To Be Rewarded Now or Later?

        Jesus has made it clear that those who live for themselves will have received their reward in this life, but if we live for him, we shall receive our reward in heaven. Therefore, love God and expect that some things are just not meant to happen to you in this life. It is a no-brainer that receiving your reward in heaven is infinitely superior than receiving it on earth.

***At God's Mercy

        On this trip, I walked so much that when I came upon a church, I looked forward to going inside to rest a while. I was so tired that I did not even bother to genuflect or kneel to pray first – I just plopped into a pew. I knew that Jesus would understand, recalling that he didn't even mind that his disciples picked the heads of grain in someone's field and eat them when they were hungry on a sabbath. Anyway, the fact that I wasn't quite inclined to do what I should do after entering the church made me realize that one day I won't be able to do anything, and that's the moment before my death when I shall be completely at God's mercy. Then I see that when we first came into this world, we were completely at his mercy too. The reality is that we are at God's mercy every moment of our life or I wouldn't be breathing and my heart wouldn't be beating now. Yet we live as if we do not need God most of the time. Wouldn't it be nice and wise to be aware that we are always at God's mercy when we are alive on earth?

**God's Love Triumphs

        In January, 2015, I blogged about the tragic terror attack on Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 in Paris. As you know, Charlie Hebdo is the controversial French satirical magazine which mocks politicians, governments, religious figures, or anything it chooses to laugh at. The terror attack was apparently triggered by the mockery made of the Prophet Muhammad. Recently, I saw a Charlie Hebdo poster depicting the Holy Mother holding Infant Jesus with both of his middle fingers up – the overall portrayal of him was sickening and grotesque. I believe that the image aims to show what Jesus thinks of the French president Emmanuel Macron, but it also succeeded in irreverently mocking the Lord. I would even say that the portrayal is sacrilegious! It hurt me deeply and made me angry. Then the infinite love of God made me see that I must pray for the offenders, for they know not what they're doing. (Click here to see this poster image.)

Christ the Fun Spoiler

        I went on a trip, the Lord guarded me, and I got home safely. The Lord deposited thoughts in my heart almost daily. On August 9. I read in a magazine about a group of Europeans who expressed themselves artistically by putting on art exhibits, music performances, fashion shows, etc. They were quite talented, for what they put on were innovative, beautiful, and might even cause a stir within you at first encounter. If I didn't know Christ, I could see myself being drawn to living exclusively for expressing myself too; but I am happy that Christ has spoiled all that fun, for living for him is so refreshing that everything that's considered fun in the world is no longer meaningful in the final analysis. 

Blessings to All!

        I must pause blogging for the next two weeks or so and hope to resume on the 25th of this month. We are so blessed to have such a great God who is a most loving Father. Rejoice in, praise, and thank him daily, and you'll be richly rewarded.

**What to Do With Your Free Will

        Today is the memorial of St. Dominic. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 15, Jesus tested the faith of a Canaanite woman. The fact that the Lord tests our faith shows that we are in full charge of choosing to believe or not to believe in him! You see, we've been given the free will. With that comes the responsibility to make the right choice. Believe in anything you want, but the best thing you can do with the free will is offering it back to God, then everything you do will be done according to his will and you are set free. 

A Realist Is One Who . . .

is aware of the presence of God at all times.       

Egoistic Fool

        Anyone who plans out his or her funeral to make sure that it will be impressive in the eyes of the public is being egoistic and foolish to the extreme. 

To Be Free of the World

        If you were going to die today, would you still care so much about all the things you've planned to do for yourself? I don't think so. But since you are not dying yet, shouldn't you at least care less about doing those things? Don't get yourself anchored to anything in this world, for you want your soul to be free to soar to God when the time comes.

Letting God Perfect Us

        Communion thoughts. God wants us to be perfect, but we know that we are finite and still imperfect. Good, because this is exactly what the Lord wants us to feel so that he can make us perfect. We only need to surrender ourselves to him even more, and receiving the Holy Eucharist certainly makes that possible.

*Preparing for Christ to Appear*

        Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The Communion antiphon (1 John 3.2): When Christ appears, we shall be like him, and we shall see him as he is. No ones knows when Christ will appear again, but what if he appears right now, will you be overjoyed or shocked? How would you feel? How would you react? I believe that there will be a wide range of emotions felt and reactions displayed! Here is the best preparation for that moment. Seek and attain union with God to become like him as much as possible. When he appears, you will be overjoyed, knowing that he'll make you to be just like him!

Returning to God

        The moment we are born into this world, we get the choice to return to our creator or be sent away by him forever after our death. To tip the balance in our favor, listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 6, "Do not store up treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." Loosely speaking, where you put your money makes all the difference. In everything you do, always choose heaven over earth. Set your heart on following the Lord in heaven and be detached from all things on earth, and you are on your way returning to our creator. 

*No Duplicity!

        In John 1, when Jesus saw Nathanael (his disciple-to-be) coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him." I love the description "no duplicity." To have no duplicity is to be honest with both yourself and others. It is having nothing to hide from God. It is to be genuine, no more "acting" – what others see is what you are. This is living most naturally. With no duplicity, you will surely be blessed by God.

***Learning Directly From God

        When God is in union with you, he reveals many things to you, leaving you with no doubt whatsoever. For example, I just know that the Lord exists and that my own existence depends entirely upon him. If you ask me how I can be sure, I can't say that he spoke to me aurally and produce a recording of his voice for you to hear or anything like that – all I can say is that he has simply deposited the knowledge in my heart. If you still have questions, you just have to seek union with God and find out for yourself. Know that I can tell you about God, but only he can reveal himself to you.

***Awesome Advantage***

        Communion experience. I went to Vigil Mass today because I liked the more traditional music. As I was consuming the Lord, these thoughts came from my heart. In Jesus' time, those who were with the Lord or followed him were inspired, awed, and personally transformed by the amazing things they saw he did and/or they heard he said. Today we believe in him by faith, but as Catholics, we do have this great advantage. When I receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, his true flesh and blood, he personally enters my heart and dwells therein. I don't need to see or hear him, since he now speaks directly to me from within my very heart. This is inspiring, awesome, and powerful in transforming the soul on an even more personal level!

**Discerning Satan's Presence*

        Both God and Satan fight for our soul. God allows various temptations to happen to test us. Here's the danger. Something happens to you that gives you great pleasure. You know that continuing pursuing it would be wrong, but you are so amazed it happened to you that your think perhaps God intends it for you. You are right, but his intention is to test you. Now you are at a crucial point. The weak of faith fail and turn their back on God – I've seen that happen in the churches I belong or once belonged to. The strong in faith eventually pull through, with bruises and all, but also a faith now stronger than ever. In general, if you experience great turmoil and unrest within you, Satan is churning you up. God will always wish you to have his peace.

**Killing Sins

        If sins are weeds, going through the sacrament of reconciliation to get them absolved is like removing the weeds with a hoe. In time, they can still grow back. But when you have attained union with God, it would be more like spraying the weeds with Roundup which systemically kills each plant, roots and all. Another reason for seeking union with God.

Perfecting the Spiritual Life

        The spiritual life is defined by how much you are attached to God or detached from the world. You cannot love both God and the world. If you feel the world's tug stronger than God's, you are heading in the wrong direction. The perfect soul is attached to God alone, ready to soar to him. Again, I advocate seeking union with God and you'll find him to be more beautiful and attractive than anyone or anything in the world. Then you'll become attached to him alone with great joy.