How to Stop Complaining

        Those who are unholy have no right to complain to God who is holy. Be holy first, then complaining will cease.

Made for God

       St. Augustine said that "God has made us so that our heart is restless until it finds its rest in him." The following are all corollaries.

        (1) We have no inner peace until we reconcile ourselves to God.

        (2) Our heart is not free until it surrenders to God.        

        (3) Our joy is not complete until the joy of Christ is in us.

        (4) Life is empty until Christ enters to fill the void.
        (5) You feel lost until Christ shows you the way.
        (6) You feel unloved or dislike yourself until you find out that God died for you.

Avoiding Making Mistakes

        We learn from mistakes continuously throughout life, but this is helpful only if we face the same situation again. Normally, once the mistake is made, the damage is done and irreversible. Looking back, I can trace the cause of my many past mistakes to my pride. What I have learned is that we should consult the Lord who knows all things, in all things we contemplate doing. This may not be easy, depending upon your relationship with him. For example, if it's clear that you would need a new car, then you ask him to reveal to your heart what kind of car you should get, putting aside all your own preferences which he already knows. The Lord always help us choose wisely and sensibly, for he wants us to preserve our peace.

Touching the Soul

       As you know, I love piano music, but it no longer obsesses me. All beautiful things come from God, and it's him alone that we should be obsessed with. Yesterday I watched Arie Vardi's TV show Intermezzo with Arik on YouTube. This time, Arie, the renowned Israel conductor, pianist, and teacher, interviews Yeol Eum Son, the South Korea pianist who has won many prestigious prizes. Yeol Eum's prodigious talent is most impressive. When she plays, her entire concentration is upon making the music sing. The expressive result for the listener and, I am sure, herself too, touches almost the human soul.

       For most of us, we are not that talented in any way, but I realize that we can reach the level of touching the human soul too. Indeed, we don't even need to practice hard as most pianists have to; we only need to abandon ourselves in God for him to make everything beautiful for us. The resulting union not only touches our soul, but also moves God's heart. This state is infinitely more satisfying than being able to play music beautifully, as your own soul is also liberated!

       In case you are interested in watching the video, I am posting it below. Two recorded clips of her playing on this video aside, Yeol Eum plays three pieces. In Bach's Sheep May Safely Graze, starting around 6:45, the playing was most introspective. Later in the performance of Feinberg's transcription of the scherzo from Tchaikovsky's Pathétique symphony, at around 14:55, her technique takes flight. (The last piece, around 26:45, is just a fun piece.)

Joy of Certainty

        Among many of the joys that come from God, this one is special. It is the joy that comes from being absolutely certain that you know the Lord.

Know Your Shepherd

        Today is Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. From Luke 2, we heard read the finding of the boy Jesus in the temple. The Holy Family went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover when Jesus was twelve years old. As they were returning, Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents thought that he was in the caravan. Later, not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him and found him in the temple in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him being astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his mother saw and asked him why he had done this to them, Jesus answered, "Did you know that I must be in my Father's house?" I found Jesus' answer astounding for knowing that God is his Father. Likewise, we who have been called by Christ must also know that he is our shepherd.

*To Be Like God*

        We get perturbed so often, unhappy each time when things don't go our way. God is not perturbed by anything except when we sin against him. Then he deals with his sadness with love. We should be just like that too, remaining unperturbed and dealing with sadness with love. Seeking union with him will get us there. Then we can be like him.

Heart Over Head

        You can love the Lord with your head or with your heart. Using studying the Bible as an example, let me illustrate the difference between the two approaches. (1) With you head first. You pick up a study guide with or without a video. There are guides out there on a single Gospel hundreds of pages thick, giving commentary on virtually every single verse. You learn a lot about history, pick up much background information . . . the amount of knowledge you can gain is most impressive. But after you learn all that, can you say that you have come to appreciate the Lord more personally? I am not sure. (2) Now with the heart. You go straight to a Gospel. Read the verses and place yourself in the scene with Jesus. Observe and listen. How does it affect your heart? Is Jesus speaking to you? The whole approach is contemplative in nature. You open your heart to let the Lord speak to it. This is the approach I prefer because it's getting to know him intimately. So use the heart always to know the Lord, but use the head only if you want to know more about him. I want Jesus to be my most intimate friend, not just a casual acquaintance. 

Offering the Heart

        Communion thoughts. On this Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, it's fitting that I again offer my heart to him, which is basically letting him enter to occupy my heart.

Love Incredible

        Today is Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. From reading 2 from Romans 5, verse 6 struck me: For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. How incredible that God would die for the ungodly! Of course, that's because God is love.

Christians Already Know

        You cannot find out what it's like after you die until you die yourself. Then the Christians have no need of knowing that in advance because the Lord has already revealed to them all they need to know.

Ready for God?

        Not willing to listen to other people is a sign that you are not humble enough to submit yourself to God yet.

On Overcoming Temptation

        Once on a trip to Medjugorje, a young man in my group confided in me the relationship he was having with a woman. Apparently, his conscience bothered him and wanted me to hear about it. He was getting so much pleasure out of this improper relationship that he felt helpless to sever it. I understand how one can fall into such a situation and feel the tug of war between God and Satan. As long as you hope in God, you will be freed by him, but it can take time and a lot of your resolve to turn around. Always hold onto what you know is right, as Satan loves to sow confusion in us. Once your burden is lifted, you'll experience peace and freedom as never before. 

*Best Gift for God

        When your heart is pure and clean, you have inner peace. Therefore, give your heart to God, the only one who can make your heart pure and clean. This is the best gift you can possibly give to God. Now, follow your heart and you'll find your Father there ~ a most beautiful relationship!

Why No Inner Peace

          You will have inner peace only if you have completely reconciled with God. If you do not have inner peace, you are still rebelling against him. (This is the wonderful way God has made us.)

A Very Clear Picture

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 12, Jesus gave us the two greatest commandments, on the basis of which all other commandments rest. The first one: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. We all carry the original sin. Having difficulty in following the second commandment is proof that we are sinners. But God so loved us that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish and might have eternal life (John 3.16). The way is now clear for us to return to God our Father; all we need to do to complete our heaven bound journey is to believe in Christ.   

Don't Omit Sin of Omission

        Sins of omission are easy to commit. Not doing anything bad is not good enough because we are not doing anything good. God wishes us to be either cold or hot, not lukewarm (Revelation 3.15). When Jesus asked Peter repeatedly if he loved him, Peter responded affirmatively each time and Jesus asked him to feed my lambs, tend my sheep, or feed my sheep. If we love the Lord, we must work diligently and bear fruit.

Not a Pretty Picture

        Increasingly you read about in the news children murdering their own parents, and vice versa ~ this is evil at its best (worst). I envision a picture of billions of souls immersed in a vast sea, many of them still frolicking and having fun, not realizing that one day the sea will rage and take their life forever. Jesus is right there above them, but they don't see him. How I wish that they would know that all it takes is to raise an arm, signaling to the Lord for help and he will pull them right out of the treacherous sea to safety!