On Yearning for God

        I believe that since union with God will not be perfected until we are in heaven, yearning for Christ remains with us on earth.

God Uplifts Us

        I must describe my journey with God as an uplifting experience. Again, here's my simple view. God dwells high above us in all respects. We have no way of reaching him on our own. Since we know that he loves us (a great deal as a matter of fact), we ask for help and he readily complies. Actually, he is elated, for all this time he's been waiting for us to ask. He then lifts us up. Carrying us, he walks with us. With him, we can only go higher. Hence, the journey is an uplifting experience all the way.    

God's Drawing of Us

        One of the most rewarding, satisfying experiences in seeking union with God is his drawing of you close to him. The Holy Spirit does not shove or push; he gently lets you experience greater intimacy with the Lord and sense the peace that comes from knowing that your will and God's are in harmony. 

Love Is the Answer

        Here's a riddle not that difficult to answer: What is mankind's ultimate fulfillment? The answer clear to me is love. If everyone loves as Jesus had commanded, there would be peace in the world. Since God is love, then God is our ultimate fulfillment. Perhaps one reason people hesitate to love is the realization that they could lose their lives if they practice it in this evil world ~ look at how Jesus lost his on earth. But we are going to die anyway, so it'd be far better to lose our lives on earth than to risk losing eternal life later.     

God Has Made Us!

        This morning I became aware that I can see, hear, and smell; that I have all kinds of emotions and feelings; that I can sense beauty and ugliness; that I know good from evil; that I can conceive God; that I can blog with a purpose ~ that's because God has made me! He has precisely designed all of us this way. He has also given me the sense to realize that mankind couldn't have come into being by accident. If it were so, then it had to be a fantastic miracle and only God can produce miracles.

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.