Does Faith Need Works?

        Protestants believe that faith alone is sufficient for salvation, while Catholics quote from James 2 to claim that faith without works is dead. This is how I see it. If you truly believe in God and follow him, you will "automatically" be prompted by the Holy Spirit to do good works to serve and glorify God. Therefore, whether faith needs works or not becomes a nonissue. It also follows that if no good works come forth from someone who says that he has faith, then he is a liar.    

Reality Stories We Need to Hear

        Here are two Journey Home programs with terrific messages. The first is an interview with Kelly Nieto who was a new age atheist. What she has to say perfectly describes the state of our sick society today. 

        

        This second interview is with Leah Darrow. What she experienced was typical of what many of today's young men and women face. Every teenager would benefit from listening to her story. 

Guessing The Unforgivable Sin

        In today's Gospel reading at morning Mass from Mark 3, Jesus said to the scribes, "Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin." I had wondered what this unforgivable sin could be. I venture to make a guess here. In the Gospel, the scribes said earlier of Jesus, "He is possessed by Beelzebul [an unclean spirit]," and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons." It seems that the unforgivable sin must be calling the Holy Spirit an unclean spirit, which is the same as calling the Holy God the devil ~ God forbid!

Taking Advantage of God

        The presence of Jesus I am aware of has become overwhelming to the point I could no longer not think about him even for a moment ~ he is more real to me than anything else! God is just so beautiful and lovely, that's all I can say. I took advantage of this intimacy and shared with him a couple of my urgent wishes and knew that he heard me and would grant them in time. Let the Lord do whatever he wishes with you and he'll fill you with great joy by coming to dwell within you.  

Being a Christian

        A Christian does only the will of God. If his action benefits others, he expects no reward or gratitude, for he receives his reward and joy from God alone. A Christian never compares himself with anyone who is more popular, more powerful, more talented, or richer, for he prefers to remain peaceful through humility. A Christian cares about God first, others second, and himself last.     

Answering God's Call

        Today's Gospel reading came from Matthew 4 ~ Jesus began preaching and called his first disciples. If you are not happy with your spiritual state and wish to progress, what should you do? Here's my obvious answer: Like Peter, Andrew, James, and John who left everything at once to follow Jesus after he called them in the Gospel reading, you too should leave for the Lord immediately, for he has called you. The sinful state is a state of emergency and immediate action is required.

How to Approach God

        I felt well enough to attend Sunday morning Mass, but remained quiet for fear that using my voice would trigger coughing. Before Mass started, I thought about how we should approach the Lord. The following immediately came to the mind: Be open completely; remain passive and at his disposal; leave all our cares at his feet; ask no questions, only trust; rest in his peace now in his holy presence. This is total abandonment in God. This is enjoying him. This is what "Thy will be done" is all about. 

Becoming Beautiful Again

        In this life, we cannot get beautified, but we can be beautified by God. We were all born pure and innocent, but grow ugly as the sins engulfing the whole world start to stain and disfigure us. But God the Father wants his children to be beautiful always, for he dearly loves them. So, if you don't look very good to yourself and him, open yourself up and ask him to come to restore your beauty. No matter how ugly you are, he can transform you into the most beautiful person possible. In a way, the whole goal of the Christian is to let God make you beautiful. And what a beautiful feeling it is to know that you look beautiful to God.     

Purity, Purity, Purity

        We don't need to be a religious to take formal vows. We can always take our own vows in private. I deem one vow absolutely necessary for the love of God: to remain pure in thoughts, words, and deeds. This is the least God deserves from us, and seeking union with him can definitely help us achieve that.  

How Close Is God to You?

        On National Public Radio this morning, I heard that Latinos in this country is now a driving force in the Charismatic movement of the Church. The Rev. Jim Sheehan, a Charismatic priest and chaplain at Bronx Community College, says traditional Catholicism just isn't connecting with the Latinos, especially recent immigrants who are struggling. "I think that many of us have a distant relationship with a God of the future," says Sheehan. "Charismatics, Latinos expect God to come today ~ hoy dia." By joining the Charismatic movement, Latinos can have intense spiritual experiences without cutting ties with the Catholic Church. 

        This is good news. I feel that all of us Catholics should ask the Holy Spirit to "zap" us so that we may know that he is truly present. We should desire God's constant touch and seek union with him. But if you'd rather keep your distance from the Lord, then "dull Catholic" is a suitable name for you.

The Great Mystery

        I watched the movie Maria di Nazaret (www.maryfilm.com) on Netflix. It's on YouTube too. This film has many beautiful moving moments. John 3.16 comes to my mind: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. This is such a great mystery. The meaning is clear, but the truth is just shockingly beautiful beyond belief ~ only God could have come up with such a mystery. I feel so fortunate, so blessed that the Lord has revealed this truth to me, for it has the power to change our lives forever! This great mystery is also our greatest revelation.

Is Life Worth Living?

        My cough seems to have come back, so I am not out the woods yet. At a time like this, we think about life more. I know that when people are feeling miserable, they tend to think that life is not worth living. If this life is not worth living, then the next life is definitely worth living for as there's the possibility of living our eternal life with Jesus in heaven. Naturally, we must go through this life to get to the next; therefore, this life is worth living too no matter how miserable it might feel. In conclusion, life with Christ is always worth living ~ not only does he give us strength, hope, and joy in this life, he can absolutely make our next life blissful.

Letting Jesus Occupy Us

        At Mass today, I saw someone and thought of his known big ego. I didn't care for the music I heard too much either, somewhat distracting ~ not traditional enough. Then I realized that to maintain my inner peace I shouldn't have such negative thoughts. The sure and only way I know of to achieve this is to let Christ occupy me entirely, then his beauty and perfection will overshadow and obliterate all of my negative thoughts and concerns.

Making Jesus No. 1

        In today's Gospel reading from John 1, John the Baptist testified that Jesus is the the Son of God, ranking ahead of him for having existed before him. If Jesus is Lord and God to you also, how important or relevant is he to you? Do you put him first, second, tenth, or perhaps last in your life? How often do you think of him? How often do you talk to him? If you do attend Mass regularly, do you ever ask him to change you to become more like him? Here's how (the only way) to make him No. 1 in your life ~ let him know that this is your foremost desire and then abandon yourself completely to him. 

Hardened Hearts

        After receiving the Holy Eucharist, I thought: here's the Lord God who could solve all our problems and save us ~ yet how many of us had truly accepted him? How foolish and tragic it is to live and die with a hardened heart!

Doorway to Happiness

         Yesterday I thought I was well enough to attend morning Mass, but I started coughing again. Today I made it on the Memorial of St. Anthony. The Gospel reading from Mark 2 was about the paralytic being let down by his four friends through the roof they had opened up to get near Jesus. The Lord saw his faith, forgave his sins and healed him.

       Before Mass began, the Lord made me see that if we are not willing to accept suffering in this life, we can never be happy. Jesus has suffered so much for our sake, how can we refuse any suffering and still follow him? Being willing to suffer is the doorway to happiness. If suffering in this life is welcome, imagine how great our happiness will be in heaven! 

Peace and Freedom Born

        Communion intimacy. How could I possibly receive the Lord's body and still remain unchanged? How can I return this greatest favor of his entering me? The least and most I can do is let him take over completely so that I may belong to him completely ~ inner peace is now born. Since the Lord has already entered, I am ready to let him take me to wherever he wants me to go ~ inner freedom is now born.

On Knowing the Lord

        Today's Gospel Acclamation, based upon John 10.27: My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord. I know them, and they follow me. You don't need to experience anything supernatural to know Jesus. Seek union, oneness, and you'll know him. If you always follow him, then you already know him.