Living the Genuine Life

        There is the inner life and the outer life. Normally, the inner life is the secret one known to ourselves (and God) only and the outer life, the one we live for others to see. In other words, we lead a double life, hiding our inner life behind the outer one. But we can let God put our inner life in order, thus eliminating the need for presenting a false front. The result is living one honest, genuine life, not ashamed for all to witness.

Staying Afloat

        You can let your ego keep you afloat. When it gets punctured inevitably, you fall hard and hurt badly. Or you can let the Holy Spirit keep you afloat, with him lifting you up high heavenwards with no risk of falling or getting hurt. 

Christmas Blessing

        What a beautiful way to live! We let the love of God be our love for him. Then we let this love motivate everything we do and we are connected with God and remain in profound peace. All this is nothing new, but the Holy Spirit made me see and feel this as if I was hearing it for the first time. This was my Christmas blessing.

Sin and Mercy in Balance

        Christmas deepens my joy. Jesus is our Savior, precisely what mankind needs, yet so many of us do not recognize his coming. Then I realize that indeed we are born with original sin, and that God is balancing it with his infinite mercy. The good news is that we can easily tip this balance by our free choice. 

All About Life

        Communion time thoughts. We were born and we die. Life and death are unavoidable realities. Jesus says, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." He reveals to us what we need to know about life with no mention of physical death. It's enough to see that if we live for him, we shall always have life with him.        

Freedom of Worship

        God loves us and nothing can possibly separate us from this love (see Romans 8.38-39). Know also that when God sets us free, we are given the freedom to worship him without fear, and no one has the right to take that away from us.

All About Trust

        When we pray for something, we are to have faith that God hears us and will answer us. We cannot strength our faith by forcing ourselves to believe harder. On the contrary, we should relax and put my trust in God, that is, we should abandon ourselves to God. In this way, trust builds up faith and is in turn manifested by faith. We all know the Divine Mercy message from Jesus: "Jesus, I trust in you." So it should be trust, trust, trust . . . through our whole life without one single worry.

Essential Sacrament

        Communion experience. The Holy Eucharist assured me that God is with me. It also validates our oneness with God. It's impossible for me to imagine union with God without the Blessed Sacrament.

Letting God In

        Today's Communion antiphon, Revelation 3.20: Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if anyone hears my voice and opens the door to me, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. This post segues nicely from the previous one. The key phrase in the above verse is "open the door to me." If you are attentive, you'd hear the Lord speaking constantly to us. If we would only open the door after hearing each knock, our life would change completely. Again, humility and submission are required for it to happen.

Not Ready for God

          There are people who know about God, yet they do not want to hear about him because any mention of God makes them feel uncomfortable. Sometimes they even react violently as if they were being attacked. What they fail to realize is that running away from God indicates their even greater need for God! It's the same old case of wanting to be your own god. Salvation will come only when we realize that there is only one Lord and God and that we must move aside and submit ourselves to him alone. Simple theory, but most difficult for some to put into practice.

Life Worth Living

        Even though the world is in complete chaos and disorder, the Christian remains hopeful, knowing that everything will work out and be squared away in the end and God's justice will prevail. This makes life worth living.

Understanding Misunderstanding

          Do not feel bad if others misunderstand you when you try to show them God's love, for no one except God is capable of understanding us completely. The Prayer of St. Francis teaches that it's better to seek to understand than to be understood. Everyone will be held accountable for his doings before God. Therefore, focus upon loving God and cast all other cares to the wind.

Praying for All

        We are all loved by God the same, since you cannot measure an infinite love. Therefore, pray hard for the salvation of all souls. This means not being attached to anyone in particular. Rather, pray more for those who have most need of God's mercy.

Finding Rest in God

        When we offer our burden up to God, we show our trust in God and willingness to bear our cross. Amazingly, the Lord lightens the burden and we find rest.

God's Mercy Matters

        God's mercy is so great that he would look for even the smallest redeeming feature in you to save you. That is, he wants to save you in every way possible. Rejecting this mercy and you become instantly the biggest possible fool. Accepting this mercy and you gain the greatest possible benefit.

Responding to God

       Communion experience. As I received the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, I felt as if all of God was descending upon me. The only sensible and appropriate response was to prostrate myself (spiritually, as I wasn't alone in church) before the Lord in complete submission to him.

Refreshing Change

        Without Christ, we are self-centered, and all joys and sorrows directly affect us, often disquietly. With Christ, we become God-centered and our joys and sorrows are now the same as the Lord's. This is completely refreshing as we now experience these emotions accompanied by peace.

God Rewards Us

        When you pray for someone you love and nothing seems to change, you undergo great agony. Then the Lord consoles you by letting you know that no matter what happens, he is always with you, and your union with him is further strengthened.