Today's Communion antiphon, 2 Corinthians 5.14, 15: The love of Christ impels us, so that those who live may live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised. Indeed, his love has impelled me to want to love him and die in him.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Joy of Union
One great joy of union with Christ is that you and the Lord share the same joys and sorrows.
Jesus Dispenses Joy
Today is the memorial of St. Mary Magdalene. In the Gospel reading from John 20, Jesus after his Resurrection appeared to Mary Magdalene outside the empty tomb and said to her, "Go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Hearing this and what Mary Magdalen had said earlier in the reading, I was moved to tears. I knew then that Jesus, being always loving and gentle, could only give us joy.
The Ultimate Survivalist
Just last Wednesday, I posted about the TV show Doomsday Preppers on various survivalists preparing for the end of civilization. If we truly want to survive, we must go beyond driving a safer car, installing a burglar alarm system in the house, taking the flu shot before flu season starts, etc. We all are going to die, so the focus should shift to survival of the soul which is eternal. Since the world we live in is a sinner's paradise, we must be sure that we don't get defiled by all the sins that surround us. Therefore, the ultimate survivalist aims at safeguarding the soul, letting heaven, never this world, be his paradise.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Letting God Set Us Free
It's essential that we spend quiet time to commune with God regularly so that we may get to know him and have him reveal our true self to us. If we do not know ourselves, we won't know how to become holy. Self-knowledge is the key to letting God set us free.
First Vocation Call
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 12, while Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Stretching out his hand toward his disciples to make the point, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother." The Lord made it clear that the vocation for a disciple is to do his will, preceding any other vocation calls.
Monday, July 20, 2015
On Becoming Pefect
God wants us to be perfect, but because we are finite, we can never be as perfect as he who is infinite. But we can approach perfection the way a curve approaches an asymptote in mathematics as time passes. Our lifetime goal is to surrender, trust, and abandon ourselves to God to the best of our ability and leave the drawing to God. In theory and practice, perfect cooperation brings perfection.
How Not to Judge Others
Jesus teaches us not to judge others. He is right. Before God who alone is holy, we are all sinners, so we are no better or worse than others. The way of not judging others is to never compare others with ourselves. This should also rule out gossiping.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Taking Death Seriously
Death is a reality, but a lot of people do not want to think about it. They act as if they are going to live forever. We absolutely need to be ready for death as it could happen at any time. I am not talking about getting life insurance to take care of your family or picking out a cemetery plot ~ I want to make sure that I am going to heaven and not hell, unless you believe that there is no life after death or that everybody goes to heaven anyway. For the Catholic, it's important to go to confession as often as necessary to remain in the state of grace. It's a great feeling to know that your soul is safe. Only a fool would gamble when eternal life at stake.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Best Gift for God
The best gift you can give to God is your heart. Giving it to him is to give all of yourself, showing that you truly love him. And he will shape, mold, purify, and condition it as he pleases and you'll receive exactly what you need to become whole and holy. After receiving the Holy Eucharist is the perfect time to make this offering.
Love's Demand
To love someone, you must want to know the person. To love God, just going to Mass faithfully is not enough . . . you must want to know him as much as possible ~ his thoughts, his feelings, his ways ~ and to be like him. That's why seeking union with God is the way to go. A married couple can coexist peacefully, but to truly love each other, they must strive to become soulmates. To help someone in need is showing your love; but again, to truly love the person, you need to show that you are interested in knowing him or her more in detail as a person.
Ultimate Freedom
If God is judging you right this moment, would you still try to hold onto the things you are attached to in the world? The right thing to do is to get detached to everything now (to avoid embarrassment later, to say the least). I believe I had mentioned that I was very much attached to piano music in the past. I subscribed to four or more magazines, eagerly awaiting the arrival of each issue to tell me about various composers, their works, featured pianists, the latest piano competitions, reviews of new CDs, etc. I would try finish reading the issue before eating my lunch or dinner. I would visit music stores to find the new CDs I wanted to add to my collection (no online shopping those days). I ended up knowing more about the piano than my piano teacher and we would talk about rather than playing it.
Finally, I realized that it's time to get detached. The first things I did was to terminate those magazine subscriptions, but I still kept one because I had that magazine from issue one. Later I realized that the Lord wanted me to make a clean cut and I unsubscribed that one as well. In fact, the last issue that arrived four years ago is still in its sealed condition. Listening to music is no longer my priority; prayer life is. (And I feel so much more free now.) To be detached from the world also means forgetting about all your past achievements and past experiences, whether they were pleasant or bitter. It means letting go of all your memorabilia as well. The past is gone; you now live anew in the Lord. You still fully enjoy what's good for you in this world, but are no longer enslaved by any of it anymore. As Jesus said in John 8.32: "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Friday, July 17, 2015
Falling in Love with Love
I saw part of an EWTN program on Iraq, a country rich in Christian history, where the Church now is being persecuted. I caught the faces of those, young and old, attending church. They looked beautiful and my heart went out to them. I realized how lovely we must all look to God, despite our sins, for God loves the sinner and hates only the sin. If you truly understand this, you can't help but fall in love with this lovely, merciful God of ours.
Our First Priority
To pray the Our Father and say "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven," we must start with doing God's will ourselves. How can we call God Our Father if we are still rebellious? Therefore, our first priority as God's children is to obey him.
How Can We Not?
When you have Christ, one who is totally trustworthy, all-powerful, and all-loving, to believe in, how can you possibly not feel good? Isn't this what we all wish for? I see myself as one whom God has already adopted and will officially take into his home on the day I leave this earth ~ how can I possibly not feel even elated?!
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