How to Be Exalted

        Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The second reading came from Philippians 2. Excerpts: "Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God .... Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness ... he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord ...." You see how God loves humility. We now know how to be exalted by God.

Everything Can Wait

        Serving God should be our number one priority ~ everything else can wait. We only have so much time on earth for storing up treasures in heaven, while other things will always be around whether we accomplish them or not.        

Reason Jesus Not Accepted

        Anyone who does not know God knows of only one god, himself. The reason people do not easily accept or surrender to Jesus after learning about him is not that he is false, but that he is or could very well turn out to be the true God, thereby posing a threat to anyone who has all along considered himself to be the only god. 

Going Beyond Prayer

        The "danger" of prayer is that we are tempted to take it as an easy way out, thinking that we've done our part. Jesus, to show that he has the authority to forgive the sins of the paralytic lying on a stretcher, healed the man by ordering him to rise, pick up the stretcher, and go home. To show that we mean what we pray for, we also need to back up our intention with action if possible. If I pray for the sick around me and have the time, but do not make an effort to visit any of them, then I am a hypocrite. If I say I am pro-life but do not try to participate in any activities, then again, I am being hypocritical. In Matthew 5.41, Jesus taught, "Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles." We need to go that extra mile beyond our prayer.   

We Are Special

        We are the only creatures who are capable of conceiving God, visualizing his beauty, admiring his perfection, sensing his holiness, feeling his love, and being in awe of him. We are special in God's creation because we were made in his image to be loved by him.  

How to Follow Jesus

        Today's Gospel reading at Mass came from Luke 6. Jesus said to his disciples, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you." 

          All this is not easy for us to follow. Then it struck me that the Lord would not teach us what he is not ~ so he really was telling us about himself. Therefore, to follow him is to imitate him.

The Ideal God

        God could be just a powerful being, creating the universe and all sorts of inanimate things. Then he also created things that have life, plants and animals ~ this shows that he has another aspect. Since we were created in the image of God, we were able to relate to God to some extent until Jesus came and made it clear that God is pure love. Now we have the ideal God, a God who has unlimited power of creation and an infinite love for us, his creature. What a blessing! 

What Makes God Beautiful?

        Love makes God perfect. Because he is perfect, he is beautiful.

Aiding God

        Since we have all inherited original sin, we are the only creatures in the universe creating chaos for God, but everything will be settled and restored by God at the end. We can facilitate the process by following and obeying him in this life.

Do Everything with Love

        Whatever we do for God, it will not be in vain. It will have its effect, be noticed in heaven, and come up again on Judgment Day. Therefore, do everything for the Lord with great love.

God Alone Important

        Communion time thought. Everything exists because of God. Our own existence or nonexistence depends totally upon God. Therefore, God alone is important to us and we should always feel grateful to him for having created us.

A Matter of Time

        I still care about this life and I am not a dreamer, but I can't help looking heavenward from time to time with great joy, knowing that the Father awaits me. For all of us, it's just a matter of time. 

Why Do We Need God?

        So that he can help us in trouble? Make us happy? Get us to heaven later? I think more important than all these considerations is to realize that we have become sinners and we need God to restore us. 

God's Love Irrefutable

        One can believe that we evolved from monkeys (not my belief) or we might not be alone because there is likely life on other planets, but nothing should distract us from the fact that God loves us, here and now, and that nothing can ever separate us from his love in Christ (Romans 8). As long as God exists, we'll be loved since God is love. 

Surrendering to Jesus Praised

        Jesus said the following on discipleship: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16.24), "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14.26). Surrendering to Jesus is meeting these conditions and entering the narrow gate and embarking on the road that leads to life. It's a spiritual breakthrough, the beginning of living a new life in union with Christ. 

Evil Spirits vs. God

        Evil spirits do not respect your free will. When one of them invades a soul, it wants to take over and dominate that soul completely. While God calls us, teaches us, consoles us, he never forces himself upon us for love does not intrude. In other words, evil spirits are oppressive and God always liberative. 

The Greatest Partnership

        God is our greatest friend; in fact, the only friend we need. With him, you are never alone. As you do his will, he supports you all the way. Therefore, we should focus on him alone, not on anyone else or ourselves. Just you and God, together, forming the greatest partnership in the whole universe.

Learning from All Things

        Romans 8.28: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. Therefore, let us learn from everything that happens to us for the Lord to continually shape us.