On Judging Others

        God does not judge us until we have lived our life fully; that is, the door to our salvation is always open as long as we are alive on earth. If we are highly critical of anyone still living without mercy, we sin against God who has commanded us not to judge others. [Note. Judging involves forming an opinion, but forming an opinion may not be judging. It becomes judging only when we form our opinion without love or pity.]

**No Self-Concern In God

        Communion experience. When you are in God, you are invisible to Satan, for the Lord completely envelops you with humility. When you are in him, you also have no concern about his judgment, for you are one with him.

Exploring God

        God is infinite love. It is the infiniteness and boundlessness of God in every way that makes him exciting to explore, if you are at all adventurous.

Turning Around With Jesus

         Is life worth living? If your answer is no, you do not know Christ yet. Once you know him well, the answer would be a resounding yes. Just as the Resurrection of Christ brought new hope to his followers and new life to the church, knowing Christ rejuvenates his believers and makes their life meaningful and worth living.

*Getting to Know God Important

        Most people believe that God exists, but they do not know who he is. Christians believe that Jesus is God, but they may not know him well. To be sure, it's how well you know the Lord that matters. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus likened the Kingdom of heaven to a treasure buried in a field or a pearl of great price. Once you find it, you would want to sell all that you have and buy that field or pearl. If you truly believe in Christ, you would want to go all out to get to know him. There will always be things you don't get to do or complete in life, but do be sure that you get to know Christ as intimately as possible before you die. 

**Going All Out for God

        Once you find the most precious treasure, you want to have it all. Therefore, once you find God, you want to go all out for him, leading you to seek union with him. This is what makes living for God most exciting!

Letting God In!

        Today's Communion antiphon, John 15.16: It was not you who chose me but I who chose you and appointed you to gather fruit, fruit that will last. When Jesus chooses us, he call us. If we are to hear him, we must remain open to him. How can you let the sunshine and fresh air in if you do not draw the curtains and open the window? Putting it bluntly, to shut the Lord out is to commit spiritual suicide.

*Serious Choices Awaiting

        From Jesus' explanation of the parable of the weeds to his disciples in today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, it was clear that hell exists and would not be empty. That was somewhat chilling, but it's a good wakeup call for all. Good seed and weeds, children of the Kingdom and children of the Evil One, evildoers and the righteous, being thrown into the fiery furnace or shining like the sun in the Kingdom of the Father . . . these were all mentioned, helping us to make the right choices while we still have time. 

God Always Good to Us

        Even good friends can be unkind sometimes, for they are not perfect. But God is alway good to us – he watches over us, listens to us, wants to speak to our hearts, forgive our sins, inspire, uplift and refresh us, and last but not least, to make us happy forever in heaven. What could possibly be your reason for not embracing and loving him? 

Measured by God

        It became clear to me that whether we know God or not, every thought, word, and deed of ours will be judged by whether it is in conformity with his will or not, no exceptions. Our time on earth must not to be wasted on ignoring or going against God. 

**Compelling Beauty

        Communion experience. Today is the Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The Lord revealed his great beauty to me and made me see that I should not ever offend him even by one iota. Then, with relief and gratitude, I saw right away that he alone could make me holy and perfect. 

Why I Hate Sin

        Of course, sin offends God. More personally, sin robs me of inner peace.        

Only One Worth Holding Onto

        My oldest granddaughter is about to go far away to attend a college in a few weeks. My feelings are mixed: I am happy that she is about ready to live by herself, but will miss her presence around here. When a baby bird is ready to fly away from the nest, its parents just have let it go and perhaps never see it again. In life, we do not want to hold onto anything, for everything passes. But I feel greatly blessed that I can hold onto God who is always there as a loving Father with me and upon whom I can depend for all eternity. This absolutely makes all the difference! 

Transforming Our Life

        Think about life: there are just so many things to take care of, problems to solve, and challenges to meet. Not only we need to earn our own livelihood, we may also have a family to support, and "enemies" to deal with. Then there's the burden of sin, which, unfortunately, gets too easily ignored. Once we realize the serious consequences of sin, we turn to God. Now we need to get our sins forgiven, to remain pure, and to love others actively. It seems that the only way for us to come out on top in all these things would be to abandon ourselves totally to God so that he can help us make all things easy. Now, life is no longer a burden, but a stepping stone to great freedom. 

Why Sin Hurts

        Sin makes me miserable because I hurt God and lose my intimacy with him.

Realization Before Seeking God

        The earth is not our permanent home, not where we can find true happiness. Even if we can stay healthy and never die, I don't think you would want to dwell on earth forever, for it's a tumultuous and sinful place. Only if we can acknowledge this are we ready to turn to God to seek true peace in him.  

Abandonment in God Is . . .

total relaxation of the spirit in God.

*In Sync With God

        Today is the memorial of St. Martha. In the Gospel reading from John 11, Jesus told Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die." She said to him, "Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world." Jesus made a definitive statement and Martha gave the perfect response. Something truly beautiful happens when we and God become of one mind and one heart. If that happens to every single one of us on earth, I wouldn't be surprised that Christ would come right away to take us all into heaven.