Quick Portrait of God

        Communion time thoughts on this Memorial of St. Clare. To be holy, one must have love first. Since God is love, he is all holy. It's this love that makes God great and the bedazzling holiness befits him perfectly. 

Surrender Quandary

        We find it hard to surrender completely to God because you get a little bit of that jumping-off-a-cliff feeling. Let's look at it this way. God is all-knowing, all-loving, and wise. If you avoid him to live your own "secret" life, do you believe that God wouldn't know? Do you think you can always make things happen the way you want when you are in control? But who's really in charge? To not surrender to God is to reject God as your caretaker ~ a disobedient act. It is also a foolish act because you falsely believe you can take better care of you than God can. It is also risky because without God's total guidance, you may get lost. 

One-Sided Reluctance

        Communion time thoughts. God is so approachable because he is ever ready to take us back, welcome us, embrace us, or unite with us through the Holy Eucharist. What holds us back are we, not God. We set up barriers whenever we do not want to approach him.  

God Is Weeping!

        God looks down upon the world today and weeps, for he sees the violent fighting and killings going on in Gaza, Syria, Libya, and elsewhere. All parties involved think that God is on their side and seek to destroy the other side in his name. Don't they all believe in the same God? There is only one true God, the one as revealed through Jesus Christ his Son. Whoever does not believe that our God loves all of us does not know him and is a false believer that has been mislead. What should we do who love God? Besides weeping along with him, let us seek union with him to counteract those who have made him cry. 

God Looking at Us

        I see God looking down on one of us. God's heart is filled with compassion, yet this creature has no idea. There is no joy or peace in him ~ he simply goes through the motion of living, performing trivial things aimlessly as if in a dream. The Father pities him even more. How he wish that this child of his would know that he is loved and be joyful! All he needs to do is turn to the Father and ask for mercy and help. Once he sees God to be the truth, everything becomes purposeful and real. 

Better Request

        It is better and more beneficial to ask God for courage and strength to endure the trials and tribulations of life than to ask him to spare you those tests. 

God Our Only Hope

        Only the true God can fundamentally change us on the inside because he's the one who created us. We can resolve to become a better person, but will not succeed well on our own. The change must be initiated at the spiritual level, affecting the soul. Without God, there would be no great saints. If you want to change the world, let him change you first. [Note: "True God" is the God who has revealed himself to be love.]

Vision Comes First

        Not many realize that vision is indispensable for survival. We must look beyond this life in order to survive in the next. Once that's settled, then we can settle down to live in the present in peace. 

God in Full Charge

        Today is the Memorial of St. Dominic. The Psalm response came from Deuteronomy 32.39: It is I who deals with death and give life. Indeed, we didn't plan our own birth and don't know when we'll die. Our life is only a brief interval between birth and death, so how can we say that we are in control of our life? God is and should be in charge all the way. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." This is precisely the counsel we need.      

Stopping Short

        People claim they believe in God, but when it comes to forgiving someone, they often won't do it and would even take revenge. In other words, they stop following Christ if someone crosses a line they've drawn. This is disbelieving that God can change you. Limiting God's love, mercy, and ability to accomplish anything is being rebellious, showing the lack of faith and trust in him. No lines should ever be drawn between you and God. 

Hearing God Speak

        God wants to speak to us, but we must be ready and willing to listen for his voice. Today's busy and hectic life prevents us from hearing God's gentle and quiet voice. We need to turn inward to hear him, for he speaks to the heart. If you'll remain still and open, you will find messages placed in your heart. Patience is required as God follows his own timetables, but waiting only makes hearing from him all the more sweeter.     

Worst Burden of Life

        Once you are in union with Christ, carrying any cross for him is no longer a heavy burden. But if you commit a sin, you would feel like your heart is being tortured and the burden can become crushing. 

Who's Naive?

         Those who don't know God think that we who have faith in God are naive for easily believing in some God to make ourselves feel secure. On the contrary, I think nonbelievers are naive because they unknowingly look for God here and there, hoping that they would run into something to make them permanently happy. 

Love Wonderful

       From us, God desires mercy, not sacrifice (Hosea 6.6; Matthew 9.13, 12.7). Let love motivate all that you say, think, and do, sacrifice included. Love is to be our power source, so that we can be like God. It's wonderful that God being love sets a kind of standard for the whole universe, making it clear that everything is to exist by love. I just can't think of a more perfect standard to uphold. Our God is just wonderful.

Delightful and Sweet

        Communion experience. Wisdom 16.20, today's Communion antiphon: You have given us, O Lord, bread from heaven, endowed with all delights and sweetness in every taste. Indeed, the Lord was delightful and tasted most sweet, and I felt complete contentment.

No Greater Loss

        During Eucharistic Prayer at Mass this morning, I knew that Jesus is my answer. Sadly, I thought of those who do not look for him, for there is no greater loss than missing him forever. Have him now and you'll have him forever.

Casting the Holy Spirit Aside

        Worrying is an ugly form of nosiness. It pessimistically projects things that have not happened yet. Therefore, when you worry, you're casting the Holy Spirit aside. Optimistic projection of things that have not happened, while not as bad as worrying, is nevertheless also being out of sync with the Holy Spirit. The one who's with the Spirit does not project into the future; he simply trusts in God every moment in peace.

Humility Called For

        After watching the documentary Space: Unraveling the Cosmos showing the vastness of space, it reinforced my feeling that God is infinite and that what we know is only what God has allowed us to know. If we could see the entire universe through God's eyes, we would realize what we know is practically zero. Let humility open our eyes to the grandeur of God and accept the good news Jesus has proclaimed, which happens to be God's most important revelation for us.