Why We Are in Trouble

        We know that we are sinners. When we do not let God (Christ) be our Lord, the world becomes disordered. These two sentences pinpoint why we are deeply in trouble. The remedy is clear: we only need to give in to God.

Ideal Companion

        No human being can or would want to understand me fully, but God already knows all about me. Imperfections in other humans I see all the time, but God is always perfect. I am annoyed by my own imperfections, and God removes them. No one except him alone can unburden my heart, heal my soul, and uplift my spirit. When you are in union with him, he becomes your soul mate, bosom buddy, and the love of your life. The Lord is the ideal companion each one of us needs, and I greatly rejoice in that.        

Engulfed by the Lord

        Communion experience on this Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. I was completely engulfed by Jesus, my greatest and only consolation, away from the chaotic, squabbling world, all fighting for their own gain. 

Need to Get Hot

        When Christians meet each other informally nowadays, they comment on the latest political events, talk about their favorite sports or hobbies, exchange family information, etc., but rarely mention Jesus. If Jesus is truly the most important person in our lives, shouldn't we talk about him the most? You may have to go back to the days of the Apostles and very early Christians to find groups so intensely Christ-centered. It really should be the same today, since the same Lord is as close to us as he was to his early witnesses and followers. We need to go beyond being lukewarm and get hot, for the Lord will spit out the lukewarm out of his mouth (Revelation 3.16). 

Buying Time

        As I have said, with Jesus it's all or nothing. If you cannot completely dismiss him yet, then you are simply avoiding him to buy more time. The right thing to do is to accept him right now to gain permanent peace once and for all.

The Free Soul

        A soul is free if it follows God's every will without hesitation. Whenever God calls it to go to him, it is ready to soar to him, leaving everything behind. 

Learning From God

        Here is the best way. Read the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, turn to the Lord, and open yourself up completely to let him teach you. Learning this way from God is vastly superior to learning about what God teaches via any other human, past or present, for the delivery of the message is direct and each message is specifically given for your sake. Besides, when your heart hears the voice of the Lord, it experiences great intimacy and joy.

Salvation Criterion

        In Mark 16, we read that when the resurrected Lord first appeared to his disciples, he said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned." I italicized the last verse for emphasis. It seems that we must believe to be saved, even if we cannot love Jesus perfectly, for his mercy is great. Then if we do not believe and think it won't matter, it matters most seriously!

Critical Matter

        The funeral for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia took place today at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. He was an outstanding man of faith and law. As I flipped on the TV this morning, I caught a glimpse of the casket being carried out of the basilica to a waiting hearse. The thought that popped into in my mind was that the most critical matter concerning each one of us is whether our soul ends up in heaven with God or elsewhere separated from him for all eternity after we leave this world.

Jesus' Agony

        I feel the agony when I pray for the conversion of just one person I love and nothing seems to happen. Imagine the agony of the Lord when billions of souls in our world do not even know or love him! 

Great Human Tragedy

        Anyone who does not know Jesus well does not see what the will of God is clearly. Thus they continue holding erroneous views and are not even aware that they are rebelling against God.

Highest Calling

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus wants his disciples to love their enemies and be perfect, just as the heavenly Father is perfect. He points out that the Father makes the sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. Obviously, the Lord loves everyone and we are to pray for the conversion of everyone, enemies or not, whom he loves. God is love and he wants us to be like him to break down all barriers with love.

Extraordinary Life for Us

        Communion thoughts. Who could have foreseen that God would give us his only Son so that we might have eternal life? Who could have foreknown that the Son would give himself to us in the Holy Eucharist so that we might become one with him beginning in this life? Our extraordinary God has truly given us an extraordinary life to live!  

Jesus Answers Us

       In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7 at Mass, we heard this familiar saying of Jesus to his disciples: "Everyone who asks, receives; the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." We don't quite get excited because we just haven't see anything dramatically happen after we pray to God each time. I believe that Jesus' promises are true; what is wrong is that we expect God to be like a magician. To receive, find, and see may take time and what we get may not be what we had expected; but respond, he will.

Topsy-Turvy Living

        We pick up knowledge the moment we were born. Do you realize that for most people almost all the things they learn daily serve only to help them survive or live a better life in this world and just a small portion of it might have something to do with the afterlife? Whereas the right way is to learn all you need to know about attaining eternal life, and God will rightly take care of your present life.  

On Mother Mary

        Steve Ray came into the Catholic Church as a Baptist. You can find his website Why I'm Catholic listed under Good Sites, Blogs, Webpages . . . on this blog. He's been interviewed by Marcus Grodi on the EWTN Journey Home program before. I am posting this latest interview, for it's worth listening to him talking about how he came to accept and appreciate Mary (14:37-28:58).  

God Knows Me

        Communion experience. The Lord knows me thoroughly, inside and out. I feel greatly rewarded.

Perfect Lord

        We all need someone to show us the way and I see Jesus to be our perfect guide. He's the perfect Lord, one we can fully trust, follow, hide in, lean upon, and love. If you do not accept him, the reason can only be you. I even see that God created me so that I might be fulfilled by his Son.