Soak Up the Lord While We Can

        Earlier today I visited two old homebound folks who were terminally ill. They can no longer eat solid food, need oxygen support for breathing, and have hardly any physical strength left. Their conditions have deteriorated rapidly in just one week. The made me realize that we are all going to reach that helpless point. What we should do now is to help ourselves with God as much as possible ~ not unlike the bears fattening themselves before hibernation. Soak up the Lord, live him, immerse in him, grab hold of him tight, while we still can. 

Essential of Spiritual Life

        Communion experience. I felt that Christ in the Holy Eucharist was perfect for my soul. The Most Holy Sacrament completes my spiritual life. 

Unloading Ourselves

        Since we are always our own burden, we give ourselves (surrender) to God and we are free. A simple common-sense truth.       

Get the Truth from God

        Here are some common examples of negative thinking: "I am unattractive"; "I am inferior"; "I don't like myself"; "Nobody likes me"; "God does not care about me"; "God cannot help me." First of all, these thoughts represent only one's own feeling at a time. Anyone who has truly known God would have felt just the opposite in each case. To think that God does not love or cannot help us is even sinful! The fact is that God loves us; he delights in us; we are precious and dear to him; and he can and will help us! ~ plenty of us can testify to that. Don't let your feeling dictate your thinking or form your opinion ~ find the truth from God always. 

Our Business

       We see God granting special favors, supernatural or otherwise, to others ~`what do we think and how do we feel?

       First of all, how God grants favors is none of our business.
      Secondly, know that whatever the Lord does is always for the good of all and for his own glory.

      Last, remember the older son in the prodigal son parable? When he got jealous after seeing how the father favored the return of his younger brother, destitute but repentant, with a great celebration, the father said to him, "My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours." So, if we don't seem to receive any special favors from the Lord, it could be that he has already given us everything!

       Anyhow, our business is to concentrate on serving the Lord and rejoice in him. 

Requisite for Following Jesus

        The Gospel reading came from Mark 10. A man asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus mentioned the commandments and the man said that he had observed them from his youth. Then Jesus said, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement, his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. The Lord could be testing the man. Nevertheless, he showed that detachment from all material possessions goes beyond obeying all the commandments; without it, you won't be able to follow the Lord freely.

Life's Narrow Window

        Reading 1 at Mass was from Sirach 17. What I learned was that we must glorify and praise God in this life. If we don't, we'll end up in the nether world where no one can glorify and praise God. Our life is a very narrow window which can close at any time. Therefore, glorify and praise the Lord while you still can. 

How God Has Made Us

        Yesterday the Lord showed me that humans, knowing that they are mortal, wish to be immortal. So they search for things that endure and ways of living a longer life. Only to avoid facing the problem, they immerse themselves in the world. Those who have found God are happy because God is everlasting and through Christ they'll inherit eternal life in heaven, so much better than living forever in this world. Again, God has so made us that we won't be satisfied until we find him.

Tasting the Lord

        After receiving Holy Communion, I saw myself still on earth, but had just tasted the Lord in heaven. Not a bad start!

Freedom in Union Explained

        In union with God, his will is your will and your will, his. So, in union with God, you have the union of the two wills. With only one will left, you experience great freedom. 

All or Nothing

        Can you possibly imagine that God is finite in some way ~ not all-knowing, not being able to create something, only loving us to a certain degree? I can't. With God, it has to be all or nothing. Since he is not nothing, he must be infinite, perfect, and all-embracing. 

Most Beautiful Name

        Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity ~ what a glorious day! At Mass I felt that God was in me, part of me, and all around me. During the singing of Gloria, I heard Jesus addressed as "Lamb of God" ~ what a beautiful, appropriate, unforgettable, endearing name! It speaks of the greatest love, mercy, sacrifice, and total obedience to the Father. 

Whom to Admire?

        People admire anyone who seems to have a lot of friends. Should we count drinking buddies, fellow sports fans who watch games with you, and those you shoot the bull with as friends? To Jesus, whoever does the will of his heavenly Father is his brother, his sister, and his mother (Matthew 12:50) ~ may I just add "his friend" to the lineup? For the Christian, the Lord is all the friends you need, and all those who does his will are your true friends. So, admire God and the saints, not anyone popular with a lot of friends in the world.

On Being Possessed & Best News

        If you let the Devil possess you, you are a goner. If you let the world possess you, you may get passing pleasures out of it, but you will never experience true freedom nor peace ~ most likely you've already figured this. What you may not know is that if you let the Lord God "possess" you, you'll experience complete freedom with deep inner peace. You see, it's impossible for God to be oppressive or enslaving, for he is Love. His sole wish is to save and free us so that we may be where he is after this life ~ Jesus has made it all clear. If you agree that this has to be the best possible new for us, you would rejoice right now! Turn away from Christ and you'll never experience the freedom, peace, and joy that are meant to be yours.

Why I Believe in Jesus

        (1) The Gospel convinced me that Jesus is God.

        (2) The lives of the great saints testify to this truth.  

       (3) This last reason may be the most convincing of all. Through seeking union with the Lord, he let me know without a doubt that he is real, the truth.

The Living Bread

       Communion experience. I was called to the supper of the Lamb! What an honor! What a treat! I was to receive the bread of life, the food essential for my soul. This gives me the nutrition that keeps me as a living branch of the vine that's Jesus. 

Body of Christ to Remain Intact

        In the news today: A Roman Catholic parish priest at an elite French ski resort has been stripped of his Church functions for refusing to renounce Freemasonry. The body of Christ must remain as one. Therefore, on the part of any Catholic, there must never be any disobedience that would fracture the body of Christ in any way. All other considerations cannot be from the Lord. Seeking union with Christ ensures our obedience.   

Dust Turning Immortal

        Psalm 103 read at Mass reminds us that we are dust and that our days are like those of grass. We bloom like flowers of the field and the wind sweeps over us and we are gone, our place knowing us no more. These thoughts, like the realization of how vast our universe is, similarly humble me. I am mortal, and I depend entirely upon my God to make me immortal.