Pursuit Within Reach of All

        Athletes train hard to break records and win medals. Bodybuilders exercise hard to look good and win contests. Musicians practice hard to master their instruments and win competitions. Intellectuals study hard to earn advanced degrees and win honors. Scientists think hard to make new discoveries and achieve breakthroughs in their fields. All of us can love God "hard" to enjoy peace and freedom in this life and eternal bliss in the next.

Learning from God

        As one yearns for God, he is eager to learn from him. All knowledge learned from the world tends to puff one's ego, while knowledge the Lord imparts refreshes the soul.

Lost and Found Souls

        A lost soul does not know the truth, so he does not even know that he is lost, while a soul who has been found by God is a saved soul and the soul knows it.

Sign of Ego Presence

        Disliking yourself is being unhappy with the work of God who made you. It is not loving God enough yet. It shows you have not fully reconciled with the Lord, and it definitely shows the presence of ego (pride). 

No Fear in Love

        1 John 4.18: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love." Accepting God's love fully dispels the fear of carrying any cross that might come our way, thus making us comfortable in any situation.

A Peace Plan

        As long as you feed your ego, you won't have peace. Therefore, starve it by living alone in Jesus to become "isolated" from all others. Remember what Jesus said, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Transformation Slow but Sure

        In one's spiritual journey, there are moments of experiencing a sudden or relatively rapid transformation. For example, I call recall the moment of accepting Jesus into my life, entering the Church and receiving the Holy Eucharist for the first time, or asking the Holy Spirit to baptize me. Most of the time though, the desired change takes place gradually. It becomes palpable when you notice that you react more calmly in a certain test situation. You then feel gratitude and joy that God has fulfilled your desire. And an imperturbable interior peace follows.          

Jesus' Loveliness

        Communion experience. Jesus' loveliness was so compelling that it made me want to be more like him.

Loving God Naturally

        When you go to a tailor to get your garment altered and he does a good job, you are pleased and want to go back to him again because you now trust him. It's the same with letting God change you. You ask for it and he does just that. You are now deeply satisfied and you love him even more.    

Only One Truth

        Judeo-Christianity alone holds the belief that there is only one God from the very beginning. Then Jesus, the Son of God, came among us to reveal God's love for us, and the Church he established safeguards his revelations from the time of Peter, the first pope, to that of Francis, our current pope. Any additional "revelation" about God coming from any source outside the Church is not needed, and in fact, should be rejected. This is what I believe.  

Work of Ego

        Judging others in order to exalt yourself. 

Be Dead to Sin

        Didn't get to blog yesterday due to visiting guests. The Communion Antiphon yesterday was 1 Peter 2.24: "Jesus bore our sins in his own body on the cross, so that, dead to sin, we might love for righteousness. By his wounds we have been healed. What caught my attention were the words "dead to sin." We ought to be dead to sin, but there are minor sins that can easily escape our notice because of the presence of ego. The loss of interior peace should indicate that we have slipped in some way. Then a quick examination of conscience is in order. The more you of aware of your sins, the more you'd appreciate God's perfection. 

Ego Theory

        Every time after I've had a thought or said something and lose peace, I sense or know that the cause is the presence of ego. Test it yourself to see if you feel the same. I say that there is a genuine you in you and the ego turns you into a phony you. Anytime you think or speak as the phony you, you lose your peace. If you don't have any ego, that means you no longer play god. Then you acknowledge that there is only one God and you can't help but trust in him. And trust leads to peace. In short, be the genuine you and you'll have perfect peace.

Learning to Trust

        There were days when I didn't have much to post and then a lot more to post the following day. I never try to think up something to post ~ the thoughts come spontaneously. I have finally stopped wondering if I'll have something to post the next day. I must believe that God will always provide what I need at all times.  After all, what I need is what he needs. In Matthew 6, Jesus told us not to worry about our life or tomorrow, and that God even takes care of the birds which do not sow or reap and the wild flowers which do not work or spin.   

Freedom in God

        To enter God, we give up our will. Once in him, his will is our will, then we can do whatever we want. Hence, in God, we have complete freedom.

Entering Jesus

        Communion time thought. Jesus enters me when I receive Holy Communion. When I succeed in entering him, then we'll be in each other and have union.

Most Powerful Gift

        The Holy Eucharist is not just a nice gift given by the Lord for us to remember him by, it is in fact a most powerful gift that can change our lives and draw us into spiritual union with him. 

Essential Sacraments

        Without the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we cannot be sure that we have been fully forgiven by God. Without the Blessed Sacrament, we cannot be sure that we have attained full union with God.