Today's entrance antiphon, Acts 1.11: Men of Galilee, why gaze in wonder at the heavens? This Jesus whom you saw ascending into heaven will return as you saw him go. This was said by two men dressed in white garments who suddenly appeared beside the disciples who were looking intently at the sky after seeing Jesus being lifted up and taken from their sight by a cloud. This account of the Ascension as witnessed by many is undeniable. It's also inevitable that he who has ascended will return again.
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Pleasing God Most Pleasing
Today is Ascension of the Lord. Before Mass began at church, I felt good that I was where God wants me to be – there is nothing that makes one happier than knowing that he lives to please God. I saw that this is how God has made us.
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Strong Messages, Weak Messages
A message is weak if we say what we want to say, even with my best effort. It becomes strong only when we say what the Lord inspires us to say. Ego or self-centeredness has no place in spreading the good news of Christ. In fact, it has no place in anything we do. Only by entering the Lord deeply can we be freed from our ego completely.
*All and Forever
When God decided to save us, he gave all of himself. When he gives life, he makes it eternal. His love for us is forever. The joy he gives stays with us too. When he forgives us, we are all clean. Because he loves us, he wants all (not part) of us to be his forever. We are blessed that He is most thorough.
God Is Fair and Just
Sad headline news from Egypt: ISIS opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians on their way to a monastery, killing at least 29, including many children. This was only the most recent in a wave of attacks on these Christians and their Church. What are we to think? Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus came to my mind. Lazarus was the poor man, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. (The rich man also died, but he went to the netherworld and suffered torment.) I have no doubt that God would take care of the souls of these children of his who were tragically slaughtered, for he knows our hearts, thoughts, words, and deeds. All of us shall be judged by him and receive exactly what we deserve in the end. We need to trust in our God no matter what happens.
Friday, May 26, 2017
*Call to Yield to God
God's message for salvation is straight forward and simple to understand – you do not need to explain it like rocket science, yet people do not accept it readily. So it's not the mind, but the heart that gets in the way. To overcome this barrier, we must become like a child as Jesus had indicated. What we need is humility. Without it, we won't find God, let alone know him. The most humble Christ is our example and clue. God has already yielded himself to love. It's time for us to yield to him!
**Best Place to Be (Surefire Formula)
Today's Communion antiphon, John 15: As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. To remain in Jesus' love to to remain in him, for he is love. There is no better place to be. In fact, this is part of the simple surefire formula for getting into heaven: Remain in Jesus and let God take care of the rest.
*Joy Over Pain
In today's Gospel reading from John 16, Jesus, with his departure from the world and succeeding Resurrection in mind, said to the disciples, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you." Jesus was right, for we know that once we get to heaven, our joy will make us forget all the pains and anguish we suffered on earth. Start rejoicing now if you know you are heaven bound. Do not forget that the daily Mass is a celebration of the Lord's sacrifice resulting in our salvation. [A footnote. No one will take your joy away from you: the joy God gives is a joy that stays with you forever.]
Thursday, May 25, 2017
**Way to Union (Winning Feeling)*
When you let God transform you and the transformation takes place, you are amazed and can get quite excited, for something you've tried to change on your own without success God now does it effortlessly. Even though the Lord did the work, you can't help feeling that you have won! Now your relationship with him is more intimate than ever. As you continue to let God perfect you, the same thing happens again and again. You are on your way to union with him.
Looking Beyond This Life
The most recent terrible tragedy is the terrorist attack in Manchester, England, which killed 22 and injured many more. One lesson we can learn from this is that all the more we need to look beyond this life and make settling our eternal destination our first priority. Most people do not think about it for various reasons. Only the ones who have put themselves completely in God's hands know that they will be fine no matter what happens to them.
*Christ Is Everything
Life is imperfect until you have Christ. Your joy is incomplete until you have Christ. Your eternity is unsettled until you have Christ. You are nothing until you have Christ. You have everything when you have him.
God Is Peace
Communion experience. The world is in chaos, but I am at peace with God, in peace with God, and in peace in God.
*Smart Rise to Top
We all want to rise above ourselves. Let Christ determine our destiny and we will end up where he is.
Us Too
Jesus had his Resurrection and Ascension. Do you know that by his power, we'll have ours too?
Planning for Eternity
A saint is one who loves God. A mystic is one who also loves God, knows him well and communicates directly with the Lord. Do not ever say that you cannot be a saint or a mystic, for nothing is impossible with God. It follows that you can store up treasures in heaven now, get there and inherit what God has for you later. God is your limit who has no limits. Use your brief time on earth for planning and readying yourself for eternity and God will make everything come true.
**Our Tragic Error
Since God is our loving creator, Father, and Savior, who can accomplish anything he wants, it would be indeed most foolish of us not to believe in, appreciate, or trust him. Not seeking union with him is falling short of taking full advantage of what he has to offer – a tragic error on our part, relatively speaking. It's like being offered a most precious pearl and you just admire and enjoy looking at it, but stop short of reaching for it to claim that it is all yours.
*God Is With Us
In today's Gospel reading from John 16, Jesus said to his disciples: "A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me." His disciples first did not know what he meant. Of course, Jesus was telling them about his coming death and resurrection. We need not to be concerned about whether we see him or not, for later he promised that he would be with them always, until the end of the age. Every time I receive the Holy Eucharist, he enters me and unites with me in the most intimate way. As long as I am still alive and breathing, I know that he is with me, for my very existence depends upon him.
Our Ideal State
It's been my experience that as long as I remain in Christ, I have inner peace. The moment I step out of him to be on my own, that peace gets disturbed. We are in the ideal state when we have Jesus at our center with us remaining in total submission to him.
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