God and I

        Communion experience. It was just the Lord and I in each other as one; my eternity all settled. Truly, the Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack (Psalm 23).

*God's Salvation

        This morning's entrance antiphon came from Isaiah: A branch shall sprout from the root of Jesse, and the glory of the Lord will fill the whole earth, and all flesh will see the salvation of God. Christianity is all about the salvation of God! If you recognize this, then the Lord has opened your eyes. If not, then you might as well dismiss it. I do believe that people have difficulty in dismissing Christ outright, so they choose to look sideways, basically out of fear that he could be God speaking the truth. To me, this actually confirms that he is the truth, for anything you can accept or reject with ease cannot possibly be significant.

Intimate Experience

        Communion experience. The Holy Eucharist is the powerful sacrament that leads you to spiritual union with God. The experience of receiving and consuming it is even more intimate than that of touching or embracing the Lord in person. 

Our Special Roles

        God made John the Baptist the herald of the Messiah, preparing the way of Christ and making straight his paths – an important role in fulfilling the Scriptures. But God has a role for each of us to assume too, perhaps not as "glamorous," but equally important. We must first be open to God and willing to serve. Then he will reveal his special, individual plan to each of us. Life becomes purposeful and fulfilling only after you know the role God wants you to play.

Most Important Reality

        Jesus is my most important reality. When the Lord communicates with your heart constantly, this just comes about naturally. There is no coercion from him whatsoever, for he is gentle and loving always. In his company, I am living my most meaningful life.

*Time Well Spent

        If you do everything, big and little, for the sake of God, then you will not have wasted any time when you leave this world.

Astounding Truth

        Christianity is unique in that God personally died for our sins out of love. The unimaginable and incredible happened! It is awesome, amazing, and deeply and profoundly moving! How can anyone not rejoice?

Fruit of Union With God

        Inner peace due to absence of inner struggle against sin.

Resigning to God

        Communion experience. The Lord is too immense for me to comprehend, so I just resigned to resting in and savoring him.

Great Division and Distinction

          Jesus said to his disciples, "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, rather division." This division is no ordinary minor division, for it could result in the eternal separation between those who follow Jesus and those who don't, with a chasm no one can cross. There is no greater distinction than that between those who have Christ and those who don't.

On Loving God

        Loving God is unique in the sense that you can never love God enough. He deserves all of our love, but being imperfect, we always fall short. Actually, loving God is best achieved by abandoning ourselves in him, so we can also say that we can never abandon ourselves to God enough. Fortunately, it is our intention that matters to the Lord.    

Letting-Go Time

        Communion experience. Now that I have Christ, I can let everything else go, including grievances against anyone. All inappropriate desires and greed end. It's abandonment time, letting-go time, time to forgive, and time to go free. Yippee!

Unseen Miracles

        Communion time thoughts. Miracles can be unseen to be miracles. Christ the Lord himself is to me the biggest miracle, yet he is unseen to me today. During the liturgy of the Eucharist, I knew that a wonderful miracle was taking place when the bread and wine changed into the body and blood of the Lord. Then I was a witness of the unseen miracle. 

Train to Be Safe

        We as finite beings are only strong and safe in God. Without him, we are in the danger zone, vulnerable to attacks that can easily take down our souls. You can certainly experience this the moment you step away from God. Therefore, the only way to shield yourself from evil is to enter even deeper into God any time you sense any kind of temptation. Let this become your second nature to keep your soul safe at all times. 

Joy Killers

        The conversion of the soul usually takes time, for it's an awakening process that involves much learning by the heart. It shows how tenaciously an individual can isolate himself in the castle he's built around himself, so to speak, attempting to ward off any penetration into his interior. Unfortunately, he also makes himself impervious to God who only wants to illuminate him and save him from the true perils to his soul. Anytime a sinner wakes up, repents, and returns to God, the whole heaven rejoices. A soul who does not repent becomes not only a lost one, but also a great joy killer.  

Praying Unceasingly?

        Should we pray to God for something we need just once, believing with great faith that he will answer us? I think not. I believe that the only time you don't need to ask him repeatedly is when you abandon yourself to him and ash him to do whatever he wishes with you. Otherwise, for other things you feel compelled to pray for, such as the conversion of a loved one, you need to pray unceasingly. It's not that you lack trust in God. On the contrary, you want to show how much you need and rely upon him. Suppose you have two children. One comes to you and asks for something s/he needs just once and the other one asks you for what s/he needs day and night nonstop, which child to whom you are more likely to give in? I think the answer is clear. Since God is our loving Father, the more we ask him, the more endearing we are to him. Again, I am thinking common sense here. As a matter of fact, I feel closer to the Lord each time I go to him with the same petition. Another reason, since the world sorely needs our prayers, praying unceasingly to God every chance we get for the world can help fulfill that need. 

We Are Alone!

        As Christmas draws near, some of my relatives and friends will be coming to my home for a brief stay. This should be a happy occasion, for get-togethers as such do not happen on any regular basis. In a few days, it'll be over. I start to think that we are basically alone in our existence. Even if you have many loved ones living with you all your life, what they can do to help is limited as far as how you stand before God is concerned. Before the Lord, you are definitely alone, alone to account for what you've done, alone to face his judgment. If we prepare ourselves well now, that should be a joyous moment. Otherwise, it could be the most terrible moment of our existence. To prepare ourselves well, again it's something only we alone can do. Yes, mind your own business is right.

Be Children to God

        Communion time thoughts. When the adults are taking care everything, the children do not have to worry about a thing. Similarly, if we let God the Father take care of everything, we wouldn't need to worry about anything either. This points to submitting ourselves completely to God to achieve inner peace. It seems so common sense.