The current movie Crazy Rich Asians is a box office hit. It's a romantic comedy rated PG-13, but reviews do mention sexual and drinking scenes in it. No doubt, it's a film made to appeal to the world to make a lot of money. Seriously, if you do say the Lord's Prayer and ask him not to lead you into temptation, then avoid seeing it. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 24, Jesus said to his disciples, "Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come." How would you feel if he comes and find you watching a worldly, impure movie in a theater?
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Union Begets Peace
There will be no peace in any house if there is no unity among the residents of the house. To dwell in the house of the Lord, we must surrender ourselves to be in union with him, thus remaining obedient and pure. And we'll have peace in our lives.
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
***Key to Spiritual Success
We are told to love God and be holy over and again, and find the going hard. The secret of achieving the goal is again to yield to God, allowing him to love us and make us holy. It's being passive to God, with us out of the way. You can't get away from the truth that surrendering to God is the key to any spiritual success.
**Following God the Smart Way
To follow God on your own is hard because you are involved in fighting yourself all the time. The smart way is to open yourself up to God to let him draw you to him.
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
**Perfect Relationship With God
You are completely comfortable with God, in a state of complete ease with him, in total harmony with him. You and God are inseparably one.
***Essence of Union With God
In the Our Father, when you pray "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," you really will to let God do whatever he wants with you. If you truly mean it, you'll experience inner peace and freedom. For you are no longer concerned about this life, the coming judgment, and eternity. As a matter of fact, you don't care about anything anymore – you simply let God do what he wants with you, which is letting him love you freely, which is being in union with him.
**Yes or No to Union With God
How do you respond to God's call to union with him? That would involve total commitment on your part, which many are not ready to make yet. So promoting union with God can create a disconnect with others. This blog in 8 years has garnered not quite 140,000 pageviews. Many viewers are simply one-time viewers, but judging from the stats, I can see that I have loyal readers in various countries. Recently, besides the United States, the audience have mostly come from Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Germany, France, and Portugal. Interestingly, Catholic countries such as Ireland, Spain, and the Philippines do not show up much. By the way, this blog, being associated with Google, is officially blocked in China, but I do notice a single individual reading it consistently.
Union with the Lord is his call to completely embrace his love for you. It is the call for you to reach the highest level of your existence. To turn a deaf ear to this call is to stifle the Holy Spirit, showing the lack of a strong faith. Nothing is impossible with God! This I know, for all of you who are seeking to attain union with God, he will bless you unceasingly. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich (Matthew 13. 12).
Monday, August 27, 2018
**Root Cause of Restlessness
Today is the Memorial of Saint Monica. Communion thoughts. We humans are restless when we do not know what life is all about and what's going to happen to us after we die. After receiving the body of Christ in Holy Communion, I experienced deep inner peace because I had reconciled to God my Father and knew that I'd be returning to him soon. Both my destiny and destination are set. All the trials and tribulations I experience on earth are passing, but the bliss in heaven shall never end. Inner peace stems precisely from knowing all this for certain. Without this knowledge, the outcome is restlessness.
Sunday, August 26, 2018
On Saying Prayers
There is a difference between begging God for favors and offering to do something for God. We hear too many prayers said asking the Lord for this or that, which is fine and proper; but they should be balanced by prayers offering ourselves up to God in some way, as giving is always considered better than begging. Granted, the latter type is better said in private. Nevertheless, whatever prayer we say, the goal must be clearly to glorify God.
**Sign You Are Not Ready for God
God already knows everything about you – are you happy about that? There is a difference between knowing that he knows everything about you and and being happy that he knows everything about you. If you are not happy about it, you are not ready for him yet.
*God's Joy
Communion experience. Today I experienced the joy of total submission to Christ. Like all other joys that come from the Lord, it was so overwhelming and sweet as to make me want to cry. That was truly weeping for joy.
Time for Surrendering to God
When you can proclaim "My Lord and my God" to Christ truly from your heart as Thomas did, you are ready for surrendering yourself to him.
**Power of Truth
Jesus is demanding in the sense that he sets the highest standards for us, yet amazingly he makes us fall deeply in love with him. Such is the power of love and truth!
You Reap What You Sow
Make God #1 in your life and you'll be richly rewarded. This not only makes sense and is logical, it is also true as I can amply testify.
**The Discipline of Love*
To love someone or God is to please the one you love. Therefore, you must will to do what pleases that person or God, not letting your personal feelings get in the way.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Power Experience
Communion experience. The Lord transformed the bread and wine into his body and blood, and we were transformed through healing of the soul by receiving him into union with us.
Ultimate Trust
Yesterday was the Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle. Communion thoughts. To give our soul to God goes beyond giving our heart to God. For while we use the heart to communicate with the Lord, the soul is the very essence of our existence. To entrust our soul to God's care is to trust in him ultimately.
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