Truth of Christianity

        When Christ died for our sins, he completely gave himself to us as the Father had willed. Now as Christians, we are able to completely forget about ourselves to attain union with God through the Holy Eucharist as he wills. This unique, extraordinary "disappearing act" enabling God to occupy all of us testifies to the truth of Christianity.

Jesus Our Example

        When I see someone who is highly opinionated, always has his defense up, and sounds most aggressive, I think of Jesus who is meek and humble and feels absolutely secure in his Father. If we want others to know that we are Christians, we must follow Jesus' example. 

Shifting Our Focus

        I never quite shook off the cold I caught after last Christmas and now I seem to have caught another one. As I looked out the window from my house and saw that the recent rains had transformed the outdoors landscape into a beautiful green, I couldn't care less as my physical discomfort now takes center stage. I see in the same way once we realize that we would face judgment and be assigned our final destination, we would care little about what grabs or attracts us now.

Moored to Christ

        Communion experience. When I received the Lord, he let me know that he is my center, my anchor, and my refugee. If I had even strayed away from him a little bit, he brought me back right away. I rejoiced in that.

Ending the Mess

        The world is in a horrible mess. There are only two ways to resolve the problem. (1) We all turn to God, the God of Christ who is love, repent and ask for forgiveness and salvation. (2) We simply wait until the same Lord comes and judges all of us.

Teach Us, Lord

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6 at Mass, when Jesus saw the vast crowd waiting for him, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. I then realized how absolutely necessary it was for God to teach us, for it is by his word that we learn to live right and by keeping his word that we shall never see death (John 8.51).

Foolish Living

        People of the world live on as if God does not exist, as if there will be no judgment, as if they will never die, as if they will always be able to do what they do now. What fools, not expecting that they will get the greatest shock of their life at the end of their sojourn on earth! Hopefully, as they age, they will wake up to face reality.

Dangerous Living

        There are people who do not believe in or think much about God, but nevertheless appreciate the beauty of nature and enjoy the good things of life. This could be dangerous living if they live with no regard to moral principles. After all, God did give us the ten commandments to guide us in how we should live. I believe that we will be judged by them. 

Gratitude to Jesus

        Communion experience. I was grateful to Jesus for having made me realize my sinful state, taken our sins away, and opened wide the door to heaven for me. There's nothing more I could ask for myself. 

Jesus Under-Revered

        On this first Friday of the month, we had Eucharistic Adoration after morning Mass. Philippians 2.10: At the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth. How many of us would do this or at least feel this way?

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.