God's Foremost Wish

        Today's Gospel reading from Mark 6 was on the beheading of John the Baptist by King Herod. Jesus, during his trial before Pilate, answered him,"My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me from being handled over to the Jews" (John 18.36). Earlier, when Jesus had been betrayed and was being arrested, one of those who accompanied him drew his sword to defend him. Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its sheath.... Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels? But then how would the scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must come to pass in this way?" (Matthew 26.52-53).

        The main things to notice are: (1) God's kingdom does not belong this world. (2) What God has ordained must come to pass. These explain why John the Baptist died and Jesus got arrested, suffered, and was crucified without direct intervention from God. When we pray for God's help, we must realize that God's ways are not our ways. The Lord could do exactly what we ask for, but his foremost wish is to convert our hearts so that we may convert the world. Yes, our hearts are the "weapons" of his choice.

Exhilarating Words

        Communion experience. I was being invited to this most special banquet. The Lord himself came to me to be my food ~ an invitation to be in union with him. I heard him say "I have chosen you" in my heart, the endearing words the soul needs to hear the most. 

On Rejecting the Gospel

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus sent the Twelve out to preach repentance. He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them." It is clear to me that the Lord knows if we welcome his gospel or not, and if not, there will be others testifying against us one day.  

Speaking for God

        God's voice is gentle and sweet and his words, tonic to the soul. If you are afraid of God, it's because you are hiding or running away from him, not because he is scary. We are good at instilling fear in ourselves. There is no one more approachable or delightful than the Lord God, our creator and Father.

Picking up Leftover Pieces

        The title describes my feeling about getting old. As we age, our bones and joints let us know. Physically, we'll just have to gradually give up doing a lot of things. When you are young, you are used to picking up the best pieces you can find, but when you are old, you just have to settle for whatever is left out there. After we pick up the last leftover piece, we are ready to meet the Lord. I am not being pessimistic, only realistic. In fact, I see the mercy of God working here ~ he is easing us out of this life. To those who know Christ well, the good life is just on the other side. Picking the pieces, good or leftover, is not anything worth setting our hearts on.

The More . . .

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus in his native place was not able to perform any might deed because of the lack of faith among his own kin. So we can say that

        The more we have faith, the more we shall see God performing mighty deeds.

        It's also true that

        The more we rely upon God, the more we become strong.

        The more we surrender to God, the more we become free.

        The more we rejoice in God, the more we receive joy from him.

        The more we rest in God, the more we experience peace. 
        The more we praise God, the more he blesses us.

        The more we hate sin, the more God purifies us.

        The more we suffer for God, the more he comforts us.

        The more we forgive others, the more God forgives us.

What's Amazing

        The fact that Jesus never ceases to amaze me as our God, our brother, and our servant. I can not get over it.       

All About Giving

        Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. God being the creator can only give, for all things come from him. He has given his only begotten Son for the sake of our salvation. And God the Son has given us his own mother to be our mother. The Son is also preparing a place in his Father's house so that we may be where he is. Such giving, such generosity, and such love! This is the big difference between God and us, for we are good takers. We love to receive anything that gratifies us. Until we are ready to give as God, we are not free. The truth is that there is nothing we can consider to be ours, for all things, ourselves included, belong to God. One greatest joy is actually the giving of ourselves back to God.

How Long Should We Live?

        As long as God needs us to serve him in this world.     

Making a Good Confession

        Here is a good talk by Fr. Adam Skwarczynski, a Polish priest. I recommend that you listen to his wise words on making a good confession (38:50 – 45:24). Going through the motion and hearing the priest absolve you at the end does not necessarily mean that God has forgiven you. 

        By the way, Fr. Adam says in this video that the Blessed Mother told him not only to ask God for much, but to ask God for everything. If you are praying for a few loved ones you know, God also wants you to pray for the billions whom you do not know. That is, never limit what you ask for!

Being Serious (Joyfully)

        Communion experience. Jesus made me sense the seriousness of receiving his body and blood in the Holy Eucharist. In fact, we must be serious about everything the Lord has said, about doing his will, about how we should serve him . . . about every aspect of our relationship with him. Of course, being serious is not to be without joy. In fact, taking the Lord seriously itself is a source of joy. 

Offer Your Heart First

        We are supposed to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, yet we talk about ourselves most of the time. Shouldn't we at least think about him from time to time? No, we should instead think and talk about God at all times. How would that be possible? Answer: Offer your heart to God and it will happen.

Captured to Be Free

        Communion experience. I wanted Jesus to take complete hold of me because I knew that's how I could become free.

Primary Christian Goal

        We should never let any experience we encounter within or without the church, good or bad, pleasant or otherwise, make us ever forget that our primary goal is to get to know God, to know Christ, and to know the Holy Spirit. That's why seeking union with God must be our primary goal.

Small Act, Big Payoff

        Compared to eternity, our life span is so brief as to be practically nonexistent. We only need to believe in God, specifically the God of Christ, for such a short duration to gain eternal life!

Most Natural Return

        From Reading 1 from Jeremiah 1 at Mass, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you . . . ." I see clearly that it's most natural for us to return to our Father.

Like Father, Like Son

        When I saw how much my second son loved his newborn daughter, I realized God did create us in his image and we "learned" to love our children as he loves us.

How to Be Hopeful

        Appreciate God's mercy and you'll always be hopeful.