Today is the Memorial of St. John of the Cross, priest and Doctor of the Church. He was also a great Spanish mystic and Carmelite friar. As a reformer of the Carmelite Order, for a period he was imprisoned and harshly treated by other Carmelite friars who opposed the reform ~ it was Christians against Christians. All the more we see that God alone is worthy to be trusted because he alone is holy.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Persist in Your Race
A lot of things not really pleasant came up which I must attend to. It just shows that life never remains the same. St. Paul likened living for Christ to running a race. You're in it to finish and win an imperishable crown. Joy comes from the Lord, but tests too. Many saints (St. Teresa, St. John of the cross, St. Gemma, Blessed Mother Teresa, and others) all went through dark nights. What the Lord showed me is that we must absolutely persist even to the point of serving him mechanically if we do not feel his presence. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me" (Psalm 23). Before you know, life will be over. And if you haven't run a good race, you are likely to look back with sadness.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Forsaking Happiness in This Life
In Luke 14, Jesus taught, "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach and say, 'Give your place to this man,' and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My friend, move up to a higher position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table."
We can apply this lesson to our expectations in life. To avoid disappointment, it's better not to expect happiness in this world because things can go bad at any time. But we can certainly expect great happiness in the next world if we remain faithful.
Preparing for Eternal Union
Since God is all love, for us to return to him for full union we must be all love too. Seeking union with him on earth is preparing ourselves for that eternal union.
What Abortion Does
Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The miraculous image of the Holy Mother as appeared on Juan Diego's tilma shows a sash around her waist, indicating that she's pregnant with child. I thought of the evil of abortion today again. When a baby is conceived in the mother's womb, the Lord creates the soul for it at the same time. When the baby is aborted, the soul no longer has a body to dwell in. What a cruel, dirty act that directly thwarts the will of God for life! (In case you are not familiar with Our Lady of Guadalupe, I encourage you to find the beautiful story online and read it.)
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
It's Still Gossiping
The Holy Spirit has made it clear to me that speaking ill of anyone, even if only mildly, even if it is fact, and even if no name is mentioned, in an ordinary conversation is still gossiping and is displeasing to the Lord. There is no point in making that person look bad to others when God already knows all about him.
God's Holiness
Communion experience. What a great way to start off a new day! Not with hot coffee, a big breakfast, or nice wake-up music, but with an encounter with the Most Holy One! As I received the Lord, I sensed God's awesome holiness, so dazzlingly pure and refreshing, which makes one not want to touch anything else anymore!
On Finding Jesus
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus, wanting to let his disciples know that it's not the heavenly Father's will that any of the little ones be lost, said to them, "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray." This is absolutely true and brings to my mind how one rejoices over Jesus after he searches all over and finds him to be the Lord and truth.
Holiness to Be Thorough
In Luke 16:10, Jesus said to his disciples, "The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones." As I continue reading the biography of St. Gemma Galgani, I am impressed by her holiness in every little situation. This should inspire us to be holy in performing all our little acts.
The Blessing Illusion
In John 20:29, after Thomas finally saw the resurrected Lord and believed, Jesus said to him, "Blesses are those who have not seen and have believed" ~ so having seen is not necessarily a blessing.
In Matthew 19:24, Jesus said to his disciples, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven" ~ so being rich is not necessarily a blessing either.
It is a fact that it's easy for one in prison or a foxhole to pray to God and for one who lives quite comfortably not to even think of God ~ so having an easy life is not necessarily a blessing either.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Jesus Is Joy!
Before I received the Lord at Mass today, I saw Jesus as my joy. Sure enough, after I received the Holy Eucharist, great joy flooded my soul ~ jubilation time!
Wanting to Be in God's Presence
The Gospel reading at Mass today from Luke 5 was about the healing of a paralytic. Some men brought on a stretcher a paralytic to where Jesus was teaching. Finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. Impressed by their faith, Jesus not only forgave the paralytic's sins, but also healed him.
What impressed me was the faith expressed in eagerly wanting to be in the Lord's presence. Today we can express the same desire by attending Mass or Eucharistic Adoration. Best yet, seek union with the Lord and you'll know his presence within you at all times!
Finding Our Own Spirituality
We are all called to be holy. But since we are also individuals with different personalities and talents, God's plans for us are all different too. He draws us to him via various avenues. There are many saints we can learn about and it's good to find one whose life experiences and spirituality appeal to you, then you can follow his or her ways. I've already mentioned St. Therese of Lisieux as my model because I admire her total abandonment to God and love her simple Little Way.
Loss of Inner Peace
The loss of inner peace stems from our disobedience to God. Obey the Lord and inner peace is restored ~ a simple and direct cure. Besides being love, God is also the source of our joy and peace.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Everything in Its Right Place
I'll always remember many years ago in a music composition course I took, the professor said that Beethoven's symphonies are great because every note is in its right place. Not long ago, I needed a black cord for a small crucifix to wear around my neck, but I could only find a reel of white nylon cord around the house. So I took about 30 inches of it and started coloring it with a black permanent marker on top of a large rectangular sheet of white paper to keep the ink from staining the desktop. It took a while and I got it done ~ the dried cord came out perfect. Later I noticed that the pen strokes left on that piece of background paper formed a beautiful abstract image ~ there's something cosmic about it, reminding me of a galaxy perhaps. What I like about it is that every line and every dot seem to be in the right place. [When an art gallery curator asked me to submit a work for a group show as a former founding member of the gallery, I submitted that image.]
I now look at my own life in Jesus and also see that everything under his watch and care is happening at the right time, that is, falling in the right place. This indicates that my life in the Lord is going to be perfect too.
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