*Unforgettable Joy

        Communion experience. I was ready to let Jesus take me. It was an unbeatable upbeat and breathtakingly beautiful feeling! Now I knew why we should be so happy in heaven: because God feeds us with joy!

*Trust in God's Doing

       I attended Vigil Mass today. In the Gospel reading from John 11, we heard the raising of Lazarus. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was ill, he did not go to him for two days. Then when he arrived, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for 4 days. Both sisters of Lazarus said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Nevertheless, Jesus ordered that the stone be taken away from the tomb and cried out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. Jesus knew all along that the illness of Lazarus was not to end in death, but was for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified through it.

        The important lesson here. We do not always know what God is doing, but we only need to know that he always knows what he is doing!

A Very Good Question

        If God came down from heaven to be born as one of us and then die in our place so that we might be saved and have eternal life, and we reject him, do you think that we still deserve heaven? 

A Very Good Thing

        As I age, like everyone else my physical condition deteriorates. But there is this very good thing: I am going to Jesus who is waiting for me!

Christ, the Deciding Difference

        For the last 15 days I have not been able to blog. Today I'll try to post all the messages received, but dating each by the day on which it was received. 

       For me, it was simple and crystal clear: No Christ, no hope. Since I know him, I know my sure way to eternal life. There is no greater difference anyone or anything else can possibly make to our existence.

Blessed Are the Imperfect

        For the imperfect realize that they are not qualified to judge others and that they need God who alone can make them perfect. [A note. For the next two weeks, again I won't be able to do any blogging, so please check back after April 11 for new messages. Meanwhile, pray unceasingly for the salvation of all the souls, both living and deceased. Yes, God hears and needs us ~ we can make a difference! May he bless you all.]

Fruit of Union

        When I watch some of the most talented jazz pianists play, they improvise freely, knowing exactly how they want to express themselves. I could see that they are one with the music. This reminds me that when one is in union with the Lord, he experiences the same kind of freedom, knowing exactly what God's will is and follows it with ease. In both cases, something beautiful results.

To See We Need God

        First, realize that you are imperfect, vulnerable, and helpless on your own. Then you will see that you need God. 

Eternal Joy

        All the joys we receive in our life are momentary except for the joy of or in Christ. That deep joy affects the soul and continues on into eternity, reaching its peak there. The Lord is our eternal joy!

Created by God

        Today it becomes clear to me that we are all individual beings created by God. Each of us is aware of his or her existence. You could say that we were never mass-produced, but made by hand carefully by God, one at a time. Should all billions of us become saints, there would be billions of different saints with each exhibiting his or her individuality. Cherish and be grateful for your unique existence.

*Love Makes Us Worthy

        Communion thoughts. God alone is worthy to be loved, for he is love. Because of him, all of us became worthy to be loved. 

*Taking God Seriously

        Following Jesus is serious business, for we are dealing with God. Too many people speak freely in church without restraint, especially right after Mass. True, we are not in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican where silence is maintained, but a church is a church, a sanctuary of God. Attending Mass may be likened to joining the Lord at the Last Supper where all focus was upon the Lord. God will take us seriously as we take him seriously.

Model Response to God

        Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. In the Gospel reading from Luke 1, after the angel Gabriel came to Mary and announced the birth of Jesus through her, she said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." The surely is a model response to God to all of us.

**God Badly Misconceived

        If you don't want to face God because you know you have offended him, you have the right kind of fear. But if you are afraid that God will lord it over you should you accept him as your Lord, you've got it all wrong, for this fear is baseless and unjustifiable. We address God as Lord out of reverence and awe. If God had wanted to domineer over us, why did he give each of us the free will in the first place? All God desires is to love and serve us. It'd be extremely foolish and unfair to conceive God otherwise.        

Jesus Forever Refreshing

        I felt great joy on my way to Mass this morning, for I was going to unite with Christ, receiving him again into my home, my heart, my whole being. It felt like I was going to see him for the very first time, for he is forever refreshing, wanting to renew us constantly. It is so good to have him and that's an understatement!

***Unbelievable Lord!

        Communion experience. This is the Lord who's going to cleanse my soul inside out to prepare me for entering heaven! It's always we say yes and he does the work. He is great because he serves us – unbelievable! 😇

*God Most Helpful

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 12, Jesus reiterated to one of the scribes the greatest commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." You wonder how you can possibly do that – it just seems hard. Where is the incentive? What's in it for me? The wonderful thing is that like anything the Lord asks of you, if you say yes and really mean it, he will help you accomplish it without expending much of your own effort and with you being rewarded with peace, joy, and freedom in the process!  

*Sinners' Predicament

        Sin is detrimental to our soul as cancer is to our physical body, but it's a lot more serious on a different level. Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." In a way, all sinners are teetering on the edge of a precipice. Overloaded with sins, they can easily fall off the cliff. What Christ can do is to not only remove the burden of your sins, but also pull you away from the cliff into a safety zone. There you await until the time to be transported to heaven arrives.