Today is the Memorial of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. John 6.51 was the Communion antiphon. Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." There is no doubt that the Holy Eucharist I receive at Mass each time is truly (not symbolically as many Protestants believe) the real flesh of the Lord. (If not, then the Apostles, the early fathers of the Church, the great saints throughout history, and all Catholics to this day have committed the sin of idolatry for worshipping a piece of bread!)
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
To Be Like Jesus
This morning I am thinking about how Jesus, the king of the universe, with whom nothing is impossible, came to us simply preaching the truth and performing great miracles with no hoopla or hype whatsoever, never bragging once about himself and remaining meek and humble through his death on the cross – this alone should inspire us to follow him. To be like him is to be like God and to be with God – there is no higher goal for us. Reach for him to help you succeed!
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
*Life on Fire
If your yearn for the Lord, then he has set your heart ablaze. Let the sweet flame totally engulf and consume your whole being to maximize your enjoyment of the Lord in this life!
Huge Blessing
Communion experience. Receiving the Holy Eucharist is one of the biggest possible blessings God can bestow upon us! Appreciate and treasure the opportunity with all your heart!
Hunting Down the Ego
The ego is most stealthy; sometimes you have to be like a detective to find it. For instance, I am happy blogging because I hear the Lord speaking to my heart, which brings me great intimacy with him. But if I am not watchful, the ego can fool me into thinking that I am the one doing a great job of spreading the message. As a matter of fact, I should leave the life of the blog entirely in God's hands, not ever wanting to keep it going in order to make me feel good. Being ego-free is being truly free indeed.
Christ, Our Must-Have
In John 15.5, Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing." This is absolutely correct. Without Christ who is God, whatever we do can not get us any closer to God. It is through bearing the right fruit with him that we can get to heaven.
*Humility Needed
Many of Christ's counsels are difficult to follow, depending upon how much we have surrendered to him. Nevertheless, we must be willing to do our best to follow, even though we may not succeed. It is this willingness that counts. If you say outright that you can't do it, then you are being outright rebellious. Only admitting that God can help you can help you.
*Unique Creatures
While the Lord gives his thoughts to those in union with him, all thoughts expressed through each recipient still bear the imprint of that person, for each of us is a unique creature of God. We do not become God's puppets; we just become parts of him.
*Heart for the Lord
Early this morning in bed, when I was still not quite awake, I sensed myself amid a huge crowd of the very rich, the famous, and the most learned. The Lord made me see that I should never feel inferior, for he looks only at our hearts. I already knew this, but the mental scene further impressed me. Anyone with a pure and clean heart can stand tall and be grateful before the Lord.
Monday, January 2, 2017
End of Search
Communion experience. I have found the one worthy for me to live and die for – my life is now meaningful, fulfilled, and made whole, and my joy complete.
Escaping Enslavement
How to gain freedom from enslavement? You can run away, but this does not eradicate what enslaves you. Also, if you are enslaved by yourself, it becomes even harder. Conquering what enslaves you may even be less feasible with you in your enslaved condition. That leaves the best and only way out: run to God and seek refuge in him (or surrender to him). This way you are shielded by him from all evil and become absolutely free.
*Get Baptized by the Holy Spirit!
You may wish to read my post "Be Einstein as Christians" of Dec. 31 again, for a key thought slipped my mind when I posted it. It has now been revised.
When I was actively involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement in the 1970s, I underwent baptism by the Holy Spirit in my prayer group and it changed my life. The presence and power of the Spirit became palpable. I now recall that in all three synoptic Gospels, John the Baptist when he was preaching, proclaimed to the people, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire." So if you want the Holy Spirit to set your heart ablaze, why not ask Jesus directly to baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire? Ask straight from your heart and wait for beautiful things to happen! (It would be wonderful to hear your personal experiences. Feel free to share them as comments.)
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Just You and God
I see God our Father at the center and billions of us his children around him. The relationship between God and each one of us is what matters the most, for it determines our eternal destiny. This relationship is tested by how well we follow his commandment to love our neighbors. Ultimately, it comes down to how well each one of us obeys the Father. Therefore, think of just you and God, with you alone to maintain a good relationship with him as best as you can through obedience. Nothing else matters.
*Chasing After the New
We have a new year, 2017 in the year of the Lord. The world just celebrated with fireworks and partying. Why do we welcome anything new? I believe that we are not satisfied with the old and hope that the new will bring us better things. That is why we buy new cars, move into new houses, get married again, look for new jobs, etc., hoping that things would improve to make us happier. In reality, it never works out this way. The truth is that we are imperfect and will never be satisfied until we are perfect ourselves. Here is where God comes in, for he alone is holy and perfect and is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13.8), thereby remaining forever new and refreshing. When we become his obedient children and return to him, we'll be perfect and new like him. Only then will we be completely happy and satisfied with ourselves.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
A Last Challenge
As the year is ending, I am throwing out a challenge to all. Beginning with the new year, live completely as an unknown to the world. That is, live for God alone in secret and receive joy from him in secret. And never forget to spread the good news and hope of Christ every chance you get. May God bless and reward you all abundantly!
*Be Einstein as Christians
To me, Einstein is one greatest thinker who has ever existed. He believed in an ordered universe, thought above the ordinary human level and came up with the beautiful and profound general theory of relativity. I wonder if we Christians can possibly reach the height in the spiritual realm comparable to that Einstein had reached in the realm of physics. The answer came in today's Gospel reading from John 1. I'll just quote the first five verses: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." This knowledge is revelation from God to the Apostle John, and it is most beautiful and profound. We can also reach our height by achieving union with God. For in union, God's thoughts become ours and all things begin to make sense to us. We see that the Lord is in control and knows exactly what he is doing. And experiencing God at such an intimate level is definitely also beautiful and profound.
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