Today is the Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. At Mass, I felt that I still had not totally let the Lord do everything for me yet because I sensed some "struggling" on my part at times. I knew that he wants me to be still in him, in his love, to rest in peace starting now, not after I die. Complete trust is what he seeks from us. In today's Responsorial Psalm 37, we heard read: "Take your delight in the Lord, and he will grant you your heart's requests." I pray that he will grant me even more delight in him.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Do's & Don'ts of Converting Others
"Be loving and humble" covers it all. This means that any holier-than-thou attitude is out. Feeling self-righteous is out. Look up to rather than down on the person you wish to convert. The great saints always consider themselves to be the worst sinners before God. Never think that you are doing some great work or will receive recognition from God; it's the Lord doing the work through you. You do it for the glory of God alone. Be patient to avoid rushing ahead of the Holy Spirit. Leave all outcome to the Lord ~ trust is requisite. And by the way, example is better than talk. Last but not least, pray hard from the heart for the other person (as well as for yourself). St. Monica prayed and fasted for 17 years before her son St. Augustine was converted.
On Increasing Our Faith
Today's Gospel reading came from Luke 17. The Apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith and he replied, "If you have the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." Of course, Jesus spoke figuratively, but I always wondered how I could have this super strong faith. I can try very hard to increase my faith, but it just doesn't work. I see that it's a gift from God. Like overcoming sin and achieving union with the Lord, it has to be his doing. My part would be then to remain open, and when the Lord sees my desire, he will fulfill it.
Holiness as a Choice
Today is the Memorial of St. Josaphat. I am not too familiar with this saint, but from hearing the brief summary given by the priest at the beginning of Mass, the following thoughts came to my mind.
Saints are few worldwide. The history of any Christian church is filled with ugly pages. Therefore, the only clear conclusion I can draw is that every single one of us who truly wants to follow the Lord must aim for maximum holiness to make sure that the Body of Christ, his Church, on earth will remain as pure as possible.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Jesus Is All We Need
Life has its ups and downs; people succeed and fail. But once you possess Christ, you have everything. Ups and downs, success or failure ~ nothing counts anymore. This is what St. Paul meant when he wrote to the Philippians: "I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish..." In sum, relative to Jesus, everything else is rubbish.
What to Do with God
Communion experience. I feel that God is so much that it's impossible for us to thank him enough, praise him enough, or adore him enough. It seems that the only logical choice we have left is to submit ourselves to his love contently.
Going All Out for God
Gospel reading from Mark 12 at Mass ~ Jesus observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciple to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." This is a great example of loving God with all you've got, fulfilling the first commandment. It should inspire us to go all out every time we serve the Lord.
Jesus Extolled
I already know all about Jesus. His greatness is overwhelming and his beauty most dazzling. My intense desire is to have him teach me his ways, for his teaching delights and perfects the soul. When you have him, you possess the truth, the secret of freedom, God dwelling within you on earth, complete fulfillment, and the pathway to eternal dwelling in heaven.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Maturation
In today's BBC News - Viewpoint: Hoping for change, and coming up short, Kayla Ruble, a young liberal journalist in New York City writes how she enthusiastically voted for Obama as our first black president and gradually became disappointed in what he had failed to do and now found herself no longer inspired by him. But she still ended up voting for him this time because she believed that voting for the more conservative Romney would turn back the clock on many issues.
BBC also posts a chart showing the voter turnout, as organized by age. Here are the (% for Obama)/(% for Romney) ratios. For age group 18-29, it is 60/37; age group 30-44, 52/45; age group 45-64, 47/52; age group 65 or over, 44/56. It's clear from these figures that as one ages, one becomes more conservative (wiser?). I mentioned that I was also somewhat liberal when I was young, so I understand Kayla. In time God made me see everything clearly. When you are young, you are full of hope and with good intentions; you want to change the world your way. Then after you grow older, you realize that you are not always right and only God can change things.
What I want to say to Kayla is that voting for a more conservative candidate may be turning back the clock on many issues, but voting for a liberal one is moving the clock forward and you may ultimately find yourself on the verge of falling off a cliff.
Rejection-of-God Indicators
There are all kinds of indicators out there. For example, the health of the housing market and consumer confidence indicate the strength of an economic recovery. Increasing carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere and shrinkage of the total glacier volume are two indicators of global warming. Rejection of God in this country is also indicated by the following. Whom the people choose to be their president in an election indicates to a certain extent how much they reject God as a nation. How uncomfortable they feel when they hear God or some strong gospel message preached indicates how much they reject God as individuals.
Just like Walking with God
Today the beautiful picture of walking with God hand in hand came into my mind. Then I realized that since God is not physically here in person, receiving him in the Holy Eucharist and having him dwelling in my heart is just as satisfying.
Reliance upon God
As we progress spiritually, we shift from self-reliance more and more to reliance upon God. When I wanted to bring someone to Christ back in the past, I expended my own considerable effort, but not always feeling relaxed. Now I let the Holy Spirit guide me and trust fully that the Lord will change the heart, thus retaining my peace. When it comes to overcoming my own sins, self-struggle has been replaced by full trust in the Lord and the results have been beyond my best possible expectations. Basically, reliance upon God makes everything easy.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Holy Eucharist, Life-Giving, Life-Changing
Communion Experience. I just felt that the Holy Eucharist is both a life-giving and life-changing gift, and I yearned to be changed. I felt alone in God and that he had totally fulfilled me. My heart was completely still, remaining in deep peace.
Best Gift Exchange
At the beginning of Eucharistic Prayer, the priest asked us to life up our hearts and we responded with "We life them up to the Lord." And I thought that the most pleasing gift for us to offer to the Lord would be our heart, and the best gift we could possibly receive back from him would be the union of our heart and his Most Sacred Heart.
What Attracts Me to Jesus
Before Mass began this morning, I was asking myself why I was attracted to Jesus. It had to be his beautiful, pure, selfless love which touched my heart. It is something so unique and special that God had to reveal it to us for us to fathom. And this attraction has the power to make us love others selflessly too.
On Following the Lord
Jesus knew his specific mission in advance and followed the will of God the Father every step of the way. Since we only more or less see God's plan for us unfold as we proceed, the logical and sensible approach for us is to trust in him fully every step of the way. When you look back later, everything will be clear.
Our Kingdom Belongs to God
When Pilate asked Jesus if he were the King of the Jews, Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here" (John 18:36). For those of us who were disappointed at or even upset by the election outcome this time, let's mind what the Lord had said here. We are fighting a spiritual warfare, not against our government. Do not expect our triumph to materialize in this world, for the kingdom we have entered belongs to God. Let's continue to do his will in this world with even greater fervor.
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