Serious Sayings

        Today's Vigil Mass celebrated the Ascension of the Lord. Excerpts from what Jesus said in the Gospel reading from John 16: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you" and "I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." These are serious sayings ~ either he spoke the truth or did not know what he was talking about. Therefore, we must consider them carefully ~ either we should believe in Jesus or disbelieve and dismiss him.

You Are Not Your Body

        Our physical body has a life of its own. When it is healthy, it's certainly our good friend, but when it deteriorates, it goes its own way and you just have to bid farewell to it one day. Therefore, we are not our body; we are our own spiritual soul. The physical union on earth is only temporary, so don't get attached to your body.

Eucharistic Intimacy

        On this first Friday of the month, there was again Eucharistic adoration after Mass at church. Whether I was siting close to or far away from the Blessed Sacrament displayed on the altar, it didn't make any difference because I had already received the Lord in the Holy Eucharist with him dwelling within me.

No-Brainer Choice

        In today's Gospel reading from John 16, Jesus, with his imminent departure from the world in mind, said to his disciples, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy." All of us will either have grief first, joy later, or have them in reverse order. For me, the no-brainer choice is to accept all unavoidable sufferings and hardships now and enjoy eternal bliss in heaven later.

Please Don't Hit the Bottom

        As I was conversing with a friend this morning, this old idea I previously blogged popped up. It'd be worth mentioning again in today's version. Absolute zero, -273.15 C (-459.67 F), has been determined by scientists to be the lower limit on the temperature scale, for at that temperature, all atoms are "dead," no longer vibrating. On the other hand, there is no upper limit to how high the temperature can rise. It's estimated that the temperature of the sun at its center reaches 27 million degrees F. I see an analogy between this and loving God. There is no upper limit to how much we can love God. That limit is God's love for us, which is infinite, and we can only approach, but never reach it. On the other hand, to not love God is easy ~ all you need to do is to reject him and you hit the bottom.  

Never Alone

        Communion experience. I was alone with God, but it turned that I couldn't be farther from being alone when I am with God.

Superior Draw

        Why didn't all the great saints enjoy the pleasures and attractions of the world? Answer: Because they had seen the beauty and tasted the sweetness of God. 

*Knowing God's Will

        We often pray to God for a sign when we seek his will, and often no sign appears. Today the Lord made me see that we must first be completely selfless, that is, absolutely allowing no ego to fool us into believing that what we want to do is God's will. Then whatever we seek to do to glorify God will be his will. In short, be selfless and you will is God's.

Wonderful Timelessness

         When you humbly rest in God, enjoying your oneness with the everlasting Lord who has no beginning nor end, you experience that same timelessness, all passing events no longer disturbing. 

Temptation vs. Joy in God

        All temptations keep us earthbound, only joy in God makes our spirit soar heavenward in freedom.

Highest Possible Honor

        In John 15, Jesus said to his disciples, "It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit." You may be chosen as Person of the Year, the recipient of an honorary degree, or the gold medal winner in some competition, but all these notable honors are nothing compared to what you receive when God choses you to follow him now to enjoy eternal life with him later in heaven. Think about it.

How Well Knowing God

        Once you get to know God intimately, you can't help but fall in love with him. Now you have reached the top level of knowing God.

Exciting News

        Today is the Feast of Saints Phlip and James, Apostles. In the Gospel reading from John 14, when Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father, Jesus said, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." So, if we know Jesus, we know the Father. If we want to know what the Father is like, we only need to look at Jesus. Therefore, we can know about as well as know the Father. Exciting!

Most Favored Creature

        These realizations make me see that we are most special. (1) God made innumerable creatures. (2) He created only us in his image. (3) He became one of us. (4) And he laid down his own life as testimony that he loved us.       

Joy Complete

        At Mass this morning, I knew that I was not alone nor on my own, since Christ is with me. In fact, I now see that everything is happening for a reason. I am totally at one with God, my creator, and feel that through Christ, he has fulfilled my life and completed my joy ~ sort of a nirvana moment. At one time in my past, I was interested in abstract mathematics. Whenever I studied or worked out the proof of some theorem and saw how beautiful, clear, thorough, and complete it was, I felt great delight. It's the same feeling, but even deeper and more satisfying, when I come to know God. 

*"Shocking" Experience

        Communion experience. In receiving the Holy Eucharist, God humbly lowered himself to draw us all the way to his bosom, exalting us to the highest possible status ~ shocking, but most delightful! (Only our God, the God of Christ, can do this.)

Advice Not Quite Sound

        It's common to hear successful people telling others to persevere, never give up, believe in what you can go and go after what you want to do, and your dream will come true. This piece of encouraging advice sounds good, but is not sound. First, you are hearing from those people who happen to have succeeded. Secondly, in reality you can waste a lot of time pursuing a goal that's just not right for you; and stories of failure are never broadcast aloud for everyone to hear. Last, Jesus never taught thus. This advice might work in the secular world, but it in reality replaces trust in God with trust in yourself, which can never fill the void of one's life. Better advice is to follow Christ who alone can lead you to living a joyous and fulfilled life.

A Christian's Work

        Sitting in the family room, I looked up and saw the many books on the shelves. They were mostly travel guides, books on gardening and plants, and some collections of short stories. I thought about each author who must have put in a lot of work to get each book published. As Christians, what should we be busy with or work hard for? In Luke 2, when Joseph and Mary finally found the 12-year-old Jesus teaching in the temple after looking for him for three days, he told them that he must be about his Father's work. I thought this should be our mission too ~ to be busy with the Father's work, working in his house. It would be time smartly spent for a glorious future.