Only You and God

        Attributed to Mother Teresa: "In the final analysis, it is between you and God." She is right! Therefore, mind God alone and let nothing else bother you. Aim to please God and let all else go.        

Ultimate Reconciliation

        During Communion yesterday, I felt it's the perfect time to submit all my wishes, goals, and plans to the will of God to be in perfect harmony with God, thus letting peace continue to reign in my heart.

The Drawing Process

        "To everyone who has more, more will be given" (from Matthew 25.29). The process of being drawn into Christ is like that. As one grows closer to Christ, he experiences the same joys and sorrows as the Lord more. The joys naturally draw him even closer to Christ and the sorrows impel him to seek refuge and consolation in him ~ both leading the one to deeper union with God.

To Be Transformed by Christ

        Reading and learning about Christ, even from the Gospels, will not transform you. Only a direct encounter with him can make it happen. Therefore, meet him head-on with an open heart and let him influence and shape you. 

Peace and Purity

        If we do not sin, we shall have inner peace. Conversely, if we have inner peace, we do not wish to sin anymore in order to preserve that peace. Therefore, peace and purity are virtually synonymous. When we achieve unity with God, we gain both. 

Zeal for God

        To be an effective Christian, one must have zeal for God. This zeal is the fire lit by the love of God in our heart. Two days ago, the entrance antiphon at Mass from Psalm 105 read: Let the heart that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face. This is also the zeal that impels us to constantly seek the Lord.  

Be Prepared for Life

        The last two days I couldn't blog because I lost my internet connection. At the same time, the house phone went dead and the TV reception was gone. We cannot always be certain about what can happen in this life, but we can be certain about our life eternal with God. 

Most Beautiful Title

       At Mass this morning, "Lamb of God" struck me as a most beautiful title for Jesus who takes away the sin of the world by becoming the sacrificial lamb. The title speaks the love of God for us loud and clear. Praise be to God!

On Being Self-Conscious

        Another reason people don't feel free is that they are too self-conscious, too aware of what others think of them. Whereas if we are concerned only about pleasing God and not anyone else, we lose our self-consciousness and become free. Remember that God's whole aim is to free us from all bondage so that we may be saved.   

To Be like Jesus

        When Jesus taught us how to live and behave, he was revealing what he is like to us: how he deals with anger, how he forgives others, how he trusts in the Father, and so on. Therefore, if we obey him in all his teaching, we shall be like him.   

Eager to Learn

        Once when I was still a young man, I dreamed of becoming a great pianist. So I thought how great it would be if I possessed the talents of all the great pianists of the world. Of course, that was pure foolish and self-centered fantasizing. During Communion today, I had the great desire to learn from the Lord. Then I thought why not ask all the great saints in heaven to teach me too. This time, I was sincere, with no ego involved, and definitely not fantasizing. 

Endearing God

        Today at morning Mass, I realized that it's the Incarnation of Jesus that had made God truly endearing to us. God is not just Lord and God, he became our most beloved, our friend, our brother, and even our servant; even his mother became our mother ~ all made possible by love.   

Glorious Living

        Believe and trust in God with all your heart and God will fill you with his love to overflowing and perform wondrous deeds through you. This is glorious living when you live for God's great glory!

A Beautiful Way to Go Home

        Here's a beautiful Ave Maria supposedly to have been written by the Polish film-score composer Michal Lorenc and sung by the Polish soprano Olga Szyrowa, although I could not find any information on Google to substantiate these claims. The clip, very moving, came from the movie The Passion of the Christ. Christ died for us out of love for us ~ it's our turn to die for him for loving us. What a beautiful way to go home to our heavenly Father!

The Perception of Distance

        As human beings with physical senses living in a physical world, we sense how far anything is from us by its actual location in terms of measured distance or whether we can hear or see it. Wrongly, we tend to perceive God and heaven the same way. The spiritual world is not a physical world ~ the moment we die, we are there! And we don't need to travel any distance to go to God either ~ he is ever present and already dwells in those who love him.

A Wonderful Gift

        The big bang theory describes how the universe began in a rapid expansion about 14 billion years ago, but some major problems still remained. Now the big bang theory modified by the inflation theory seems to have solved these problems. Inflation refers to the expansion of space lasting just an instant right after the big bang. Afterwards the universe continues to expand at a slower rate. All this is rather mind-boggling, and I become aware that God has given us this wonderful sense of wonderment. With this unique gift, we are able to enjoy these amazing perceptions of the universe and our even more amazing God.   

Food That Sanctifies Us

        Communion experience. The Holy Eucharist I have just received is not only something from heaven, but also nothing short of being the body of the Lord! And this is the food that raises us to holiness.   

Recipe for Peace

        Do everything to please God alone to the exclusion of all else, then you'll have peace.