Better Believers

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus praised the Father for having hidden things from the wise and the learned and revealed them to the childlike. In general, it is harder for a Ph.D. to believe in God than a less educated person. The Ph.D. would think that he has the knowledge, the analytic power, and the know-how to find answers on his own, while the not-so-learned one is ready to trust in anyone who promises to help him. The wise and learned will do fine in research or finding facts, but their approach will not work in looking for God. The childlike are no doubt the better believers. We can and should learn from them.  

Eternal Punishment Is Real

        Today's Gospel reading came from Matthew 11. Jesus reproached the towns Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, for he had done mighty deeds in the midst of the their townspeople and they had not repented. Thus, they would be judged severely on the day of judgment. Eternal punishment is real as eternal life is. If you live casually, believing that somehow everything will end OK, you are living in fantasy. If Jesus does not shake you up, you are pretty much a goner. Not all religions are the same, for there can be only one whole truth. Is there no point in Jesus' Incarnation? He was quite specific about how we should follow him to gain eternal life. The time to be realistic is now, before our span on earth expires. Not knowing how brief that span is only adds to the urgency.

Thorough Understanding

        Communion experience. I was joyous and thankful that I have a God who thoroughly understands my heart and all my deeds. He cannot possibly ever misunderstand me, for he knows me better than I know myself. Such a privilege! For this, I greatly feel secure in the Lord. 

Speaking as God

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus said to his Apostles: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and...." Division results because of the fact that we are sinners who need salvation. The sword sharpens the contrast between good and evil.

         Jesus also said: "Whoever loves father or mother than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." We need to pay close attention here, for the Lord clearly speaks as God. 

Our Move Now

        Today is the Memorial of St. Benedict. From the 1st reading from Isaiah 1, we learn how the Lord detested the wickedness of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Their misdeeds and evil doings became loathsome and unbearable to him. They simply weighed him down. In other words, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah completely turned him off. Do we also want God close his eyes and not listen to us? Christ has already redeemed us ~ it is now our choice to turn God on or off.

Simple Formula

        I attended Vigil Mass today. Communion experience. The Holy Spirit made it absolutely clear to me that to gain eternal life, all we need to do is to live for Christ only and forget about ourselves completely. Such a simple formula that we can all understand.

*Must to Know

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus said to his Apostles, "Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father." In these two sentences, Jesus simply delineated the condition for us to be accepted or denied by God the Father. They are terribly important, compelling us to choose sides while we are still able to. To dismiss the words of Jesus is to dismiss Jesus the person, for in both Matthew 24 and Luke 21, Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." I am putting an asterisk next to the post title, not because my message is insightful in any way, but because it's critically important for all, believers and nonbelievers alike, to be aware of.

God Working Now and Then

        When I was involved in the charismatic renewal several decades ago, the Holy Spirit did the work for me as a favor and my spiritual progress was rapid. Today God is doing the work for me even more, that's because now he's got my full cooperation. 

The Gate

        Jesus said in John 10.9: I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. May I add that Jesus is also the gate to freedom?

The Only One

        Let Jesus be the only one to give you joy and the only one to make you feel sorrow.

Driving Lesson

        I drove almost 500 miles home yesterday. The highway was straight and cars clipped along between 80 and 90 mph. Some drivers drove even faster, trying to pass everyone, and then we would run into a big truck trying to pass another even slower one and everyone had to slow down and patiently wait for the passing to pass. Of course, my goal was to get home safely, not to let any faster or slower vehicles affect my inner peace. I was reminded of the similar process of seeking God. Our goal is to attain union with God and we must not let any distractions along the journey to distract or upset us.

Imbalance

        Jesus is exhilarating and uplifting, and heaven, pure joy; but the sinful world is downright sickening and boring.

The Lord

        Communion experience. There is nothing so beautiful, so inspiring, so satisfying as the Lord himself. If only you realize this truth, you'd drop everything and run to him!

Good Enough?

        We are good enough only after God has made us good.

Unbalance

        If you do not know Jesus, you have no idea how infinitely better you would feel should you know him. If you know Jesus, you already know how awful it was when you didn't have him.

On Feeling Sorow

        If the Lord feels sorrow, we must not attempt to "take over" his sorrow nor worry for him. What we need to do is to be sorrowful along with him, for we must remain in him always.       

Being Like the Apostles

        I attended Sunday Mass at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. The Lord made me see that he could make us feel how St. Paul and the Apostles felt about him if we so desired.

Forming Strong Bonds

        God is a relationship builder. All bonds formed without him will fall apart in time, but all bonds formed by him will last forever. Union with God is the strongest possible bond, making all saints one in the Lord. It is in this relationship that we become super-strong.