Christian in Any Circumstances

        Just read in the news: "When the US presidential election is over, estimates say it will end up costing $2.5 billion." Spending this much money just to get one man who is basically a politician and may not even be totally honest elected, it is insane if you see it this way. Why can't we dispense with all ads, including those dirty, attack TV ones, and just allow the two candidates to debate and/or give separate presentations over the media, talking about their respective visions, plans, and goals for the nation? They can travel around the country to campaign if they so choose. This way we get to see the candidates directly without being affected by the inaccurate and distorted depictions of them in ads, saving much money. 

        The talk of money got me thinking about our capitalistic society. The system means free enterprise, but it comes at a great cost. Under capitalism, the goal is to make money. For corporations and companies, it's profit, profit, profit. For the individuals, it's making money to own a house, buy cars and other material things for comfort, be able to put children through college, etc. ~ it is the American dream! Most high school students already start thinking about making a lot of money before they graduate. The love of money definitely keeps us away from thinking about God. Jesus made it clear that we cannot serve both God and mammon. This is the big drawback of capitalism.  

       In Acts 4, we read that the community of believers was of one heart and mind and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own ~ they had everything in common. There was no needy person among them, for money and wealth were distributed to each according to need. This seems to be an ideal society, but it will only work if all participants are of one heart and mind in the Lord. Anyway, though the system under which we live may be far from perfect, it's always right to be the most perfect Christian we can possibly be.

Communion Joy

        During the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass, I saw the moment of consecration of the bread and the wine as one at which Jesus declared his love for us. After receiving him, joy, peace, and contentment filled my entire heart. They all came from within, proving that God dwells in the heart. I actually felt both the "heat" and the "weight" of the joy, perhaps caused by the sheer amount I experienced. 

God All-Knowing

        At Mass, the Lord made me see that for everything we do for his glory, we shall be rewarded, for nothing goes unnoticed by him. 

Reason for Rejoicing

        Today is the Solemnity of All Saints. The readings at Mass were so beautiful that they gave me extra joy. Reading 1 came from Revelation 7. In St. John's vision one of the elders revealed to him that those wearing white robes present were the ones who had survived the time of great stress, and had washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. This is a powerful image. Consider it a miracle that red blood can actually wash the robes and make them white. If you know that you are wearing such a white robe, rejoice!  

        Reading 2 came from 1 John 3. St. John wrote: "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Again, if you know that you are already one of God's children, rejoice!

        The Gospel was the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5. The Beatitudes are beautiful in both words and content. When I heard them, I heard the powerful, loving voice of the Lord in my ears. After the last Beatitude, Jesus said, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven." Anyway you look at it, you see reason for rejoicing.

Union Strengthened

        Joined 40 Days for Life this morning outside an abortion clinic for a couple of hours. As I thought about how much abortion pains the Lord, I experienced a tiny fraction of his sufferings on the cross and our union was strengthened. By the way, one car entered the clinic parking lot, turned around and came back out ~ due to the presence of eight of us holding signs and praying, the pregnant mother changed her mind. One life saved ~ praise God! 

On Loving Our Enemies

        God's love is pure love, uncluttered and detached from everything else. As I drove home after morning Mass, I suddenly understood why he could teach us to love even our enemies. Since he created all of us, he must then love all of us equally. Therefore, if we are to receive his love, we must promise to love everyone equally too.

God Speaks to Us

        With Hurricane Sandy, the largest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic, pummeling the U.S. East Coast causing unprecedented devastation and chaos, let's pray for all the victims who suffer great personal losses and property destruction. But let's also pray that we as a nation will realize that God has an important message for us in every single event, for nothing can happen without his permission. As the saying goes, there are no accidents. Catastrophic events are usually severe warnings. His intention is always to get us to return to him, to accept his love, to believe in him, and to love each other on earth ~ all these acts are long overdue!

To Know the Beauty of Christ

        I do not have any desire to travel to see new places anymore. I suppose that one of the reasons is because I have already "seen" the incomparable beauty of Christ. A friend of mine still tells me that one scenic place she had visited was so beautiful that I must go see it. I believe her, and I know that I'll never truly understand what she experienced if I don't go there myself. The same can be said about the beauty of Christ. You can hear me tell you about it ten thousand more times, but you still will not know it unless you enter him yourself. 

Letting God Live Your Life

        In life, there are just two choices: to walk with God and to walk away from God. To choose the latter is easy, but you are going to lead a tough life because you are now on your own in a world filled with all kinds of traps ready to snare you. To choose to walk with God is harder, but once you've made that choice, your life can become heaven. The best thing about it is that now the Lord does everything for you, for all you want to do is his will. I want him to draw me close to him and he does just that. I want him to heal my soul and he accomplishes that too. This is letting God live your life for you!    

On Submitting to God

        My last post talks about our unwillingness to submit ourselves to God. In today's first reading at Mass from Ephesians 5, St. Paul urges all to be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Then I realize that when Jesus became one of us and died on a cross, it was a clear case of submitting himself to us in order to save us. When he consecrated the bread at the Last Supper, saying: Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body which will be given up for you, he made his submission to us clear. So who are we who are not willing to submit ourselves to God?

Ranking Matters

        It becomes clear to me that people do not believe in God simply because they have ranked themselves No. 1, putting themselves ahead of their creator. This is, of course, a colossal mistake that can be fatal. Making yourself more important than the Lord is definitely a bad idea; just by changing your ranking from No. 1 to No. 2, your margin of safety will go way up. If you really want to play it safe, then be as humble as the saints, who don't even consider themselves worthy to be ranked before God. 

God Owns Us!

        This morning after Mass while I remained at church, I watched two faithful parishioners took great care of the flowers on the altar. The Lord made me see very clearly that we are merely agents here to use all things supplied by him to work for his glory. Even ourselves like everything else were made by him. Whether you agree or not, he owns us, but we do have the choice to rebel or obey. 

Jesus Alone Our Beacon

        In view of all the recent horrible acts of violence committed against the Christian minorities around the world, I am proud of the fact that our Lord, Jesus the Christ, has set the highest standard by his example and his teaching that we are to love even our enemies. Who can possibly measure up to him? He stands alone as the truth and our beacon. 

Going Home to God

        Today's Holy Communion experience. Before receiving him, I felt the need to be in his love so that my soul might be healed. After receiving him, I realized that my soul now belonged to him and was on its way home.

Promise of Union

        Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper, "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him" (John 14:23). Here the Lord promises that he will come to enter into union with us. If God is in us, then surely we are in him. This is the most desirable state for the soul.  

The Amazing Us (or God)

If you are pro-abortion and/or an atheist, you are invited to view this video:

 

Letting God's Plan Unfold

        Since God has a plan for each of us, we must be sure that it unfolds without our interference. Naturally, all things happenings around us can affect the unfolding, but the Lord will take care of that part. We can easily kill his plan if we just go our own way, so this is what we need to guard against. To be in union with God is an excellent way to ensure that his plan for us will work out for him to his glory.  

True or False Humility?

        If you tell yourself or others that you are such a poor sinner that you can never be good enough to become a saint, make sure that it's not false humility. If you really believe so, then it's almost like saying that you are so sinful that God cannot save you anymore ~ such belief then becomes a grave sin. The correct attitude to fully believe that the Lord can make you into a saint no matter how sinful you are now ~ this is putting all your trust in the Lord and not limiting him in the slightest, showing in fact, true humility.