Obligation to Jesus

        The only "justified" reason for not accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is believing that he is not God. If you cannot be sure, then you are obligated to accept and believe in him. Delaying your decision only adds urgency to making it.

Division for a Reason

        In Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." Indeed, Jesus is the most compelling controversial figure in the history of mankind. You have to be either for him or against him, precisely because he is true God and because true evil does exist.   

Answering Jesus' Call

        Communion experience. Receiving the Holy Eucharist reverently is answering Jesus' call to union with him. 

Another Union Benefit

        Not in union with God, the heart and mind dart every which way, driven by the ego. In union with God, both the heart and mind settle down, remaining in peace with the will of God. 

Challenge of Lifetime

        A lot of people believe in God, but they do not want to get close to him. This is being illogical. It's like you don't mind going to heaven, but you don't wish to see God. I believe the reason is that they still fear that God would take away their freedom, not realizing that they cannot be truly free without God taking away their sins first. This is the challenge each of us must meet and prevail in our lifetime, for our eternal life is at stake. 

All in God's Hands

        I never thought I would end up living where I am living now because I had the idea of settling in certain places. I also thought I'd pursue one career, but ended up with an entirely different one. I didn't know early in my life that later I would almost drown in a lake, fall from a tree, be sent twice to an emergency care unit in an ambulance and get well again. I had not expected that after living beyond the average life expectancy of men, God still called me to spread the message of union with him. I am most happy to end my life on such a high note and know this time that I shall end up being with our Father.

Most Wonderful Blessing

        Communion experience. The presence of the Holy Eucharist in the Church marks the presence of Christ at the center of the Church he had established. I felt so full spiritually after receiving this Most Holy Sacrament this morning that my heart almost wanted to burst ~ there is no more wonderful blessing a mortal can receive!

Making God Notice you

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'" The statement I italicized is what you never want to hear from the Lord. Do the will of God so that you may be known to him.

Union, the Fast Track

        I still remember reading the many great spiritual classics and biographies of the saints and their own writings in the past. So much of what I read inspired and taught me. In many of the volumes, I yellow-highlighted all the lines that spoke to my heart. I also attended many spiritual conferences and retreats. My heart was on fire after each time, getting more excited about the Lord than ever. But things have changed. Ever since I started seeking union with God, got to know the Lord intimately, and came to experience his beauty and holiness, all the spiritual books, conference messages, talks by some of the best speakers, etc., no longer uplift me, for all second-hand information loses its flavor when you now learn directly from the Lord himself. Besides, you already have the Lord to yourself ~ you no longer need anything to help you get there.

Seeking Consolation

        Communion experience. Concern about the condition of the world and what might happen in my own country after the presidential election placed a heavy burden on my heart and I rejoiced that I could turn to Christ to seek consolation, for he is the only one who can give me hope and joy.

Shortsighted Living

        The news came that a dear friend of ours has suffered two strokes in a row, but is now recovering. Life is fragile and hanging by a thread. We know that thread is going to break one day, but somewhat we are not impressed as long as it's not happening to us yet. Meanwhile we hang on to things that are even less dependable than a thread. What gives? If we do not pay close attention to all the obvious indicators about the transitoriness of life, how are we going to prepare ourselves for living the eternal life? 

Heavenly Relationship

        Do you know that God becomes the closest, dearest, most intimate friend to anyone who receives him reverently in the Holy Eucharist. This is a relationship made in heaven, a truly awesome achievement brought about by God! 

Classifying God's People

        People either accept or reject Jesus and are either good or bad, roughly speaking. So the four possible categories are (1) good people accepting Jesus, (2) bad people accepting Jesus, (3) good people rejecting Jesus, and (4) bad people rejecting Jesus. Obviously, you should want to belong in the first and not the last category. How about the middle two? I see that a bad person accepting Jesus can easily be saved if he would just repent of his sins and ask for God's forgiveness. But a good person rejecting Jesus risks being rejected by him before the Father, as the Gospel tells us. Naturally, the Lord alone knows why he is not being accepted. Nevertheless, knowingly rejecting Christ will definitely have serious consequences. 

God's Presence in You

        If you hear God speak to your heart, then he is dwelling within you.

Talent, a Blessing?

        God gave us talent not to serve ourselves, make us rich and famous, or make us feel more important to him. No, he gave us talent so that we might glorify him alone. So many talented artists live for the art they have created instead of serving God, or think that they are above others less talented. In such cases, no blessing would be a blessing. 

Sad State of Our Nation

        In this country at this time, godlessness is the root cause of our problems. Political correctness is followed more closely than the teachings of God. In this secular world, if a saint were elected president, he wouldn't last a week. This is how sad the shape this country is in. I hope that Jesus' realistic statement that those who enter through the wide gate with the broad road that leads to destruction are many and those who find the narrow gate with the constricted road that leads to life are few in today's Gospel reading at Mass (see today's earlier post "Best Travel Plan") will at least shock our conscience a bit.

Inseparability

        Today's Communion experience. Receiving the Holy Eucharist confirms that Christ and I are inseparable from each other. Where he is, I'll be. 

Are We Foolish?

        Many of us plan for our security, our retirement, our near future . . . yet do not seem to be concerned about life eternal at all. Isn't here a great imbalance? Don't you also see the ironic contradiction? Have we lost our common sense? Are we asleep or afraid to face death? Jesus' question comes to my mind: "What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" Basically, I think we are just being fools.