Reason for Not Believing

        The love of Jesus is so great that the only reason some people do not believe in him has to be that they do not see the goodness of him yet.

"Good Friday" Thoughts

        At the Liturgy of the Lord's Passion at noon today, I heard John 18:1 ~ 19:42 read. The long reading started with Jesus Arrested, followed by Peter's First Denial, The Inquiry before Annas, Peter Denied Jesus Again, The Trial before Pilate, The Crucifixion of Jesus, The Blood and Water, and ended with The Burial of Jesus. Against Jesus, the sinless one, the words spoken and actions taken by all the characters and the people involved clearly showed that they committed sins of various gravities. The Lord's Passion was a sad story to hear, but since I already knew why Jesus went through all that, I also felt the underlying joy. We have hope of eternal life all because of him! Calling this Friday "Good Friday" seems to make good sense to me today.

Ego and Trust

        These two are mutually exclusive. As long as I have some ego in me, I am still playing god against God, so this rules out placing my complete trust in God. Even with ego absent, I must still take the step to trust in God. Then I shall be liberated. Anyway, by seeking union with God, both ego and trust will be taken care of. 

Perfect Way for Us

        I attended the 7 p.m. Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper. During Eucharistic Prayer, a string of names of various saints with whom we are in communion was read. When I heard it, I realized how each of the saints fittingly glorified God. The Lord made me see then that the perfect and only way for us to live is to also glorify him and that we are to follow in the footsteps of these saints.

Learning to Love

        It is easy to rest in and enjoy the love of God, but it's not always easy to apply this love in engaging with others. Yes, God's love invigorates and purifies me; but what I still need is for the Holy Spirit to teach me how to love others, especially those closest to me within the family, with understanding and patience. Losing my cool shows that I haven't trusted in God all the way yet. 

Know Jesus First

        Know Jesus first, then you'll know what to say and how to act, and you'll feel natural in any circumstances. 

On Living Our Life

        We must live an interior life with humility for God and never live an exterior life to impress others. Let this interior life take care of how we are going to live exteriorly. In short, live for God alone. 

Rejecting Sin

        After receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist at Mass this morning, I asked him to keep me safe by granting me a strong aversion to all sins.   

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.