Life like the Stock Market

        Here is another mental depiction of the Christian life. Picture the chart of the stock market in a bull year. The daily prices fluctuate, but the overall trend is up all the way until a peak is reached. The daily life of the Christian also has it ups and downs, but overall everything that happens brings him closer to God as time moves on. The peak indicates the end of his life on earth and the stock gains could represent the merits he has earned for the Lord.         

*Faith Boundless

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Matthew 9, two blind men believed that Jesus could make them see. Jesus touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith." And their eyes were opened. Yes, faith can work miracles, but another aspect I see is that faith can be boundless ~ namely, you can trust in God as much as you want and still trust in him some more ~ this is the exciting part! And I believe that the greater the faith, the greater the wonder you will see. It is the infinite power and mercy of God that allows you to have as great a faith as you wish. Very beautiful!    

Ultimate Rejoicing

        We need God for myriad reasons. One of them came to me this morning at Mass: We need God for us to rejoice in! It is true that there are numerous things we can rejoice in, but none can compare to God, for none but God alone can give us meaning of life, true hope, inner security, joy of heaven . . . all the things we need the most. If you don't rejoice in God yet, you do not know Jesus yet.  

Our Decision

        "In the final analysis, it is between you and God." This famous verse comes from the poem "Do It Anyway" written on the wall of Mother Teresa's home for children in Calcutta. What it says is true because our destiny is entirely determined by how we and God are getting along. Since God always wants to get along with us (he even died for us), we can condense this verse to: "In the final analysis, it is up to you alone." To accept or not to accept God's offer of salvation ~ that is our decision. 

To Be Rid of Ego

        All I know is that ego is difficult to get rid of. Before I knew the Lord well, I sensed my ego and considered that to be an inherent part of every human being and never thought of chucking it. But ego did cause a lot of grief at times. As a Christian, I began to realize that with ego, it would be impossible to acquire humility. Later, I clearly saw ego to be the biggest obstacle in our way if we ever want to attain union with God. Then the Lord showed me that he could annihilate the ego without sweat. If you ask me if you can possibly dump your ego without any help from God, my best guess is that it would be a heck of a struggle and still fighting a losing battle.          

People Don't Change

        In Luke 16.10, Jesus commented on his own parable, "The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones." After watching others in real life, I can correctly say that the person who is not satisfied with what he has now will not be satisfied with whatever he'll have in life; and the person who complains about his situation now will complain about any situation he'll be in later. The good news is that God is always around, ready to change us for the better, when he gets the green light from us.

Creating Joy

        Communion experience. My heart heard Jesus say "Let everything you endure for my sake be a joy!"

Action Necessary

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7 at Mass, Jesus said to his disciples clearly that not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" would enter the kingdom of heaven and that everyone who listens to his words must act on them ~ here is a command! In other words, talk and listen with no action is not acceptable to the Lord. And we can see that he is right. 

Why Leave the Church?

        If the Catholic life is so exciting, then why have many Catholics left the Church? Some left because they never knew or understood their faith ~ I suppose that's a valid reason. Others left, often because some fellow parishioner or the priest offended them, or a scandal within the Church shocked them. Anyhow, we are all sinners to various degrees. But there are also great saints within the Church throughout history and today. So my question is: Why do you let the bad examples affect you so much and ignore the good ones? Know that Christ is in the Church! In fact, the Church is the mystical body of Christ, so leaving her is to cease being part of his body. (1 Corinthians 12.27.)

Why Is Catholic Life Exciting?

         The list of things that make the Catholic life exciting is long. Here are nine of them worthy to mention.

          (1) The Catholic belongs to the Church which Jesus had built upon St. Peter.

          (2) Jesus is the Son of God who came down from heaven to become one of us on earth.

          (3) He is the greatest miracle and the greatest revelation God has given us.

       (4) Through the seven sacraments of the Church, the Catholic receives all the grace he needs.
        (5) The Holy Eucharist is the most precious sacrament of all; receiving it is  truly receiving the body and blood of Christ.

         (6) Through receiving the Holy Eucharist and surrender to God, union with God is attained

         (7) Union with the Lord transforms one into a holy person whom sin can no longer imprison.
        (8) Inner peace, freedom from attachment to the world, and joy in the Holy Spirit can all be experienced.   

        (9) There is so much to learn from so many greats saints who have left us with their teachings and inspirational spirituality.  

Taking Away Sins

        Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He takes away our sins by not just forgiving them when we repent, but also removing our tendency or desire to sin after we attain union with him.

Fear of Sin

        Recently, I posted that fear of God can be healthy or unhealthy, but fear of sin is always healthy! Shall I say that we should even respect sin, for its consequence can totally destroy us? Anyway, love God with all your heart and sin becomes inconsequential.  

All Up to Us

        God loves us all. How open we are to him determines how close we can get to him. Two people are called to receive the Holy Eucharist, yet one becomes a saint and the other remains a sinner. It's all up to us to leave all up to God or not.

A Wake-Up Reminder

        The bigger the ego, the harder it is for us to notice. This is sad, not strange. So often we do not see that we are the ones blocking God from accomplishing his will through us.

To Be Light of the World

        Know Christ so well that following God's will becomes second nature to you, then you'll be seen as the light of the world. 

On Stephen Hawking

         In the news today: Professor Stephen Hawking has told the BBC that artificial intelligence could spell the end for the human race. He only sees the possible extinction of the human race on Earth. With or without AI, we will all die anyway! Being an atheist, Hawking naturally does not understand that our soul can never be extinguished and it is sin that could spell the end of the human race if you see the end as being separated from God for all eternity.     

           A footnote. How miserable life would be if we simply do scientific research and development and come up with things that can end our existence on Earth, and become absolutely nothing after we die. I suppose you could say that if we are nothing, then nothing should matter anymore ~ but that doesn't make life any more meaningful.  

How God's Plan Unfolds

        When God calls us to do something, there is a reason. We may not understand it, but it becomes clear later. The Lord sees far ahead; we don't. Despite obstacles, setbacks, unforeseen developments, God's plan unfolds ~ things we don't know or did not expect are revealed, charting a new course for us. The Lord always aims for the greater good, for we are all his children. 

Need for Mary

        Mary is the perfect mother Jesus gave us as he hanged on the cross (John 19.26-27). We all need a good mother. Due to complicate family circumstances, I did not grow up close to my mother, whom I loved. The Blessed Mother more than filled my void. Even if you have a good mother on earth, having one in heaven can help you walk faithfully after her Son. She is the perfect helpmate for us to do God's will.