Like the Sun

        I looked out the kitchen window in the early morning and saw the red sun rising in the east, appearing not much larger than the moon. The sun is so much larger than our earth that if the earth stayed a solid ball, you could fit about 960,000 earths into a ball the size of the sun. And of course, the sun is so hot (with temperature estimated to exceed 27 million degrees F at its core) that if it were any closer, we wouldn't be able to survive on earth. The sun reminded me of God because, in a similar way, we do not realize the immensity and infinite warmth of God when we are not close to him. 

Simple, Happy Living

        Never compare yourself with others. Never envy others. Do everything to please God and not care if you succeed or not. Be holy by keeping a pure heart. It's just you and God, alone-together-always.

All Burdens Self-Imposed

        Burdens in life are real. An earthquake can destroy your house. A friend may turn against you. You want to a new car and worry about where the money is going to come from. In the last example, we clearly have a case of self-imposed burden. But once you know and trust in God, the loss of a house would no longer stress you out. If a friend turns against you, you would feel sorry and pray for him, still remaining peaceful. We now see that all burdens are really self-imposed and God can lighten them or lift them from you completely. 

Mixed Emotions

        Communion experience. Joy filled my heart, but God's sorrows in me remained.

Putting Off God

       It seems that many Christians are not looking at God squarely to figure out how they should deal with him. In the back of their mind they know that they should love him with all their heart, all their soul, all their mind, and all their strength, but their heart hasn't learned that yet. So they put off coming to any resolution. This is hiding from God. On the other hand, seeking union with God is going straight to the Lord to ask him to let us live in him. 

Expect Disconnect

        The Lord challenges us to become holy and perfect. If you accept the challenge, be prepared for this reality: you will face the disconnect between you and the world which in general does not know Christ. Even those who know him but not well may distance themselves from you. Nevertheless, the gain of intimacy with the Lord far offsets all losses.     

On Becoming a Saint

        To want to be a saint has nothing to do with pride. In fact, it has all to do with humility, for without humility one can never become a saint. So feel free to ask the Lord to make you a saint ~ he would be greatly pleased.

Fantastic Invitations

        Communion time realization. Receiving the Holy Eucharist is accepting God's invitation to let him love me, invitation for me to love him and to be united with him, and invitation to receive the gift of eternal life from him. A heavenly banquet only God can give! 

God's Extra Dimension

        God is great for being omnipotent, omniscient, and more, but the fact that he is also love make him totally personable and personal. This is cause for great rejoicing!

The Space of God

        God is an infinite space which you can enter when you wish and are ready. This space is absolutely beautiful because God is holy and perfect. It is also most sweet because he is love. How do you get ready to enter? Believe that Christ has died for you sins, be sorry for your sins, desire to be holy for God's sake, and you are ready. A total surrender at this point would earn you an instant entry pass. Otherwise, the Father will guide your every step of the way. Once you are inside the space, you'll feel like being a fish that has been released back into the water, enjoying total freedom. (I now realize I am describing the state of union with God again.) 

Expressing Love for God

        God loves us with an infinite love, but we are only capable of loving him finitely. But there is a way to satisfy the Lord: Surrender to him. This really is the best way of expressing our love for him.

Most Important Connection

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7 at morning Mass, Jesus raised a widow's son who had died. Life and death are really connected together ~ God can make us slip from one state into the other. The biggest disconnect has to be between heaven and hell. The separation is not only unbridgeable, but also eternal. All the more we need to connect ourselves to Jesus, the only one who can save us!  

No-Brainer Choice

        With a muddy conscience, we sin and look away to ease any discomfort we feel. But know that if you were to see yourself through the eyes of the holy God, you would be shocked at seeing what you have done! There are just two choices: (1) Keep looking away from your sins, fooling yourself to believe that you are OK, and get the big shock later. (2) Lick the problem of sin now to clear up you conscience once and for all so that you may live in peace from now on. What is your choice?    

Always Coming Through..

        If you love God and follow him faithfully, he will groom, nurture, and prepare you for meeting all the challenges of life? No matter what happens, with his help you will come through in triumph.

Sad Facts

     It's sad to see many old folks reaching the point of not knowing what's going on around them anymore. It's even sadder if they hadn't taken the time to get to know Jesus when their minds were still clear.

Ego "Revived"

        I saw someone with a Maserati parked outside his office ~ a car rather rare around here. I imagine how proud the owner must feel. What if no one gives a hoot about it? Would the owner be disappointed? I think so if he has a big ego. Ego is our attachment to the self. A big ego always demands to be fed to grow even bigger, then it becomes a prime target of Satan. If you want God to notice you, then starve your ego to death, thus removing the biggest obstacle in your path to God.

The Eternal God

        Today is the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. At morning Mass, the eternity of God entered my mind. Of course, God must have always existed. In Exodus 3, he told Moses that his name is I AM ~ wow! For God, there is neither beginning nor end. which explains all the mysteries around us. Who are we to argue with or even question him? How much do we really know? We have no choice but to worship him. The big bonus we get is that he happens to love us and wishes us to live for all eternity too, with him ~ imagine. I can't help wanting to leap for joy!

On Discerning God's Will

        Looking back on my past, there were many times when I wasn't sure what God wanted me to do. That was because I had not completely surrendered to him yet. As a result, my own will was always in the way, conflicting with or obscuring his will for me. After I got to know the Lord well, my will and his became the same, and discerning was rarely necessary. Now, I just wait for him to reveal to me what he wants me to do according to his time table. As a result, I experience much peace.