How Freedom Came About

        When you are in union with God, you belong entirely to God and everything you considered yours is now his ~ you are free!

Jesus, Lord of All

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Luke 6, Jesus let the Pharisees know that he is the Lord of the sabbath. Of course, Jesus is the Lord of us all and everything else. In Matthew 7, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven." Therefore, to make Jesus truly our Lord, we need to surrender to him, achieving our goal of union with him. 

True Home

        I had the home-sweet-home feeling this morning at church for Mass. We all feel good at our home, but this feeling was even sweeter. Our home on earth provides only temporary, physical comfort with no permanent, absolute protection ~ this is the difference. What I felt this morning in church was that God is my home!

World Not Knowing God

         Today Pope Francis leads the world in fasting and praying for peace in Syria. War and violence will not bring us peace as long as the human heart does not have love. And this love must be unlimited or it cannot be love. Jesus has revealed to us that the love of our heavenly Father is truly infinite ~ he is the only one who commands us to love our enemies and love our neighbor as ourselves. The bombings, killings, and fighting going on daily around the world only show how so far the world is from knowing the true God. Pray hard for peace and conversion.

In Union with Holiness

        Today's Communion experience. The Lord entered me and I felt him to be my treasure, my pearl, and that the consecrated host I'd just received was the embodiment of Holiness! This is true fulfillment.

Have We Done Enough?

        Quoting Leon Bloy again: "The only tragedy of life is not to become a saint." Sometimes I feel that I have not done enough for the Lord. Then the Lord makes me see that my sole concern should be to follow him faithfully every step of the way ~ the rest is all up to him. Again, it's how we do it, not how much we do (back to St. Therese's Little Way).

Food for Thought

        Pope Francis during his inaugural address to the cardinal electors said, "When one does not confess Jesus Christ, I am reminded of the expression of Leon Bloy: 'He who does not pray to the Lord prays to the devil.' When one does not confess Jesus Christ, one confesses the worldliness of the devil." [Leon Bloy (1846-1917) was a French novelist, critic, polemicist who became a fervent Roman Catholic convert.] In the same address Pope Francis also said, "When we walk without the cross, when we build without the cross, and when we confess Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord: we are worldly, we are bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord."

Glorious Awakening

          Today's Gospel reading was Luke 5:1-11. After Jesus had finished teaching the crowds from a boat that belonged to Simon (Peter), he asked Simon to put the boat out into deep water and lower his nets for a catch. Simon and his partners had worked hard all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, he lower the nets at Jesus' command. They caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to the partners in a second boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, including James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him. 

        First they were astonished by Jesus, then they realized their own sinfulness. Finally, they left everything and followed him. What a glorious awakening, a glorious breakthrough! We all need such an occasion in our lives.

Why I Need Jesus

        Jesus is the doorway to freedom and I desire freedom. Also, during consecration of the bread and wine at Mass today, I realized my imperfections so that I need to cling to him to ask for their removal. 

Learning to Be Humble

        In last Sunday's Gospel reading from Luke 14 at Mass, Jesus tells a parable to teach people humility. He says that when you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, "My friend, move up to a higher position." Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. Jesus is right because if everyone in the world humbles himself, we'll have peace in the world. This teaching is in line with his teachings on not judging others, forgiving your brothers, loving your enemies, turning the other cheek. In life, things continuously do not turn out the way we have expected due to unforeseen circumstances, unreliable people, etc. Our choice is to accept our "lowest place at the table" so that things may get better or continuously fight for "the place of honor at the table" and remain in turmoil. To be humble is hard but the right thing to do. And with the Lord's example and help, it's definitely possible.  

Peace from Christ

        As we said the Lord's Prayer in preparation for receiving Holy Communion at Mass this morning, I realized that saying this prayer is acknowledging our total dependence upon the Lord and I was filled with peace. After receiving Holy Communion, I saw living in the house of the Lord forever after this life and my peace deepened. Jesus truly gives us peace and joy when we live for him as he had promised.

How to Live Joyfully

        This morning at Mass I sensed the joy of serving God. To live a joyful life, simply do everything for Christ. 

Fruit of Union

          Learning from the Lord becomes a great joy, further intensifying the intimacy.

Honesty the Best Policy

        Anyone not honest with himself fears looking at himself. The Lord made me see this morning the truth that if we can be completely honest with him, then we will be honest with ourselves and able to examine ourselves without fear! 

How to Enjoy God

        Seek union with God. Once you are in union, you no longer have any issue with him and you are in complete harmony with his will. Now you can enjoy fully his companionship, intimacy, and communion with you.

Life of the Christian Worker

      A Christian works for the Lord. He is hired as an employee to remain faithful, obedient, and productive. The Lord reaps all the profits and at the end of the employment period repays him lavishly.

Are All Religions the Same?

       Some people say that all religions are the same ~ they all lead you to God. This is one of the most irresponsible and misguided statements I've ever heard. There can be but one truth about the true God. So we have the truth, which we shouldn't consider a religion, and the various religions. If all religions are the same, does this mean following any of the numerous religious belief systems out there is OK? Of course not, because they even contradict each other. Mind you, a religion that teaches even one single error can no longer be the truth. Saying that all religions lead one to God is also nonsensical. I do agree that any good person due to no fault of their own can be saved even if they don't know the truth ~ but why take the chance? To me, the Catholic faith is the absolute truth for the many reasons I've mentioned on this blog. I must add that to be sure of being saved, one must be a faithful Catholic, not just one in name only. 

Surrender Only Choice

        Today's Communion experience. When I received the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, it was the meeting of heaven and earth, creator and creature, the infinite and the finite, the holy and the sinful ~ I had no choice but to let every particle of me surrender to the Lord.