The Union Difference

        If you really want God in your life, the best approach is to seek union with him. Why? Because if you are not in him, you'll always have questions, doubts; you could struggle your whole lifetime and not get much closer to him. While if you are in union with God, he teaches you personally and everything in your life falls into place, making perfect sense ~ no more questions or doubts; just communion in peace with the Lord. 

Grateful to God

        Nova has produced an excellent episode titled "Earth From Space." A spectacular space-based vision of our planet is revealed. Nova transforms the data from earth-observing satellites into visual sequences, each one exposing the intricate web of forces that sustains life on earth. We see how dust from the Sahara fertilizes the Amazon; how a vast submarine "waterfall" off Antarctica helps drive ocean currents around the world; and how the sun's heating up of the southern Atlantic gives birth to a powerful hurricane. All this knowledge makes me realize that God has hand-created this planet in the vast universe with the right atmosphere, temperature, environment, natural resources, etc., so that we may survive. For this I am grateful. But most of all, I am grateful that he has revealed his love for me through his own Son in my short lifetime here.

Making a Pact with God

        Today's Communion experience. When I received the Body of Christ, I was making a pact with the Lord for him to be my Lord and my God and for me to love and serve him forever.

The Approval of Gay Marriage

       The big newspaper in my area headlined "Gay marriage is on a roll" after the latest Supreme Court rulings. It's interesting that a June 10 article in BBC Magazine reports that some gay people are against gay marriage. Here are some of the reasons given by them. "It's demonstrably not the same as heterosexual marriage ~ the religious and social significance of a gay wedding ceremony simply isn't the same." "We're not going to procreate as a couple and while the desire to demonstrate commitment might be laudable, the religious traditions that have accommodated same-sex couples have had to do some fairly major contortions." "Until the federal government recognizes and codifies the same rights for same-sex couples as straight ones, equality is the goal so why get hung up on a word?" Another gay person strongly believes that civil partnerships to give same-sex couples equal legal rights are enough. 

        I suppose the approval of gay marriage is expected after legalization of abortion and the acceptance of unmarried couples living together. We live in a basically secular society and judges are so legalistic that they no longer have any moral concerns. (It is interesting that so far gay marriage has been allowed mostly in the more affluent countries of the West.) What next? 

       The scene from Luke 23 comes to my mind. As Jesus was led away, carrying his own cross, a large crowd of people followed him, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' At that time people will say to the mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!'" 

God Makes Us Holy!

        During consecration of the bread and the wine at Mass, I realized that receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist is no casual affair, for the Lord God enters me and I become holy because he dwells within me. How awesome the holiness of God! How exciting for us to be holy too! Yes, our bodies are truly temples of the Holy Spirit.

On Being Thrown into Fire

        In the Gospel reading from Matthew 7 at Mass, Jesus wanted his disciples to bear good fruit, for he said, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." I got thinking: what if the fruit we bear is not that good, but not bad either? The answer that came to me was that the fire would then be the fire of purgatory.

God to Be Experienced

        God does not wish us to just study and read about him ~ he wants to be one with us so that we may experience his love and mercy. This calls for surrendering ourselves completely to him. Once we have experienced him, we'll never want to leave again, for he fulfills all our needs and then some.

"Pray for Me"

        When I made the penitential act at morning Mass, acknowledging having greatly sinned and asking all the angles and saints and my brothers and sisters to pray for me, I sensed that the request "Pray for me" is a beautiful one. Praying to God, if you truly believe in him, is already a beautiful expression of your faith. When you say "Pray for me," it shows your need for the Lord's mercy and the prayer is now made even more personal and beautiful.

Holding onto Yourself or God

        Here's another mental picture. Imagine that you are a pole. If you have not surrendered to God yet, you naturally hold onto that pole, which is yourself. But there is no true security ~ when you sink, you sink. Once you have surrendered to God, he is now the pole you hold onto and you become absolutely secure, for he is the pillar that never sinks. You actually experience this when you made the switch.

How We Should Love

        Since Jesus loves all of us, we are to love all equally too, regardless of whether the person is attractive or not, interesting or boring, rich or poor, young or old, healthy or handicapped, friend or foe... In other words, we are to love unconditionally like Jesus. This is a tall order, but nothing is impossible with God.    

Dual Aspect of God

        God as revealed through Jesus the Son is not only to be worshiped, adored, and praised, but is amazingly also our friend, brother, and servant. This dual aspect is possible only because our God is truly love. 

Christ Cannot Be Ignored

        Jesus said that he himself would be a cause of division on earth. See how John the Baptist got beheaded, followed by so many Christians being martyred to this day. To me, the existence of division, which even sets members of the same household against each other as Jesus had foretold, only proves that he cannot be ignored, that there is good vs. evil. And the fact that he cannot be ignored only proves that he is the true God. Ignoring Christ is being as ignorant as believing that you do not exist.

Our Present Mission

        Today is the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The Gospel Acclamation, Luke 1:76, quotes what John's father Zachariah prophesied: "You, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way." It was of John that the prophet Isaiah had also spoken when he said: "A voice of one crying out in the desert, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'" I see that we are now the prophets to prepare the way for the Lord's Second Coming by making straight his paths. Our specific mission will be to make this world as pleasing to Christ as possible before he comes again by becoming as holy as possible ourselves and bringing as many others to him as possible.

Recipe for Life

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 9 concluded with these two verses: "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." 

          Listen up! Here's Jesus speaking as the true God, giving us the recipe for life.

Who Is Jesus to You?

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9 at Mass, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" After he got some answers, he asked the disciples this time, "Who do you say that I am?" It matters who you say that he is! Obviously, my reply would be "God" since I know a lot more about Jesus than the disciples at the time when Jesus had not yet gone through his Passion and Resurrection. May I add that my less specific but more descriptive answer would be "The one who satisfies all my needs."

Thirst for Learning

        Coupled with the yearning for Christ the Lord is the thirst for learning from him. I want the Lord to teach me, teach me, and teach me. I want to know all about him, to get inside of him, to become part of him. I believe he had given me these desires because I heard him say to his disciples at the Last Supper: "Remain in me, as I remain in you.... I am the vine, you are the branches...without me you can do nothing" (John 15).

What I Seek

       As I was watching Rick Steve's travel video Croatia: Adriatic Delights on PBS, showing the mountains, the forests, the sea, and other scenic sights, I got this new feeling that this finite earth was not big enough for me. The earth's gravitational pull on me was another restraint. I know now that I seek not only what lasts forever, but also what is infinite and can make me feel free. The Lord is then my answer. Maybe it's because I have tasted him that I feel this way. 

More on Our Spiritual State

        Here's another observation. We came into the world, grew up learning how to survive and get ahead. We were encouraged to go for whatever we want to do. We became convinced that if we don't give up, we shall succeed. The end result is that we take charge and follow our own wishes, good or bad. Especially in a country like the United States here where there is freedom of speech, no one likes to be told what to do. Humility can easily be perceived as being weak. All these things make it difficult for us to surrender to God and obey him, and we remain rebels.