Heavenly Bond

        Communion experience. It's bonding with Jesus in heaven! 

***Perfect Union Now

        Christ loves us so much that he wants to possess all of us. Our perfect reaction should be to want to possess all of him. In practice, we would just let him possess all of us and he becomes ours in the process. Now we have perfect union this side of heaven!

Key Step to Salvation

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus cleansed ten lepers and only one of the ten returned, fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. Jesus told him that his faith had saved him. In many other cases of healing, Jesus had said the same thing. It strikes me that to have faith in the Lord is the most important step we can take. There are many others things we need to do afterwards, but to have faith in him is the key step to take to be saved.

Thankful for Most Patient Father

        On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful that I'll get to eat turkey, ham, yams, etc., but I am most thankful that we have a Heavenly Father who is infinitely patient with us. We parents know exactly how we feel when our children do not love us anymore, rebel against us, or leave us, wanting to have nothing to do with us. When we cannot handle it anymore, we just cut off our relationships with them. Now, our Father loves us more than any of us could possibly love our children, and billions of us ignore him, but he still patiently waits, never wanting to punish us and hoping that we'll turn to him like the prodigal son one day. This is the loving, patient Father I am thankful for.

*God Our Ultimate Quest

        These thoughts came to me this morning as I was having some breakfast. It would be enjoyable to sip coffee or tea and listen to some nice music in the background. Certainly, there are numerous other nice things to enjoy in life. This in fact is exactly what everyone in the world is seeking in order to live a happier life. The shocking realization is that all these things are passing, ourselves included, and we absolutely cannot build anything solid upon any of them. The only rock we can build and depend upon is the eternal Lord God. It is only in him that we'll find happiness, satisfaction, and enjoyment that never end. Again, he has made us this way. Discover the Lord and you discover yourself as well.

*Why Christianity Is the Truth

        Looking at the other major religions other than Christianity, I see the following. At one extreme we have a religion that's easygoing – it does not pressure you in any way, which means you can join or leave freely at any time. And at the other extreme, we have one that forces you to join and would not tolerate anyone who disagrees with its teachings. As for Christianity (which I won't call another religion, for it is the truth to me) it respects our free will and never forces it teachings on us. It simply proclaims the truth and spells out the commitment you need to make for the sake of your salvation. The decision is entirely up to you. When you voluntarily decide to follow Christ, your faith truly becomes a meaningful thing. I see the perfect balance and fairness to us here. That is why I see Christianity to be the truth.

**God's Higher Thoughts and Ways

        Why don't people believe in Jesus readily? I find the answer in Isaiah 55. It's because God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are his ways ours; and as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are his ways higher than our ways and his thoughts higher than our thoughts. This is the natural gap between the creator and his creatures. So the fact that people have difficulty accepting Jesus only bolsters the reality that he is God.  

*Another Reason Not to Sin

        When Catholics go to confession, depending upon the nature of the sin, they can feel embarrassed confessing it before the priest. This is good, for the next time they are tempted to commit a sin they know would make them feel embarrassed in confession, they can stop right there and then from committing that sin.

*God Our Sole Judge

        Communion experience. I loved it when the Lord let me see all my faults. It's good to see what he sees, to know his thoughts, and to learn his ways. One particular insight worth mentioning is that he made me see that he alone is the judge all things. Therefore, we need to be 100% humble and can remain in peace, knowing that God will set everyone and everything in its right place at judgment time.

***Pure God

        Looking at the various non-Christian religions, I notice the following: (1) People conjure up various gods, (2) a human being started a religion with all teachings originating from him, or (3) a human being claimed that he knew God so that we must follow him. In all cases, God remains unknown to us or his image has been tainted by a human being. All you need to do is to look at how God was presented to us: predictable, with God thinking and acting like many of us. Now, how refreshing it is to look at Christ. He revealed God to be love. To demonstrate that, he came into the world and died, carrying all our sins so that we might be saved. And he is mighty while being meek and humble. No one could have expected God to be like that! So here is God, revealing purely himself as only he can. This has to be the true God, the one to be trusted!

**Do You Know?

        You can avoid Christ by trying not to even think about him, but do you know that you can also let him embrace you, set you free, give you inner peace, fill you with joy now and forever? And, by the way, there is no limit as to how deep you can enter his space and enjoy his love. It's all up to you.

***Most Excellent Way to Be With God

        To be Christ-centered is to be with him and to include him in everything we do, that is, we become inseparable from him. This is the way to live the Christian life. We can figure out how to get close to him, how to love him, how to serve him better or how to grow spiritually on our own, but this is not the smart way to go. The smart way is go straight to him, open yourself up to him, and give yourself over to him entirely, then he will teach you and do the work for you. I don't mean that you don't do a thing anymore; the main thing you do now is to go all out to be with him and to know him. And with you, he'll help you do all other things.  

Faith and Trust, Our Business

        In Mark 11.24, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." Therefore, we should pray hard, never doubting the outcome. Similarly, when we show our love for our neighbor, we are not concerned about how that person might react. Putting it "coldly," our job is to trust in the Lord single-mindedly and not care about anything else.

Surprise vs. Shock

        For those who love the Lord, things will turn out better than they could ever have expected in the end. On the other hand, for those who hate the Lord, things will turn out worse than they could ever have expected in the end. It's most enjoyable surprise or horrific shock.

*Only Love Matters

         Matthew 16.25: Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it, says the Lord. It is clear that anyone who lives a completely self-centered life will not be able to save his eternal life. It all comes down to how much you love.

*God's Loving Gaze

        Let the Lord gaze upon your heart to melt it, then you'll be a changed person forever. Such is the power of his sweet love.

Death No Longer a Concern

        Communion thoughts. Once we have become one with the Lord through receiving the Holy Eucharist, our old self ceases to exist, for we now have and live a new life in Christ. And we are no longer concerned about our future physical death. 

Grateful for Seeing Faults

        Today I feel grateful (and happy) that the Lord has made me see my own faults clearly – positive sign that I can become a better person.