From time to time, I have to give up doing certain things I enjoy doing because of old age or other reasons; but the Lord compensates me by letting me feel even more joy in him. Seeing how the world is becoming so godless in so many ways often places a heavy burden on my heart. Again, I find relief and consolation in Christ the Lord. We can decide to fight all the problems on our own our whole life, and then die. What do we accomplish then? It becomes crystal clear to me that the best and right way for us to live is trust fully in God, obey him in all things, and grow holier each day. (Obviously, God has no use for anyone unholy.) As one of the lines of Mother Teresa's poem "Do It Anyway" reads: For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Do You See Clearly?
If you see that you owe your whole existence to God and that he loves you, then you should also see that it's time for you to submit yourself totally to him.
**God's Preferences
God desires mercy, not sacrifice (Hosea 6.6, Matthew 9.13 & 12.7). He also prefers to see the interior of our hearts rather than the exterior of any ceremony we conduct.
**To Be Fair to Christ
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus tells the parable of the great feast. In the story, a man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. But one by one, those invited all began to excuse themselves. We see the same phenomenon today. Christ is patiently waiting, hoping that anyone would even glance in his direction, yet people do not pay the slightest attention to him. I truly feel sorry for the Lord, although I know that he would want me to feel more sorry for them. My message is this: To be fair to the Lord, if you ignore him, you should at the least examine yourself to know what your true reason is.
*Imitate Christ and Be Exalted
Paul wrote in today's first reading, Philippians 2.5-11 – Brothers and sisters: Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and, found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We too should empty ourselves so that we may obey and serve the Lord humbly with all our heart. Then God will also exalt us. It is absolutely appropriate for us to want the Lord to exalt us, for this is his wish. And it is also appropriate for us to desire to go to heaven, for nothing pleases the Lord more than our wanting to be with him forever.
Monday, November 5, 2018
*How God Understands Us
God knows us so well that he has devised the sacraments of Penance and Eucharist ingeniously. In confession, when you hear the priest absolve your sins, you know that they are being absolved. In receiving the Holy Eucharist, the physical contact just makes you realize that the Lord is inviting you to spiritual union with him.
**Why No Inner Peace
Here's the very reason. We lose peace because things do not always turn out the way we want them to turn out. We are in effect spoiled, rebellious children of God, not letting him be our Lord. It come down to the lack of humility. Don't expect to enter God's kingdom when you are still full of pride.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
*Freedom in Christ
Communion experience. I felt free that I could abandon myself to Christ in him as much as I wished. This itself is freedom.
**To Love God Perfectly
Today's readings at Mass were all about loving the Lord, the first of all the commandments. It is true that we shall all be measured by how much we love him. If we do not surrender ourselves totally to God, we shall always fall short of loving him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, an with all our strength. It stands to reason that if we can give ourselves up to God, then we can give everything else up to God too, and we thus become free.
***We Can Be Limitless!
I want to be able to play the piano well; but physically, I lack the necessary facility. Now with memory getting weaker and finger joints less flexible, the goal becomes even more difficult to reach. I used to play basketball and table tennis quite well, but there were always others who played better. I was pretty good in mathematics too, again I sensed that some others just thought and caught on faster. What I want to say is that we all have our physical or intellectual limitations. We are finite, period. But there is one thing that can be infinite with us, that is on opening ourselves up to God. When we do open ourselves up, the infinite God enters to do what he pleases, and there will be no limit to how holy he can make us! This is truly exciting when we see that we can grow spiritually as much as we desire.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
***To Be Living Happily Ever After
Today's Gospel reading came from Luke 14. Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. Noticing how the invited guests were choosing the places of honor at the table, he told them a parable. The moral of the story is that "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Therefore, let's humble ourselves until we forget that we even exist, then the Lord will exalt us to his level, that is, he'll truly be with us and in us. This is living happily ever after! To give God the Father joy is to be joy-filled ourselves.
Friday, November 2, 2018
*Home Sweet Home to God
Communion experience. We all know that home sweet home feeling, especially after you've been away for some time. Once you know the Lord intimately, you'll know that your true home is where he is and that you'll have the greatest home sweet home feeling when you return to him. This time you'll get a most warm and joyful welcome too, from the Lord himself. After I received Jesus this morning, I was filled with sweet joy and felt that I was almost home.
*Christ's Assurance
Today is All Souls Day. In the Gospel reading from John 6, Jesus said, "This is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day." For those who follow Christ faithfully, it's good is to know that their salvation and resurrection are assured, as the Lord can only speak the truth.
Fear of God
The fear of God can be good or bad. It is bad if you know that you have sinned and you try to hide from God, while your sins remain. It is good if you know that you have sinned, but are aware that God knows all your sins and decide to confess them to get them removed by him. Turn your bad fear into good fear and you'll be filled with joy.
Thursday, November 1, 2018
God Giving Himself Up for Me
Communion experience. When the bread and wine were transformed into the body and blood of The Lord during consecration, he was giving himself up for me once again. And I praise and thank him for that.
***God's Amazing Power
If you find something unique in the world that you can greatly treasure, you'll want to keep it for yourself entirely for your own enjoyment. Christ is the only object that is different. After you find him to be your greatest treasure and satisfaction of your life, you'll want to share him with everyone else, for the joy is that great! It just shows that he has the profound power to free you and transform you into a selfless being – this is how amazing our God is! Pity the one who does not know him to have such life-changing power.
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