Taking Care of the Soul

        Since I made it clear in my last post that our soul is our most precious possession, we should take the best care of it by keeping it pure, as sin defiles and rots the soul. Happy is the one who lets the Lord take away his sins and make his soul whole and clean! Everyone should try this at least once, then you will never want to return to your old filthy state again. Anyone who neglects his soul is in my book being foolish to the extreme.

*Preparing for the Worst*

        The wisest always prepare for the worst, and the worst that could possibly happen to us is losing our soul. Properties, material possessions, fame, health, friendship, etc., are nothing compared to the soul, for they all pass, while the soul lasts for eternity. If you know your are dying and repent to God in the last second, you may still be saved, but what about losing your life suddenly and unexpectedly, which happens often enough to many? The Lord wants us to settle our eternal destiny first and not worry about living the earthly life, and we should wise up to this most beneficial, loving piece of counsel. 

*Responding to God Properly

        God is to be worshipped, for he is holy. God is to be adored, for he is gorgeous. God is to be praised, for he is perfect. To worship, adore, and praise him, we need to submit ourselves to him without reservation with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our soul. 

The Jesus Effect

        Communion experience. Jesus is holy, perfect, and beautiful. In union with him, we progress in becoming holy, perfect, and beautiful.

Another If Only

        If only we'd do everything to honor God and not ourselves, we'll have a lot more peace in our hearts and in the world.        

If Only

        Nowadays, people of all ages spend so much time texting each other and using social media to communicate with others. If only we would spend just much time sharing our thoughts with our Lord and our God, then we'll surely have a drastically better and more peaceful world to live in!

Joy of Having Jesus

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, when the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus why his disciples did not fast as they and the Pharisees fasted much, Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." Since the Risen Christ did promise his disciples that he would be with them always, and those in union with him do sense his invisible presence in their heart, anyone who is one with Christ can only experience unadulterated joy with no mourning. 

*No Reason Not to Believe*

        I think we are all familiar with the story of the woman caught in adultery from John 8. When the scribes and the Pharisees thought she should be stoned according to the law of Moses, Jesus said to them, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Jesus was being completely logical! If any of you do not believe that Jesus is your Lord and your God and are as holy as he is, then maybe you have the right not to believe in him – I am being logical too. Of course, you still have to deal with all the miracles he performed and the Passion he went through, which I did not bring up.

Ultimate Fulfillment

        Communion experience. Since Jesus is love, love entered me. I absorbed all of him and the union with him was sealed. On this side of heaven, this was the ultimate fulfillment. 

*Compelling Sayings

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9, Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?" These sayings of Christ show clearly that he spoke as God or you must dismiss them as nonsense. The last question he asked was so sensible and to the point that anyone with a sane mind should remember it as long as he or she is still living. To read them all and put them aside would surely be a mistake that can make you regret for all eternity! God is so compelling that we are forced to choose to listen to him or not at all.

Fulfilling Love

        We are made by God to be needy for love. People are lonely because love is lacking in our self-centered world. But human love is never pure enough to fulfill our need for love in the first place; only the love of God is pure and great enough to transform us spiritually. Once you know that you are loved by God, you are never lonely again.

Most Blessed Position

        Communion experience. God had made known to me everything I needed to know and sheltered me completely under his wings.

*Ashes to Saints

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6 on this Ash Wednesday, Jesus teaches that we must live for God alone with zero ego. Let's remember that we are dust and unto dust we shall return. Yet the most amazing thing is that God can turn us into glorious saints if we let him. His teaching of today actually gives us the recipe. If we do everything for God with great humility and love, then we become saints. This is exactly what both Saint Therese of Lisieux and Saint Joseph Marello have learned from the Lord.

Sword of Mercy

       God's mercy is a two-edged sword. If you trust in it, you are saved. But if you reject it, you are condemned.

*Somber Thought

        The Lord gave me this somber thought on this first day of March, an Ash Wednesday: Anytime you judge someone, you endanger your own soul.

*God to Mend Our World

        We live in a world full of imperfections, but we can let God mend that part for us to make the world ideal for us!

*Salvation Depends Upon Us!

        Even though God is our Savior, salvation of the world absolutely depends upon us! Jesus said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few." As God's instruments, we must work hard to spread the good news, as the time is more urgent than ever! There is no time for snoozing, none to waste. Not harvesting for God is committing a serious sin of omission. The least one could do is to pray daily for the salvation of the world.

Unfair to God

        I was at a shopping mall. You could hear the loud music playing through the sound system and see the crowd busily shopping or eating at the food court. I was also aware that God was lovingly watching over us and hoping to get some attention from us. Yet how many shoppers even turn their thoughts to him for an instant? Probably very few. This is an unfair world.