How Jesus Draws Us

        We all have our heroes and idols, whom we admire, emulate, and/or follow. Rock stars have groupies following them. Famous talents usually get a lot of fans. When I was interested in photography, a group of us met with a guru regularly, eagerly awaiting to hear what she had to say about our works. Then what has made Jesus a leader, someone to follow, respect, and/or love? Today's Gospel reading from Mark 10 reveals the answer. He said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." So it is his great love and willingness to serve that draws us to him. (At least we still know what's truly good for us.)

Just You and God

        Basically, each of us stands before God alone. As Mother Teresa said, in the final analysis, it's between you and God. Only you and God know what's in your heart and mind, and there is only one you and that's you. We alone are responsible for what we do in this life and what we'll face in the next.

All About Surrendering

        How well you pray to God, serve him in various ways, and bring others to him... it all depends upon how well you have surrendered to him. 

All Up to God

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 10, Jesus said before his disciples, "Many that are first will be last, and the last will be first." I am intrigued by this saying. For me personally, Jesus is telling me to trust in him, focus upon following him and not be concerned about how I do relative to others, for all is in his hands.

Make Peace, Not War

        No nation should start a war unless it is absolutely the last recourse to preserve or restore peace. A modern war not only brings great sufferings to innocent civilians, but also traumatizes many of those who serve in the military. The suicide rate among US veterans has been estimated to be as high as one death every hour. Today's magazine article "The US veterans going back to live in Vietnam" on BBC News, http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36363537, shed some light on what some of the veterans went through after the war. Jesus blesses anyone who makes peace. We must start making peace in our own family, our work place, community... wherever we are, and with everyone we come in contact with and most importantly, don't forget, with ourselves. 

Getting Close to God

        Communion experience. The only way to get close to God when we are still on earth is to remain open to him ~ we cannot do more than that. The rest has to come from God alone. 

Life-Changing Acknowledgment

        When one acknowledges that he is loved by God, his life is complete. 

To Enter the Kingdom of God

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 10, Jesus made it clear that to inherit eternal life, one must go beyond observing the commandments: You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not defraud, honor your father and your mother, and be detached from his material possessions also. For one cannot love God freely if he is not willing to part with his wealth on earth. This is precisely why one becomes free after surrendering himself to God. 

Signs of Ignorance

        Any time you complain about God, worry for him, give up on him, want to test him, or doubt his omnipotence, you only show your ignorance of the Lord.

Find Your True Worth

        Standing next to a taller or shorter person, we get some idea about how tall we are. I recall that when I was a small child, I lived in a very large house with high ceilings. Many years later when I revisited the same house as a grown man, it appeared much smaller than I had remembered. Looking down at the earth from an airplane can definitely change our view of our planet and ourselves. When I look up into a star-filled night sky, I realize how immense the universe is and how minuscule I am, and I am humbled. By the same token, when we go before God, get to know him, and find out how much he loves us, we find our truth worth. (This is definitely worth doing because what you find will amaze you.)

Smart Seeing

         I look first at the black and white, not the many gray shades, in anything. If I see only the grays, then my vision is limited. Seeing the black and white gives me a clear overall picture. Therefore, I notice good and evil, the existence of God and the Devil, and the reality of heaven and hell. This seeing keeps me on my path, heading into eternity.    

Contrasting Attitudes

        (1) Go to Mass on Sunday. Receive Holy Communion to fulfill your obligation. Then back to your old self for another week.

        (2) Prepare for attending Mass. Receive Holy Communion and meditate upon it. Realize that God has entered you. Determined to surrender to him even more.

Huge Difference Between...

being in Christ, who is the truth and can lead you to eternal life, and being external to him, which is being lost and not knowing where you'll end up.  

Only Two Ways

        (1) We play God. We determine what we want to do, how to live, and follow our own "dreams." In the end, we don't find happiness and feel the emptiness of life. Then if our demise is not sudden or unexpected, we have time to finally turn to God.

        (2) We let God be God. We follow him, seek his will, consult him in all things. We place our trust completely in him. We are free in God, no longer enslaved by the world. Glorifying God brings us joy and peace. We look forward to returning to the bosom of the Father. Earthly life passes and everlasting life with Christ begins.

Mankind's Critical Choice

        Communion experience. God is love. Only this love can transform our hearts, heal our spirits, make us pure, brings us peace, and lead us straight to heaven. Without this love, the world is doomed. Therefore, rejecting it amounts to self-condemnation. This love is our only hope and salvation. In John 14.6, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." The fate of mankind hangs on whether we hang on these words of the Lord or not.

Glorious Oneness

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 10, Jesus taught the permanence of marriage. Here are his words: From the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate. But as imperfect beings, how are a man and a woman become truly one flesh? The answer is that if both of them attain union with God, they will have all their differences bridged and become one in God, mirroring the most glorious oneness of the triune God.

No Swearing Allowed

        In today's first reading from James 5, the Apostle essentially repeated what Jesus taught about oaths in Matthew 5 ~ that is, we are not to swear, but let our "Yes" mean "Yes" and our "No" mean "No." In other words, we must be even-tempered, never letting our emotions go out of control. We are to remain cool. This is accomplished by abandoning ourselves in God, a most cool idea.

Call to Holiness

          Today's Gospel reading at Mass came from Mark 9. I urge you to read verses 42-48. Jesus' command for us to be holy is urgent. Know that if your conduct also causes others to sin, your sin is a lot more serious. In the wake of the news of the disappearing EgyptAir plane and other tragedies, the call to be holy is more urgent than ever. Never think that you are already good enough for God, when Jesus told his disciples to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.