If you want people to get excited about a certain product, you want to tell them how wonderful or great that product is, not how it is made, what you should do with it, how to use it, or where and how you can buy it. The same applies when it comes to getting people excited about Christ the Lord. We must exalt him, praise him, telling others how wonderful and awesome he is. Christianity is all about knowing Christ to take possession of him. Outside the Church, you find many inspiring personal testimonies and conversion stories posted online. The Church could definitely use this means to fire up the faithful.
Saturday, June 10, 2017
**God Most Personal
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 12, we learned that Jesus sat down opposite the treasury in the temple area and observed how many rich people put in large sums and a poor widow came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. He called his disciples to him and said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she from her poverty has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." The big, clear lesson: Jesus cares most about how much we love him, less about how much good we have done. Our Lord is a most personal Lord.
Friday, June 9, 2017
Direct Approach to Knowing God
I was watching Fr. Richard Rojas journey home story on EWTN. He was a former Presbyterian pastor and Anglican priest who came home to the Catholic Church. At one point in his journey, someone asked him if God would let him into heaven if he showed up before him and what he would say to God when asked why he should let him in. These are good questions that force you to think. Evangelizers use such techniques to pique your interest. But if you are going to explore on your own anyway, I suggest absolutely the best and most effective way is to go directly to Christ, open yourself up, and tell him what you seek, what you desire, and everything else from your heart. Then you'll get fast answers from him if you remain humble and attentive. Remember that God is accessible and the direct track is always the fast track.
**Two Steps to Heaven
Communion experience. Jesus cleansed my entire soul! It became crystal clear to me that we must first know and believe that God is love and then have Christ remove our sins before we can enter heaven.
*Spiritual Warfare
The spiritual warfare going on between God and Satan is in a way one that involves just God and you, for you are the swing vote – if you join God on his side, you are saved and both you and God win; otherwise, Satan wins. Sadly, many are so deeply mired in sin that they do not not see this truth until some unfortunate event befalls them.
Thursday, June 8, 2017
*Beauty Through Christ
Communion experience. Through Christ, we are transformed into beautiful beings for him to behold. Through Christ we enter his beautiful world to enjoy him forever.
Proofs Jesus Is God
The Resurrection of Jesus is clear proof he is God. Another subtler evidence easily overlooked is that he forgives sins!
*Zeroing in on Christ
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 12, Jesus gave us 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 have to go against logic and common sense to disagree with that. To me, this is saying that we are to focus on the Lord alone with full attention and maximum trust. Therefore, seeking union with him would be the way to go, for to want to be one with him is to show our greatest love for him.
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Great Calming Force
Communion experience. Jesus always advises us not to worry, not to be anxious or afraid. It is true that he is my greatest calming force. After I received him, I felt time stopped and it was just he and I communing with each other. His peace is what the world sorely needs.
Learning to Know God
When I first started following Jesus, doubts still surfaced in my mind from time to time. As I let myself go deeper and deeper into him, I found the Lord to be more beautiful than I could have imagined and everything I knew about him was absolutely true. I knew then it was I who did not open myself up to God fully earlier on, and never his fault, for he's been the same yesterday, today, and forever.
God's Plain Message
Today's Gospel acclamation taken from John 11 and John 14: I am the way and the truth and the life; whoever believes in me will never die. Can you possibly make the meaning any clearer? What do you not understand about it?
Never a Dull Moment With God
Do you want to find out what you are really like? To get an accurate picture, we must see ourselves through the eyes of God, for he knows us more than we know ourselves. When we let him show us what we are like, he also reveals how he can transform us to make us perfect to please him. Self-understanding now leads us to new freedom. This is only the beginning. Anyway, with God life is certainly a lot more exciting, and I love it!
Quick Recipe for Peace
Today's entrance antiphon came from Psalm 25: Turn to me and have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am alone and poor. See my lowliness and suffering and take away all my sins, my God. If everyone in the world feels the same way and begs God like this, we'll have instant worldwide peace.
Banishing False Security
When everything is fine, we tend to think about ourselves and our present life only. But we do get old and things do go wrong, then we start turning to God. If you believe in preventive maintenance so that you'll feel secure no matter what happens, turn to God now, especially if things are going well.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Life-Changing Joy
The joy of the Lord is insuppressable, for it bubbles forth from him who dwells in your heart. Let this joy transform your outlook on life and your life joyfully.
*To Know God's Heart
No question that God can do anything. What matters is what God wills to do for us. Therefore, get to know the Lord so that we may know his heart and listen in.
**On Our Own or With God
If you submit yourself to God, you let him take over and are taken care of by him for all eternity. On the other hand, if you say no to God and decide to strike out on your own, even if you work hard, you'd be extremely lucky to be able to take care of yourself in your brief time on earth. After this life is over, you have no more control. The best comment out of pity I could think of for you is "What a damn 'brave' fool!"
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