Today's Gospel acclamation at Mass, Hebrews 4.12: The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and the thoughts of the heart. The mind has its own intelligence, but God always speaks to the heart. While our intelligence remains fixed, our heart grows in knowledge as God teaches us. Also, the heart directly affects the mind. When the heart is pure, the mind is pure; if it's filthy, so will the mind be. To serve God, always think with your heart, but be aware of the Evil One attempting to contaminate your heart by manipulating your thoughts of the mind.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Opposite Effects
Fear of God drives one to want to be more prominent than God, while love of God humbles one to regard himself to be the least important.
To Nonbelievers
Jesus has come and revealed the good new of salvation to all mankind. If you do not believe in him, what are you waiting for? The next time he comes, it'll be Judgment Day! If you are not waiting for anything, then your existence is empty. Sinners without having their sins taken away by God sink continually ~ believe in Christ as your Lord and Savior to reverse your course. Letting him go by and not getting your eternal destiny secured has to be the the most foolish and cowardly of all your acts.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Jesus the Way
To the believer in Jesus, everything looks "right" and there are no more questions about life. To the unbeliever, things are puzzling and life is meaningless. Jesus was right in declaring that "I am the way."
Our Re-creation
I attended Vigil Mass today. Here's my Communion experience. The Holy Eucharist is the Most Blessed Sacrament of all sacraments. In receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord, God and man meet, touch, and merge into one ~ how more intimate can you possibly get? I saw that moment as the re-creation of each of us, as special as our creation, enabling us to return to the Father.
Total Abandonment in God
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6 at Mass, Jesus told his disciples not to worry about life or be anxious about anything. They were to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all the things they needed would be given them besides. He's talking about total abandonment in God here. This is living in complete devotion to God so that we become free and settled for eternal life ~ not something to brush aside. It is also fulfilling the Father's wish to become one with his children! By the way, abandoning ourselves to God does not guarantee success in whatever we are called upon to do from our point of view, but what is certain is that the Father always wants to draw us ever closer to him.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Faith Makes the Difference
This link takes you to the interesting article on the Shroud of Turin on BBC News today: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33164668. My general thoughts are that scientists and unbelievers do not have a clue about how to prove that God exists, yet they are most eager to prove that there are no miracles. Indeed, nothing makes sense to the unbeliever and everything makes sense to the believer.
Healing Ocean
Communion experience. I am like a little drop in Christ the ocean of love, in whom everything that needs to be healed is healed.
Living for God
Every breath and every heartbeat of yours tell you that God is keeping you alive, that he is with you. Therefore, live every moment of yours for him.
Getting Out of Darkness
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus mentioned light and darkness. No one can be happy in darkness, but they cannot get out of it because there is no light to show the way. This is the situation of a sinner. The light they need is Jesus. Reach out for him and he will dispel all darkness.
Rejoicing in God Always
In today's first reading at Mass from 2 Corinthians, Paul mentioned his labors, imprisonments, beatings, numerous brushes with death, being lashed, beaten with rods, stoned, and shipwrecked, and other toil and hardships. We are to rejoice in the Lord always. All trials and suffering for the sake of Christ are to be welcomed, for he is drawing us to him.
It's the Holy Spirit!
If you cry out to God calling him Father, if you long for him, if you are grateful to him and rejoice in him, if you feel compassion for all others and are willing to forgive those who trespass against you, if you have the strong urge to share the good news with all and feel bold about doing it . . . the Holy Spirit dwells within you!
Thursday, June 18, 2015
God's Infinite Genius
Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson are regarded as the two greatest jazz pianists that have ever lived. Here are two Oscar Peterson videos for you to enjoy. May the genius you see in him make you think of the infinite genius of our loving Lord.
Must-Have Experience
The prodigal son is saved when he realized his sinful state, repented, and returned to the father to be in his good graces again. We may not be as bad as the prodigal son in the parable, but do you realize that every single one of us needs to go through such an experience, unless you deliberately reject God's mercy and salvation?
Jesus Our Savior
Today's tragic news: A 21-year-old man shoots nine dead at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. It appears to be a hate-crime. Is the human life no longer valued? Of course, many good people are angry at the killing and feel great sorrow for the victims, yet I see inconsistency in today's general attitude. For example, you can hate such horrible crimes, yet believe in abortion and the death sentence. I see Jesus as our Savior also in the sense that only by following him can we stop all the killings and correct our inconsistent views.
Believing Is Seeing
Communion experience. The Lord let me see that we'd see his wonders only if we believed in him.
Aiming High
Jesus the Son and the Father are one ~ imagine joining them to become one with God! This is actually his wish, his plan. Are we not to aim high to let him uplift us all the way to him? Scraping the bottom on our own is just not good enough for us who were made in his image and whom he had died for.
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