Things in this life never always go our way, but we can still be happy about it if we live for God and see all things that happen to us as willed by him for good reasons. At Lourdes, the Blessed Mother said to Bernadette in her 3rd apparition, "I cannot promise you happiness in this world but only in the next." This is reality. Whether it's enjoying a good meal or suffering from a head cold, all experiences will be forgotten when we are with God in our next life. Therefore, live for him now.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
God's Exclusive Invitation
During Communion rite at morning Mass, the priest held up the consecrated bread and wine said, "Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb." I felt this invitation to Holy Communion to be most exclusive ~ exclusive in the sense that it is special, privileged, and most intimate to the one who is invited. It is being reminded that you've been chosen to be God's child!
Triple Assurance
God the Father ~ he is the one in whom I can completely trust, for he takes me under his personal care.
God the Son ~ he is the one to whom I'll always be grateful, for he has done all the hard work for my salvation and brought peace and contentment to my heart.
God the Holy Spirit ~ he is the one who guides me, teaches me, and shields me from all evil, fulfilling the Son's promise that he is with us always, until the end of the age.
Dealing with God
In the world of technology, you constantly hear about new exciting breakthroughs and achievements. Even in piano performance, by finding out more about the composer and the composition, improving playing techniques, listening to other interpretations, and talking to other musicians, the pianist learns to play better. So I start thinking about discovering new ways of loving God more. And I realize that unlike all other areas, loving God more does not involve labor-intensive work nor superior brainpower ~ all we need to do is to surrender to and rest in him more. Dealing with the Lord is always straight and simple.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Become Free Now!
I watched on YouTube an interview with Valerie Tryon, the British-born classical pianist who resides in Canada now. She said that she's playing the piano less and less because there are other things she wants to attend to and she does not want to play the piano in her coffin. I thought that was a wise statement which we could benefit from. If we are attached to many things in this life, it's time to start detaching them so that it'll be easier for us to go when the time inevitably arrives. There is nothing we can take with us ~ everything in the entire universe belongs to God anyway. The sooner we let go, the sooner we become free. Doing it the last minute will be nigh impossible after living a whole life in slavery.
Preconditions for Eucharist Reception
Communion time thoughts. Where God's light shines, sin cannot survive. We should not let God and our sins cohabit in us. Before we receive the Holy Eucharist, we must first be free of mortal sin and secondly, desire to be purged of all our venial sins through reception of this Most Holy Sacrament.
God's Great Mercy
Jesus is the Messiah. He came into the world not to condemn sinners, but to save them. The message was made crystal clear to all ~ anyone who confesses that Jesus is Lord and believes in his heart that God raised him from the dead will be saved (Romans 10). The gate of mercy is wide open. Therefore, anyone who does not make it through that gate has only himself to blame.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Our Perfect Act
It has been a grey, wet, windy day. The leaves on many deciduous trees got blown off their branches overnight. I went to Mass and rain water was leaking through the roof of the church. Nevertheless, I experienced warm joy in my heart. I already mentioned the joy of hearing the Lord calling, of following him, and of feeling the freedom of the heart in the last two posts. Today's Communion Song from John 1: Andrew told his brother Simon, "We have found the Messiah, the Christ," and he brought him to Jesus. Here is the joy of finding the Anointed and of bringing another to him. When we are willing to leave all to follow the Lord, it is a perfect act on our part, beautiful beyond words.
Freedom of the Heart
When you are in union with Christ, your heart is in union with his Most Sacred Heart, and then you can do whatever you want to your heart's content.
A Beautiful Way of Living
I did not post anything the previous two days not because I did not have time or was sick or anything like that ~ it was because the Holy Spirit did not trigger any thought suitable for posting in me. This blog will come to an end someday. When it first got going, I didn't know where it's heading until after what God had made me experience revealed it to me that the goal was to draw all to union with him through the Holy Eucharist. When there is nothing more to post, then he's ready for me to go onto the next thing which will be made clear to me again. This is how he leads us ~ we wait, he calls, we follow, and he makes it clear. Today is the Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle and brother of Peter. When Jesus first called him, he left everything and followed. This is how ready we should be at all times. What an exalted honor to be called by the Lord! What a beautiful way of living ~ to anticipate his call and be ready to follow the moment we hear his voice!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Truth Experienced
Today everything I experienced during Mass was meaningful because I was experiencing the truth. Receiving the Holy Eucharist is receiving the invitation to dwell in heaven with the Beloved Lord himself after this life.
God's Love vs. Ours
God's love is pure. Our love is something else. When God loves us, we don't mind that he loves all others. And when we love him, we are glad if others also love him. But when we love another one with our love, we tend to possess that person and do not welcome others to love the object of our affection. And it that person loves others, we get jealous. The world will have peace only if we love as God loves because only his love can set us free.
Most Beautiful Promise
Today's Gospel Acclamation at Mass, Revelation 2.10c: "Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." This is a most beautiful promise for those who are faithful. There cannot be a better reward than the crown of life! Living faithfully is not even a price to pay ~ it is a joy to cherish!
A Simplified Spiritual Game
Christ and the Devil are engaged in a tug of war and you are left with choosing the side you want to help. If you help Christ, then he wins and you win too. But if you help the Devil, he wins and you lose.
Treating God Right
Some Christians treat God as someone who happens to tag along or even like an afterthought. Whereas he should be No. 1 in our lives; the Lord and King to us; the one whom we live and die for; and the only one we praise, worship, and adore. Making him any less exalted is insulting. This may sound harsh, but can you think of any way getting around it?
Life Meaningless Without God
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 21 at morning Mass, while some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, "All that you see here ~ the days will come when there will not left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down." Indeed, nothing on earth lasts forever. Even the galaxies are not stable as old stars disappear and new ones are born constantly. Moreover, our earth has only limited inhabitable space and thereby cannot accommodate an unlimited number of inhabitants ~ it should be clear that God did not mean the earth to be our permanent residence.
Since everything passes, our life can only be made meaningful by including God who is everlasting. Even if I perform the most memorable deeds so that the whole world will know me and praise me, one day I'll be totally forgotten. We admire and look up to a lot of heroes of the past, the souls of some of whom might not even be in heaven ~ this is even worse! The point is that if we live for the glory of God alone, then our lives will become meaningful, and my souls will get to live forever with the one who is everlasting as well.
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