believe now and question later" is not a bad idea.
What the Holy Eucharist Signifies
The Lord showed me that the institution of the Holy Eucharist is an invitation to union with him, signifying that this union is possible. When we receive the Holy Eucharist, it should signify that we are committed to seeking union with him.
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