Fool's Dream

        The U.S. Powerball lottery jackpot has grown to an estimated $1.3 billion. The next drawing is just three days away. Despite the fact that the odds of winning this largest lottery prize in U.S. history have already reached 1 in 292.2 million, people continue to buy tickets, dreaming about how they would spend the money should they win. Well, good luck to all. Records show that almost 1/3 of past lottery winners went bankrupt. Suicide, murder, robbery, drug abuse, and legal battles have all happened to the various winners. Personally, I'd rather quietly store up treasures in heaven, not even dreaming about how happy I'll be up there.

Most Grateful

        Today I am grateful that God has given me eyes to see, ears to hear, and even my teeth properly shaped to help me consume the food I need or enjoy. Most of all, I am grateful that he has given my heart the capability of feeling his Fatherly love.

My Best Friend

        Communion time thoughts. If someone saved my life, I would be most grateful and consider him or her to be my best friend. Now Jesus saves me from eternal damnation! Naturally, I should be most grateful and make him my best friend for all eternity.

Ultimate Abandonment

        In today's Gospel reading from John 3, John the Baptist told his disciples that the Christ had come after him and added, "He must increase; I must decrease." Indeed, we must let Christ increase to 100% and ourselves decrease to zero. This is abandoning ourselves to God, letting God have his way. To be able to let God do whatever he wants with us is to be free indeed.   

Honesty Best Policy

        Since God reads our hearts, we'd better be completely honest with him, for he hates hypocrisy. It follows that we should always be genuine to others as well. [This posting is prompted by the false joy and front displayed on many TV shows and in numerous TV commercials.]

Take Jesus Seriously

        Today's Communion antiphon, 1 John 4.9: By this the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his Only Begotten Son into the world, so that we might have life through him. So either the Son of God came into the world or didn't ~ we can not afford not to look into this. The Apostles of Jesus were ordinarily folks like many of us. They saw and believed. If I were with them and witnessed all the miracles Jesus performed, heard him teach with great authority, and saw how much compassion he had for all, I would have wanted to follow him. His transfiguration on Mt. Tabor alone would have convinced me of his divinity. Do not let the fact that Jesus came 2000 years ago make you think that he belongs to the past. If he is God, he will certainly be relevant to us for all eternity.

Jesus Is God.

       You can tell if a conduct is proper or not by seeing what would happen if everybody behaves like that. Jesus gave us the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves, more specifically to love our enemies, not judge but always forgive others. If everyone follows this teaching, the world would have instant peace and utopia. To me, this "proves" that Jesus taught the truth. Since he also practiced what he preached by dying on the cross, demonstrating the greatest possible love for us, he is clearly God.

To Be Steady and Reliable

        God is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. We are the unsteady ones who at times believe, disbelieve, sin, repent, accept God, reject God, look for him, hide from him ~ exercising our free will at will. How can we possibly trust ourselves? Let God be our anchor so that we may become steady and reliable. 

Live and Trust

        I finally got back home yesterday and plan to resume attending daily Mass tomorrow. As I mentioned earlier, I suffered a cold the last 8 or so of the 11 days I was away. As a result, I pretty much spent all my sick days in my room in order not to give the cold to anyone else in the apartment. My laptop kept me company and made it possible for me to continue blogging. I did plan on meeting an old friend whose health was failing and we both believed that it might be our last chance to see each other. Since I got sick, we ended up just talking over the phone. This trip took me from the West Coast to the East. Long flights are always tiring with waitings at the airports and being cooped up in a tight seat for long hours, especially if you also have to catch a flight or arrive at some ungodly hour (coming home, I had to leave for the airport at 4:30 am.) Winter traveling also increases the chances of catching the flu, cold, or a virus. My wife and I went on the trip for family reasons. I wasn't sure I should go and prayed about it. Then some friend called us out of the blue and advised that we go. So we did. Looking back, it doesn't seem that I had accomplished much, but this really shouldn't be my concern. God always lead us on and good will come out of it somehow. What we go through is all part of the journey. "Live to trust and trust to live" makes a good motto.

Please Do Not Ask

        It is now politically incorrect to pray, display nativity scenes, talk about God . . . in public. Religious freedom is under attack. If you think that this is correct, then please do not question where God is when disasters strike. 

Direct Illumination

        Jesus dwells in the heart of anyone in union with him. Therefore, when you are in union with the Lord, he directly illuminates your heart for understanding his ways that no human teacher can possibly accomplish.

Mystery of Faith

        I still have many questions for God. What is this gift of faith? Were we who follow the Son of God specifically chosen and given to him by the Father (read John 6.37, 39)? How does God influence the free will of an individual? Why do some seem to be born with faith and others have a hard time believing in the same God? You pray hard and long for someone and nothing happens ~ how come? Indeed, how faith comes about is a great mystery! I choose not to question but to trust in God fully, for it is not for a finite, wretched creature like me to doubt the loving Father who has already revealed his great love for us with amazing clarity.  

A Hindu Lesson

        On this New Year's Day, the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, I attended the noon Mass at a local church just a block away. Since I still had not completely gotten over my cold yet, after I got back, I continued to rest in bed. In checking out BBC News on my laptop, I came across this travel article "India's Chaotic Lesson in Letting Go" by Eric Weiner. The author learned to live with no expectations in India to avoid being disappointed or feeling frustrated, as he realized that India was not going to bend to him. From Bagavad Gita, the Hindu holy text, he quotes what Lord Krishna says to Arjun, in effect: Give 100% effort to the task at hand but have precisely 0% invested in the outcome. The Christian who wants to trust in God fully can surely adopt this advice in abandoning himself to God. [You can read Weiner's interesting story here: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20150901-indias-chaotic-lesson-in-letting-go.]

Year-End Thoughts

      2016 is just a few hours away. For me, every moment of this year has been good. I feel that the Lord is teaching me using less words, now that I am a better learner. Final thoughts: one can be a good person in every way, but without Christ his life is just not complete, for it is through Christ that we get to return to my eternal Father for good. A blessed and safe New Year to all!

Consider Hell

        It's New Year's Eve. Why should I bring up hell? It so happens that I have caught a bad cold despite the great precaution I took against catching any germs. I first felt it in the throat, then the nose, and finally started coughing. Feeling miserable, I thought about the misery of hell. What's worst is the longevity of suffering in hell, for it never ends. If there are good and evil, and God and Satan, then there has to be heaven and hell. Jesus himself mentioned the place of damnation about a dozen times in the Gospels. The awareness that horrible hell exists could help people turn to God. The world is in such a bad shape that applying a shock treatment may do much good. Besides, doing our best to save as many people as possible from ending up in hell makes a good resolution for the New Year.

God's Beauty

      There is much beauty for us to see, hear, and enjoy in the world, but all such beauty pales next to the heavenly beauty of God. Then if we do sense the beauty of God, the beauty we sense in this world is enhanced because we see that it all came from God.

Christians' Unique Joy

        They have Christ the Lord and God of all to live and die for.

Heartbreaking

        I am now in a big city away from home. This morning I attended Mass at a local church on the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. My heart almost reached the breaking point when I thought about the many families, my own included, that are divided. All family members should be close together, yet great separation exists because not all believe in Christ. This is heartbreaking for those who already believe in the Lord. God is now even more my refuge.