"Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)

Friday, September 25, 2015

Setting the Sights

        Pope Francis just finished saying Mass at Madison Square Garden. I saw the 20,000 there and knew that many of them I would meet in heaven. There we'll witness the beauty of God and see it in each other too. Heaven will be the most beautiful place the soul can ever experience. Follow Jesus now to secure your place in God's family and your later admission to paradise.

The Beauty of God

        I was watching a little bit Pope Francis speaking at a packed Madison Square Garden in New York City on TV. I felt great joy that the Lord had chosen me because knowing Christ has absolutely made my life beautiful. The world does not know him because it is immersed in sin. Sin has turned the world into darkness and those in it no longer see God. Sin has made the world so disordered that the world no longer believes that there is a living, loving God. It's absolutely tragic. The beauty of God is meant to be enjoyed by all! May the Lord soften our hearts so that we may all see and hear him clearly and be made beautiful for him to behold.

On Abandoning to God

        Communion thoughts. Have you set up a wall, a fence, or just a screen around you at all to shield you from God? How much you love God is proportional to how much you abandon yourself to him. Remove any separation between you and God so that you may abandon yourself to him completely. 

Opportunities for Intimacy

        Today's entrance antiphon at Mass: I am the salvation of the people, says the Lord. Should they cry to me in any distress, I will hear them, and I will be be their Lord for ever. We get distressed many times a day and we can cry to God each time, and he hears us ~ such wonderful opportunities to get intimate with him ~ how blessed we are!

Following the Lord

        Normally, when God uses you, he does not always reveal his purpose at the start. I believe he just wants you to follow him in faith. Even after the purpose has become clear, he does not reveal right away what action you should take. Again, he wants you not to listen to your own voice but to put your trust in him. All this teaches patience and actually makes following the Lord exciting.

The One Who Won't Go Away

        God was here when we came into the world and will be around when we depart from it. Because of his great love for us, he watches over us the whole time. You can leave him alone, but he'll never desert you. We are used to feeling sorry for ourselves; shouldn't we at least feel some sorrow for God our Father who patiently waits and longs for our return to his bosom?

A Kudo to Pope Francis

        With so many religious leaders nowadays chanting death to whom they consider to be enemies or executing anyone who doesn't accept their faith, it was most refreshing to have heard the Holy Father speaking the truth to the Congress and at the UN with humility and love. I am proud of being Catholic.

Living Up to High Standards

        Some people will wear only name-brand clothes; drive expansive, luxurious cars; associate themselves only with others in their class or higher . . . they try to live up to what they regard as high standards. It's a pity that they do not know that only living up to what God expects of them is truly living up to high standards. 

Thursday, September 24, 2015

True Security

        Infinity, eternity . . . these words are meaningful only if we associated them with God. Now, he loves us with an infinite love, and hears us and becomes our Father for all eternity after we surrender ourselves to him ~ it strikes us that this is true security.

Banishing Fear

        We experience fear only because we are concerned about ourselves. And we become fearless when we live for God alone.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Lack of Humility

        Pope Francis the Holy Father is visiting America right now. Instead of listening to him, there are always those who want to hear only what they wish to hear ~ where is humility? How can one follow Christ and not listening to his vicar?

Not to Forget

        If you are a disciple of Christ the Lord, know that you have been chosen by the Father. Rejoice!

Pure, Clean Feeling

        Communion experience. The best pure, clean feeling is when your soul is pure and clean. For this I am most grateful to God.

Good Selfcenteredness

        If we are to see our own fault first before criticizing our brother or sister, then also we are to get our own souls healed before helping those with broken souls. In other words, God wants us to concentrate upon our own holiness first. Selfcenteredness is bad only if we do not aim to glorify God.

Jesus Simplifies Life

        On our own, we make life complicated because we tend to hold onto things. Once we embrace, hold onto, listen to, obey and follow, want to please, and live and die for him alone, life is delightfully simplified. For this I am most grateful.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Jesus Changes Life

        Communion experience. Life is basically bitter and Jesus has made it sweet.

Instant Intimacy

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 8, Jesus said, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it." Here's the secret of being brought instantly close to God.

Easy but Risky Living

        Randomly pick someone you see, chances are if that person is in fairly good health, making financial gains would be foremost on his mind, with death the last thing he would think about. There's nothing easier than living a myopic, self-centered life. I say myopic because the person doesn't look beyond this life or at God. The occasional thought of God may turn out to be his saving grace.