We Affect God

        Everything we do affects the world. I wave my hand and the movement sets the surrounding air molecules into motion, causing them to collide with other neighboring molecules. In theory the whole universe is affected, although in this case the effect becomes infinitesimal moving a few feet away from the source of disturbance. Everything we do affects God too ~ he will feel either joy or sorrow. And whatever we've done will remain on the record until Judgment Day.   

Continued Praying

        Even though we follow Christ in peace, we still have the various crosses and burdens to carry. In fact, we feel them acutely because they are the crosses and burdens of Christ. However, with trust in the Lord, they no longer bother me. When people offend me, I don't take it personally either, as everything one does, one does it to the Lord. We are to continue praying for those who offend him, even after we get into heaven, as the saints are doing.

Following Christ in Peace

        Followers of Christ are easily satisfied: they follow his will, trust in him, and leave it at that, knowing that the outcome is in his hands.

Heart Makes the Difference

        Those whose hearts are pure are delighted by the Lord dwelling in them, while those whose hearts are unclean feel the misery because the Lord could not enter them.

Surrender Is the Word

        Seeking union with God is what the Lord wants from us, so surrendering to him is called for. If you haven't done it yet, you'll always find yourself struggling to be holy. Good intentions alone are not enough because you have not let the Lord in to do the work for you yet. This is the message the Lord wants me to spread, the objective of this blog. Surrendering to the Lord opens up the gate to let all his grace through so that the exhilarating journey may begin. Get on the fast track and experience his love in this life. If this sounds like a commercial, it's because this good news is true and urgent.   

Why I Feel Peaceful

        Some of the reasons I feel peaceful in my God: (1) He has called me, (2) His love for me is forever, (3) I feel secure in his hands, for nothing can take me away, (4) I belong to him forever, (5) I shall be with him in heaven forever, (6) He has made my will his will, setting me free, (7) He shields me from all evil, (8) He has healed my soul, (9) He is with me at all times. 

No Freedom Without Truth

        Jesus said in John 8 that "the truth will set you free" ~ I've found this to be true. In my opinion, any religion that does not make you feel free cannot possibly be true. Experiencing freedom in your God proves that he is love and the true One. There are also those who do not believe in God and think that they are free, but this is only pseudo-freedom felt when you think you have escaped from facing God. Such feelings are short-lived when you realize that you are a slave to the world and to your ego.

Unconditional Love for All

        Today is Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In Reading 2 from Romans 5, Paul points out that God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. God's unconditional love teaches us to love all others in the world without discrimination, as he loves all sinners without discrimination.

God to Be Take Seriously

        This is how Jesus taught on judging others: "As you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you" (Matthew 7:2). In the Lord's Prayer, he also taught us to say, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." It follows that if we don't take God seriously, he won't take us seriously either.

Most Beautiful Things

        Anticipating the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus tomorrow, EWTN showed a film on St. Margaret Mary Alacoque who received the revelations of the Sacred Heart. In some scenes, you see the saint prostrating herself in front of the Lord on the altar ~ it is such a beautiful scene! And I saw that it's proper ~ so right ~ for us to surrender to the Lord, to abandon ourselves to him, to trust in him, to rest in him, and to serve him. It struck me that all these things are most beautiful. 

Falling in Love with God

        Meditate upon the love of Christ and you fall in love with this love. Now you have fallen in love with God.

Greatest Commandments Linked

        In today's Gospel reading taken from Mark 12, Jesus gave the first of all the commandments: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Then the second: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. These two greatest commandments are intimately linked together. Following the second commandment faithfully fulfills the first one. Following the first commandment gives us the power and strength to fulfill the second one. 

The Lord In Me

        At morning Mass, I did feel that Jesus was sitting on the throne in my heart instead of being outside of me. I was elated that he was with me. He's still in me now.

Consider Eternal Life

        I ask the Lord to let me evangelize to as many people as possible, and the opportunities often come up, and the right moment to say something follows too. People commonly talk about their worldly problems. At the appropriate moment, I would let my listeners know outright that what I am going to say to them, most likely they won't hear from another person. I tell them that my main concern for them are not worldly problems but eternal life, which must be considered foremost. Then I present Jesus as our answer. My listeners always seem to understand my intention and that I speak it out of love. So a seed is sown and may bear fruit one day.  

The Human Plight

        Here's my simple view of the human situation. Since Adam and Eve disobeyed God, we ended up carrying the original sin and got banished as far from him as possible. Then because he loves us so much, he sent Jesus his own Son into the world to die in our place to redeem us. Now, we can believe in Christ and be adopted by God the Father as his children again, or ignore or reject Christ and remain banished. 

         A footnote. Because God has created us in his own image, he loves us and we can understand his love.  

Taking the Holy Eucharist Seriously

        Receiving the Holy Eucharist is not a casual affair. In 1 Corinthians 11:27, Paul wrote that "whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord." Before we receive the Sacrament, we should make sure that we are in as pure a state as possible spiritually. Then we ask the Lord to bestow on us whatever we need to be drawn close to him. We must become more like him, even for a tiny bit, after each reception.

Do not Neglect Loving

         Do not forget to visit your loved ones or any needy folks as often as possible ~ this is loving your neighbor. To follow the commandment of honoring your father and your mother, don't forget to keep in touch with them if they live away from you. If there is any animosity between you and your parents or any other family members, seek reconciliation, ask for forgiveness, before you face God ~ this is absolutely urgent, first-priority business. You must cast aside all pride and let humility rule!
       I've been visiting the homebound for quite some time and I am so happy that I'd made special visits to some of them and regret that I didn't go see some others more often before they passed away. One I saw a month ago was a laughing, talking person; two weeks ago, he lost all his energy, stopped eating, and had trouble breathing. Last week, he's gone. Let your loved ones know that you love them and you care for them before they or you leave the world. Show that you truly love God.   

Most Common Addiction

        Attachment to material goods is the most common addiction in the world. This spiritual failing makes you forget God, thus pleasing Satan greatly. The only remedy for it is to attach yourself to God.