*On Recognizing Jesus or Not

        In today's Gospel reading from John 20, Mary of Magdalene stayed outside the empty tomb weeping, thinking that someone had taken Jesus and laid him elsewhere. Then Jesus appeared next to her, but she did not know it was Jesus, for she thought it was the gardener – Mary had a good reason for not recognizing the Lord. But today many do not recognize Jesus because they are blinded by their self-importance. If we do recognize him for who he truly is, we would see that he is absolutely the most critically important person to our existence!

Dying in Sleep

        Is dying in sleep a blessing? Yes, if the deceased had already reconciled with God. No, if the person hadn't accepted God and now missed the chance of repenting to God in his last moment.

**Perfect Ending*

        Do you realize that not only Jesus can take your sins away now, but get you into heaven later and you become perfect at last?

*Breaking News

        In case you don't realize: we are so worthy to be saved by God that he personally died on a cross in our place to redeem us!        

Saved or Not?

        Yesterday, I got the news that a cousin of mine passed away in his sleep. He had always seemed to be in good health, while his younger sister suffered poor health; so it's unexpected that he left first. I had the chance to tell him about Christ for a number of times, but he just couldn't make himself believe. He appeared to be a decent man, always cheerful and fun to be with. I first figured that if I could forgive him, surely the Lord would forgive him. Then I do not really know his heart. Maybe he couldn't be blamed for not believing, for he was not convinced that Christ was the Savior yet, which is not the same as knowingly rejecting him. Then again, if someone truly believes that Christ is God, he wouldn't possibly dare to reject him. Anyway, not knowing where his soul is, I could only trust in God's infinite mercy. But this I know: any believer who does not take his faith seriously can be in worse shape than an unbeliever.            

Loving With Pure Love

        In union with God, we see ourself as children of God. The love of God purifies all our emotions and we see the world and its people as God sees them. No more maudlin sentiments and everyone is the same to us. This is not being harsh, only fair, as God loves us equally. Pure love is motivated by obedience to God alone with no meddling by our own emotions or views and carried out with no fanfare. Perhaps that's why God might mistakenly seem to be cold to some. 

How We View Ourselves

        I am already old and can remember that in the old days, most news was domestic. News about giving aid to some foreign country sounded rather foreign. In those days, various countries were pretty much isolated from each other and as a result, we felt more nationalistic. Later, as communications around the world opened up and we saw that what happened in one country could easily affected the rest of the world, we saw ourselves more as citizens of the world. What I hopefully expect is that we would evolve to the point we see ourselves as children of God and not of the world. This is the highest and correct view, transcending all other views. 

Our Most Crucial Relationship

        How we get along with God.     

**Man's Greatest Achievement

        No doubt, the surrendering of oneself to God, enabling him or her to return to the Father in heaven.

Our Tragic Role

          Happy Easter to all who read my blog! I pray that you will always keep your hearts open to God's blessings so that he may enrich you in every way to the fullest. If you are with him, all he has is yours (Luke 15.31) – a mind-boggling promise, so take advantage of God's generosity!

     Today's Gospel reading from John 20 is about the empty tomb. The Resurrection of Jesus together with all his words and deeds are most powerful statements, but they won't do you any good if your heart shuts them out. Truth ages, but remains true forever. If the Resurrection changed the lives of the Apostles and numerous others, it can change yours today too. Yet many not only ignore God, they also avoid examining or looking into themselves. This is a generation that is so blind that they don't even see that they are taking part in a tragedy that would end with their own death.

It Comes Down to Faith

        How much you believe in Christ is so much more important than how you believe in him. Once I used an object I mistakenly believed to be authentic to pray for the healing of someone and the Lord still brought about a miracle. I was later puzzled, and then realized that it's how much you believe in him that counts, not so much the way you express your belief. At the fundamental level, it comes down to your faith, which is how your heart is connected to the Lord's heart. 

**Freed by God

        Once you know Jesus Christ, you'll find that he is the most awesome, most inspiring, and most beautiful Being of all beings. That is why no other person in this world, no matter how awesome, how inspiring, and how beautiful the people of the world think he or she is, no longer attracts me in the least. This is how the Lord frees us from the clutches of the world. Know God and you are free.

*It's Now or Never

        I was never very good serving on any kind of committee, for most people on a committee love to spend time talking and not getting to the point. I see things in a simple way and like to get to the point right away if possible. Now, life is brief and will come to an end sooner or later. It doesn't make any difference whether you count your time in years or seconds. So, in this limited span, do you want to remain as is or change in some way? Time is ticking away. If you don't grab Jesus, you'll miss him for all eternity and all the good things and good times you enjoy now will mean absolutely nothing. On the other hand, if you let him capture you now, all your sufferings, pains, and miseries of this life will become nothing and be forgotten once you are with him for all eternity.

God's Big Cross

        It's easy for us to be unhappy about carrying our little crosses in following the Lord, but know that on the way to the Cross Jesus had to carry all of our sins and hardships, including every heartache and pain, every injustice and illness, every oppression and poverty, every human misery; and he did it willingly in obedience to the Father out of love for us. We need to thank God for that unless you already believe that you do not need to be saved.

**Are You a Good Person?

        You may think that you are basically a good person, but that depends upon how you measure yourself. None of us is qualified to judge anyone, including ourselves. Anyway, even if the whole world thinks that you are a great person, it's no proof that you'll make heaven. As a matter of fact, the world usually gets it wrong. Therefore, do not judge or exalt yourself, but remain humble and let God alone be your judge. Only what God thinks of you matters.

*Perfect Disciple's Role

        In today's Gospel reading from John 13 for this Holy Thursday evening Mass, we shall hear read the washing of the disciples' feet by Jesus at the Last Supper. Jesus gave his disciples a model to follow. If he, the master and teacher, had washed their feet, then they ought to wash one another's feet. When Jesus came to Simon Peter, ready to wash his feet, Peter said, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me." I must include Peter's response which is typical Peter: "Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well." The clear lesson for me is that we must accept whatever the Lord wants to do to us without questioning, even if we do not understand. This is perfect trust and perfect obedience, making you his perfect disciple, ready to receive inheritance from God!

With Christ As One

        Communion experience. I was in touch with Christ, interlocking hearts and being detached from the world at the same time.

Secret to Greatness

        Today's entrance antiphon from Philippians 2: At the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, for the Lord became obedient to death, death on a cross: therefore Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The Communion antiphon from Matthew 20: The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. These verses give us the complete secret of being exalted by God. All we need to do is to be obedient to the Lord and serve him.