"Let Yourself Go"

        We can learn from others in the world. In a PBS interview with Yuan Yuan Tan who dances the title role in San Francisco Ballet's production The Little mermaid, I caught her saying that she lets herself go while she performs. That is why her performance is so beautiful, so natural, and captures the audience's heart. No one would enjoy watching a performer who does not feel at ease or put his heart into the performance. To shine as Christians, we need also let ourselves go in Christ. Like halfhearted performers, lukewarm Christians will fail.  

Jesus as Our Friend

        Communion time thoughts. When we were young, we chose our friends. There were ones we naturally were attracted to and others we just couldn't get along with or even disliked. Now I am looking at Jesus, who is full of love, most helpful, who will not let you down, one who understands you perfectly and will never tire of listening to you; and yes, he is most sweet, for he'll even let you get mad at him; and he's fun to be with, for you can tell him anything, including jokes. How can you not love a friend like Jesus? He is one big reason I want to go to heaven! 

Living Freely

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Matthew 9, Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. He then sent out these Twelve to proclaim the Kingdom of heaven at hand, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. His last instructed, "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." Indeed we have received freely from God and we are to give freely; we are just passing through. So this is the way to live ~ to feel free and for God. 

Beautiful Love

        If my parents had loved my brother or sister more than they loved me, I would have felt hurt. If my friend likes me the most among all his friends, I would feel extra good. With God's love, no such feelings arise because he loves every single one of us equally and his pure love transforms our heart. That's why we are able to spread his love and share his joy with others with total absence of the ego. I cannot conceive of anything abstract that can be more beautiful than God's love as revealed to us through Jesus the Christ.         

Lesson on "Lesson"

        Talk about rejoicing, the Lord wants us to rejoice in everything that happens to us, for there is a lesson of love in all of them.

Unbreakable Bond

        Being the first Friday of December, there was Eucharistic Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament after morning Mass. Here's the Lord who just entered me during Mass, and he made me see that nothing could possibly dissolve the bond (union) between him and me. A Great Consolation.

To Die

        Communion time thought. To die to self is to die for God!

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.