Profound Interior Renovation

        Communion experience. God entered me and I was never going to be the same again.

*Compelling Truth

        In this morning's first reading from Acts 5, the Apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin and the high priest forbade them to teach in Jesus' name. Peter and the Apostles chose to obey God rather than men and this infuriated the members of the Sanhedrin. In the Gospel reading from John 3, John wrote about Jesus, the one from heaven: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him." We see the clear division Jesus caused and that we must choose sides. The sign of truth is that it does not override our free will; it only compels us to either accept or reject it.  

*On Borrowed Time

        I got up this morning and realized that it's another day, and of course this has happened to me thousands and thousands of times. But today I realized something extra, that we are all on borrowed time. We don't know exactly how many days we borrowed from God, but that number is limited. When we return all the days to him, we shall be checked for how we "took care of" our days. Did we squander them as the prodigal son did in the parable or listen to and obey what he had taught us through Christ the Son of God? I am citing two extreme examples. Remember that everything that comes from God will return to him.

*Big Screwup

        Reflecting on the earlier post "Declaration of Critical Truth," I see that God has made salvation simple and straightforward for us, but we have made it convoluted and hard for ourselves! 

Great Privilege

        Communion experience. I received exactly what Jesus handed out to his disciples at the Last Supper.

*Declaration of Critical Truth

        John 3.16-21 was today's Gospel reading at Mass. Here's verse 16: God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. You've probably heard this verse quoted and seen it on billboards so often that you don't think about it much anymore. To think about it, it is a declaration of the most beautiful truth of critical importance to us! We should really know it by heart and think about it often. Here are verses 19-20: And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. Here we have the "sickness" of the world clearly diagnosed by the Apostle John just about two thousand years ago.

*Expecting the Unexpected

        Jesus always taught his disciples to be watchful and alert, for they did not know when the Son of Man would come again. Wise is anyone who expects the unexpected. Recently, I heard about the sudden death of two persons, one in the 70s and the other at only 61. Both were seemingly in great physical shape before they died. There are also Christians on the lax side who think that spiritually they are OK, not realizing that God might think differently. For Catholics, frequent confession is a good defense in preparing for the unexpected. *To avoid eternal regret, never neglect the everlasting soul.

*Breakthroughs of Life

        I see two breakthroughs of life. The first is most important – it raises you to a new level of existence. You find Christ, discovering and accepting the truth that God is love and can save you from your sins. And you are no longer lost, with you future secured for eternity. This is a huge deal, for you are now separated from the secular world and live in the sphere of God. The second breakthrough is attaining union with God. This is fine-tuning and for the perfectionist, but the reward of experiencing freedom, peace, and joy is tremendous – a foretaste of heaven. Christ makes all the difference we absolutely need. 

Momentous Event

        Communion experience. As the bread and wine were consecrated, they changed into the body and blood of Christ. That was a momentous moment, deserving our full attention. All my life troubles were overshadowed and for the moment forgotten. Matthew 20.20: "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age," was fulfilled.

*Effective Evangelizing

        Famous quote from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address: "Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country." When it comes to bringing others to Christ, we should do exactly the opposite. That is, we do not tell others what they can do for God – we tell them what God can do for them.

Obligation to Christ

        The Resurrection of Christ changed everything: his disciples were revived and his church, invigorated, for the Resurrection proved clearly that Christ is God. Therefore, when he speaks, we must listen and obey. 

*Going Straight to God

          Catholics venerate relics of various saints. All saints are humble and would want to give glory to God alone. Therefore, they'd rather we go to the Lord directly and not center upon them. There is a fine line to be drawn here. It is perfectly fine to let the saints inspire us to increase our love for God, but we must never grow attached to any saint to the point that we lessen our focus upon the Lord. If you seek to attain union with God, it is best that you go to him directly and let absolutely nothing distract you along the way.

Unique, Unparalleled Rest

        Communion experience. With Jesus, I entered the most relaxed state, abandoning myself in him ~ it's letting-go time. 

Proper Mode of Living

        Today's Communion antiphon is based upon John 20.19. The full verse reads: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." If Jesus could appear anywhere as he wishes, certainly he can be ever present with any of us. It follows that we must stay awake and live as if he is physically present with us.

Role as God's Creatures

        God is our creator, greater than all his creatures. Naturally, we can only know what he wishes to reveal to us. Therefore, our role is clearly to trust, trust, trust in him. On a more personal level, we are the children of a loving God, our Father ~ all the more we can and should trust in him. 

Divine Mercy

        This is the Sunday of Divine Mercy. God is merciful because he is all love. And his mercy is infinite, which means that he does not condemn us as long as we still have time to repent of our sins. Moreover, it means that no matter how sinful we are, once we repent, we are forgiven and saved. Therefore, to think that God cannot save us is to limit his mercy, a thought offensive to him. Should God's mercy be finite, none will be able to survive. Praised be his divine mercy! 

How God Teaches Us

        When God teaches us, he simply enlightens us and we see and understand things we never saw or understood before. He opens up a beautiful new world to us. This is learning without drudgery and with delight only.          

*Sign We Don't Know God

        We do not know how wretched we are until we know how holy God is.