God and the World in Contrast

        Communion experience. Receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist is such a great honor that no honor of the world can compare with it. It means that I have been specifically chosen by God. I can receive what is deemed by the whole world to be the greatest possible honor and it will only serve to boost my own ego. But receiving Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament makes me forget all about myself and appreciate only his love. Again, the contrast between what the Lord gives and what the world gives makes the right choice crystal clear.

Forgetful Lovers

        First reading at Mass came from Hebrews 10. Paul quoted from Jeremiah what the Lord said in making the new covenant with the house of Israel: "Their sins and their evildoing I will remember no more." When we are in love with God, the journey of following him becomes extremely beautiful because in the presence of our beloved, we forget all our troubles, problems, and even our sins. It is true that lovers in love with each other become mutually forgetful of everything else.

God and Satan in Contrast

        When Jesus draws us, we feel his love and his peace. We experience complete freedom because he is always gentle with us, never holding us against our will. On the other hand, when Satan lures us and succeeds in trapping us, we will experience great emotional turmoil and feel chained and shackled. If it's a deep sin we fall into, it would be virtually impossible to free ourselves without asking for God's help. Both God and Satan can be attractive, but their intentions couldn't be further apart from each other. Stick with God always, for he loves you always.

About Doing God's Will

        Today's readings at Mass were all about doing God's will. In the Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus told the crowd, "Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister..." I believe that people do not like to hear about doing God's will because they have many misconceptions such as "doing God's will is for saints only," "doing God's will is not fun," "doing God's will must be boring," "doing God's will restricts my freedom." The fact is that doing God's will is a beautiful feeling; it brings you peace and freedom of the heart; it brings you close to God; and now you know, you become brother or sister to Jesus.  

Cause of All Evil

        Two weeks ago, French opponents of gay marriage and adoption staged one of the biggest demonstrations the country had seen in years. Some 340,000 people, according to police, marched through central Paris to oppose a government bill that's going to go before the National Assembly. The spokeswoman of this broad-based "citizens" movement states that her arguments are not directed at gay people, but at the proposed law, as framed. She says, "If what was on offer were a law that further enshrined rights for gay couples, that enriched their unions, and got rid of the discrimination and injustices that undoubtedly still exist ~ then I would support it." However, the opponents of gay marriage are aware that their chances of blocking France's law are small at best. Both "Catholic" countries Spain and Portugal have recently adopted gay marriage.

        If we do believe that marriage is the exclusive union between a man and a woman and that it is instituted by God, then how do we fare as a nation? In the last half century or so, thanks much to the celebrities, living together as an unmarried couple has become so common and widespread that it's now an accepted lifestyle ~ marriage is already mocked! Most people look upon marriage as an experiment that has nothing to do with God. As for married couples, the statement "50% of all marriages in America end in divorce" is roughly correct. (In reality, the divorce rates all across the globe have been rising rapidly.) If morally we are in such bad shape, how effective can we be in telling others that same-sex marriage is wrong?

      This brings me to the fundamental point. All disorderliness and moral chaos are caused by godlessness. God is our creator and if we get into trouble because we fall away from him, then he is the one who can restore order and peace if we go to him asking for help. Again, the same conclusion I drew in my post "How to Convert the World" of two days ago applies: "Our only hope is to live a holy life by seeking union with God and be completely obedient to his will, whatever it may be."

To Be Free of the World

         I have started reading the Gospel of John again. Chapter 1, verses 2-4: "The Word was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race."         

       I am living in this world because my physical body dwells in this physical world. Spiritually, I am living in Jesus. My physical body will die one day, but I shall live on forever in the Lord. While in him, he "insulates" me from the world, shielding me from all evil. In him, I conquer the world, since he has conquered it. This is being free in the world and not of it.

March for Life

        We just had our national March for Life. Today on EWTN, I watched some of the recorded events held in Washington, D.C. I felt great sorrow when I realized that when an unborn child is aborted, you squash all its hope of ever breathing the fresh air, seeing the natural beauties, learning new knowledge, enjoying family life and friends, contributing to making this world a better one... Jesus said clearly that "whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." Certainly the unborn quality to be the least brothers of the Lord!

        But I experienced joy too in watching the March. I was moved to tears when I heard the message from the Holy Father read publicly. Then I noticed how young the average marcher in the crowd looked ~ the hope is bright for the future. Nothing is impossible with God. 

Jesus More than We Need

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 1, Jesus, in a synagogue in Nazareth on the sabbath day, stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

        The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

        Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, "Today his Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." The whole scene was so live to me that after I received the Holy Eucharist, I knew that Jesus is the Messiah, the living true God and he is all I need. He is not just God...he's a most personal God at that. In him I have complete security, eternal life...whatever my heart desires. He is the one in whom I can totally let myself go.

On Doing God's Will

        You know that you are doing God's will if you feel that doing it is right and natural. If you lose peace, then you have promoted your own will before the Lord.

How to convert the World

         Peter Kreeft, the popular author and writer, once asked: "Why did twelve fishermen convert the world, and why are half a billion Christians unable to repeat the feat?" The answer ~ it is because those twelve were united and willing to die for Christ while present-day Christians are so fractured, so weakened by the secular world, and so unwilling to live faithfully. Without unity and strength, the Christians will have a hard time ahead fighting any battle. Our only hope is to live a holy life by seeking union with God and be completely obedient to his will, whatever it may be.

Everything We Do Affects God

        Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle. As you know, Paul was zealously persecuting the Christians, binding and delivering them to prison. Then on his journey to Damascus to round up even more Christians for punishment, a great light from the sky suddenly shone around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Paul replied, "Who are you, sir?" And the voice said, "I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting." We see that Jesus did not ask "Why are you persecuting my Church?" or "Why are you persecuting my followers?" Instead, he asked, "Why are you persecuting me?" 

        What I learn here is that everything we do affects the Lord himself. 

We Needn't Stand Alone

        Today I am especially conscious of the fact that I am a unique being God has created and that I am made aware that I am I. The leads me to seeing that I alone am responsible for what I do and that my sins are all committed through my own fault (as we admit each time reciting the Penitential Act during Mass). Basically, each one of us stands alone in this world through Judgment Day. Then I see that we needn't stand alone because we can totally lean upon our creator, our loving Father, the Lord. Instantly, all the gloom is displaced by joy and peace.   

Darkness Blinds Us

        1 John 2.11 reads: "Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness blinded his eyes." What's interesting is that John said that the darkness "blinded" the eyes. I thought about it and saw that he's right. Since God is light, when we have God, we see clearly what is good and what is evil ~ so the light of God is not blinding at all; in fact, it lights our way. As for the one who walks in darkness, he doesn't see good from evil and is therefore like a blind person. When you don't see the light of God, you are indeed blind. 

Facing Suffering

        Communion time thoughts. Jesus enters me and heals my soul. It does not mean that I will not experience any mental or emotional suffering anymore, but it does mean that I should be whole enough to face any such suffering coming my way. 

Doing God's Will

      Today is the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. First part of the Responsorial Psalm (#40) reads: 

        

        Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,

        but ears open to your obedience you gave me.

        Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not; 

        then said I, "Behold, I come."

The Response reads: Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

      I do see that to do the Lord's will does not mean that I do not ask for anything for myself anymore. He may even want me to sacrifice in a certain way or offer him certain things. Doing his will simply covers (governs) how I am going to live, pray, and serve him. In short, doing the Lord's will is to do only what he tells me to do, and that could be anything. 

Happiness, Momentary or Unending

        [It you do not believe that there is life after death, you may skip reading the following.] It is true that we in the world seek pleasure, fun, entertainment, recreation...so that we can have a good time, forget our troubles and be happy. The desire is inherent in us. I see that all the temporal happiness we seek are for the moment only. For example, you go on a week's cruise ~ after the week, the enjoyment is just memory. Personally, I don't see how such passing happiness can be truly satisfying. To me, only unending (permanent) happiness is meaningful. If I know in advance that I won't be happy in the next life, then I don't think I can truly feel happy in this life anymore. On the other hand, if I know that I'll be happy for all eternity, then whether I am happy or not in this life becomes rather unimportant. Last, if we are only concerned about being happy in this life, we can easily forget planning for our eternal future ~ this then would be a  huge oversight.

God Is Extreme

        God loves us with the greatest possible love and his mercy is infinite. So it should be easy for us to get to heaven. All we need to do is to obey him. If we follow Jesus' commandment "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind," we love God to the extreme. With extremists on both sides "working towards" the same goal, success is assured.  

Life Is Frail

        I sound like an old man when I muse on life, but I am old. When you are young and healthy, you don't think about the frailty of life and that is unfortunate. Just a few days ago, we prayed at Mass for one husband who suffered a massive heart attack in his 50's. As you age, you hear more frequently that someone you knew has passed away. Only the Lord knows how long each of us will live. Life is frail also in the sense that it is unpredictable. Holding onto God is only and sure way of securing ourselves for all eternity. It's really a no-brainer.