**Being Good Not Good Enough

        Believing that God cannot help or save you is a serious sin. Denying that Christ is not God is perhaps an even more serious transgression. There are many good people who are law-abiding, never try to hurt anyone, and even love to help others in need; but they knowingly do not believe in the God of Christ.

          John 14.6: Jesus said to Thomas, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." It shows that we have no way of bypassing Jesus and must inevitably go through him. In Matthew 10.33, Jesus said to the apostles, "Whoever denies me before others, I will deny before the heavenly Father." It shows further that you can be a good person and still be denied by Christ in the end. The correct order of business for us is to accept and believe in Christ and then be good for his sake.

Primary Mission

        Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told the apostles, "You will receive the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and you will be my witnesses even to the ends of the earth." Therefore, witnessing for Jesus must be of first priority in what we say and do. It is is our mission.

God Our Only Hope

        Only God can fundamentally change us for the following reasons. (1) He made us; therefore, he alone knows how to remake us. (2) Fundamental changes must start with the heart and God alone understands and knows how to enter our hearts. (3) There can be no fundamental change without purification and cleansing of the soul and again, only God can accomplish that. (4) God is love. No threat or force but love can renew a person.

Shackles of the Past

        Today's Communion antophon at Mass, John 17.24: Father, I wish that, where I am, those you gave me may also be with me, that they may see the glory that you gave me, alleluia. Are we already with Jesus, witnessing his glory? I ask because many people, especially the older ones, are mired in their past ~ they love to tell the same old stories, usually the less pleasant ones. I feel sorry that they do not see that the waiting Lord wants to show us his glory and to glorify us too. Otherwise, they would be freed from all shackles, past and present, and look forward ardently to going to him!

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.