Know What You Do

        The sad news on BBC today: Satellite images confirm that the 1,400-year-old Christian monastery near Mosul in Iraq, the oldest, has been destroyed by the jihadist group Islamic State. Then in sharp contrast, this touching story also on BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35201822, shows that there is still goodness in man. Jesus prayed for those who crucified him: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." Clearly, Jesus sees the goodness in us and that we turn bad when we are misguided. Stick with Jesus to avoid ever being led astray.

Fighting Satan

        When Satan is allowed to attack you, God is putting you through the test. The Evil One always tempts you into believing what you are doing is justifiable, even though you know deep down in your heart that it's wrong. Loss of peace is a strong sign that you've been trapped. Praying hard for deliverance and talking to someone spiritually wise can be most helpful. Know that once you pull through, you'd be brought closer to God, just as after a storm dies down, the sky turns blue again.

Peace in Jesus

        The best known Psalm has to be Psalm 23. It portraits a scene of extraordinary repose. The other day I saw most vividly myself and Jesus together in a green pasture. On the grass, I was lying facedown with the Lord sitting next to my front right, his right hand supporting his leaning position. I felt great peace, knowing that he is always with me, taking care of all things for me.

Why I Welcome Jesus

        Today's Communion verse, Psalm 23.5, at Mass: You have prepared a table before me, and how precious is the chalice that quenches my thirst. Jesus not only quenches my thirst, he also fills the heart with joy that bubbles forth like water from a spring.

Why I Love Jesus

        I love Jesus because he renews us, giving us hope, new life; and we are reborn in the Holy Spirit. This is for everyone ~ never late as long as you are still alive in this world. He is forever refreshing as the spring water. He is pure joy and, don't forget, also our door to heaven.

Joy in God

        Communion experience. Who am I that the Lord should choose, call to his supper, and enter himself? I could only rejoice.

Normalizing Relationship With God

        Really, God loves us, delights in us, and yearns to be one with us. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and the subsequent great saints throughout the generations have made this amply clear. So we ought to reciprocate his love, delight in him, and seek union with him. As I have said, God is to be enjoyed, not feared, unless, of course, you choose to hide from him to remain in darkness for whatever reason.

Sacrifice and Grace

        The annual March for Life is coming up, to be held in various cities across the nation. I saw one priest who is involved with the March being interviewed on TV. He was asked if he was concerned about bad winter weather possibly dampening the march. He said in fact that he was hoping there would be snow or rain because the greater the sacrifice, the greater the grace. I did not catch his name but will always remember what he'd said.

Perfect Your Love

        Jesus wants us to always forgive others ~ to forgive is to love. If you don't get along with someone, possibly a member of your own family, don't expect the person to change to meet exactly your expectations. Instead, accept and keep loving him or her as is. This is the way of Jesus, the right and best approach. Let your example convert others. Remember that Jesus wants us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.

Only One We Need

        Communion experience. The Lord entered me. He fulfilled all my desire; now I could let everything else go. 

Most Beautiful Call

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 2 at Mass, Jesus passed by and saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And Levi got up and followed Jesus. I consider "Follow me" to be one most beautiful and honorable call from the Lord. If you hear that, you know you've been chosen and your name is written in heaven. Time to rejoice!

No Justifying Our Own Deeds

        In Matthew 7, we have Jesus saying to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'" It is obvious that we should not ever try to justify ourselves before God, for doing so amounts to letting him know that he doesn't know everything about us! Begging for mercy is OK, but not telling him how to judge. The time to prepare for entering the kingdom of heaven is now so that we may anticipate the arrival of that day with joy. 

Pestering the Lord

        We heard the healing of a paralytic read in today's Gospel reading from Mark 2. Jesus returned to Capernaum and it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, to hear him preach the word to them. Then there came a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he forgave the sins of the paralytic and also healed him. I see that seeking out Jesus, going after him, yearning for him . . . they are all signs of faith. And the Lord does not mind at all that we "pester" him if we genuinely believe in him. As you know, we are never polite to those we deem close to us.

Up to Us

        The love of God for us will never change. Do we accept his love or reject it? It's like the key for opening the door to heaven is being offered to us and we either take it or leave it alone. The ball is in our court.

Calling for More Sheep

        Jesus calls his disciples his sheep who follow him as their shepherd. On Judgment Day, he'll be separating the goats from the sheep. Let's be his sheep now to be the sheep on Judgment Day.

Urgent Reminder

        I caught a little bit on NPR that once a deadly virus wiped out some 20,000 people in some country. I thought of the recent tsunamis and other devastating natural disasters that took so many lives. Now the wars and terrorist attacks again cause unexpected deaths everywhere. The insecurity of life is obvious. All the more we need to go to and follow Christ the Savior to get our eternal life secured.

View Our Solar System

        Here are striking views of our solar system as seen from space. What amazes me is that the sun, the moon, and all the planets are all so round. The link: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35292518.

Open and Ready

        Communion experience. It's a beautiful feeling to be open to the Lord and ready for what he has to say.