I attended the 4:00 p.m. Christmas Mass yesterday. I never saw my church this packed. The adjacent ministry center had to be used to offer a second Mass for those who could not fit into the main church. The spacious parking lots were full of parked cars overflowing onto unpaved areas and the roads. And there was another Vigil Mass scheduled for 7 p.m. later too. Would that all regular Sunday Masses get flooded like this! I felt sad for those Catholics who only show up at Christmas and Easter times. I was at the ministry center and the crowd there was relatively quiet, not in any celebratory mood. All this somewhat dampened my Christmas spirits. Back to praying hard.
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Monday, December 24, 2018
*Christmas Advice
You may cast many things out of your life or treat something lightly in your life, but there is one you must never shut the door on and must, in fact, take most seriously – that is the God of Christ. He has come, is here with us, and will come again. A most blessed Christmas to you all!
*Our Best Plan
To be in union with God is to be solidly embedded in God. It's like having an indestructible temple built within your heart for the Lord to dwell in. There is no better plan to secure your future for all eternity.
Jesus My Greatest Joy
Photography, music, and mathematics have been my favorite subjects. I enjoy talking about them, but you do not often meet people who share the same interest. Now, my greatest joy is to talk about Jesus, for he has given me the greatest joy in my life, but meeting people who are excited about him is even rarer.
Ceaseless Praying
Even if we don't see all our prayers answered in this life, we can continue to pray in heaven. Never lose hope.
Saturday, December 22, 2018
**Thoughts and Intention
Being human, our thoughts dart around involuntarily, even in our dream. But as long as our intention remains pure, we commit no sin. Therefore, be rooted in the Lord, be one with him, so that no evil, impure, or inappropriate thought will ever cross your mind, then you'll be OK with the Lord, for he is most understanding.
Another Folly
Time belongs absolutely to God too. Our time on earth is simply borrowed time from God. We sense only the present instant, but for the eternal God, time stands still with the past, the present, and the future all rolled into one. Therefore, it would be utter folly to think that we can escape from God for a single moment.
Another Critical Realization
Everything comes from the Lord God our creator. When we create something, we simply make something out of what has already been created. And we do not own anything either. It is important to realize that everything belongs to God, including ourselves. So it is outrageous and even outlandish to think that we do not need God anymore. In today's 1st reading from 1 Samuel 1, Hannah, the mother of Samson, dedicated her son to the Lord. It would be entirely proper for us to consecrate ourselves, our families, and all that we have to God, acknowledging that he is the creator to whom we belong. Then order will be restored in the universe.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
*Christ Our Ultimate Rest
Communion experience. Most of us labor, and in receiving Christ, we experience true rest. In Matthew 11.28, Jesus promises: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."
***Our Greatest Deficiency
Probably John 3.16 is the best known verse of the New Testament: "God so loved the world that he gave his own Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life." God is infinitely deep and profound, yet he reveals his love for us in such a simple straight way. Are we so dense that we don't even get it? I think it's more that we do not really want to get it.
**God Our Peace
Let God initiate all your thoughts, words, and actions, and you'll experience great peace. As long as we still rebel against the Lord, there will be no peace within our hearts. This is how he has made us! It only shows how much he loves us and wants us to return to him to enjoy his holy presence for ever.
**Formula for Peace
To let God be our Lord and King, all we need to to do is to not stand in his way. Let God have his way and we would have instant peace on earth and in our hearts.
*Don't Pass the Buck for Your Sins
If you sin, don't blame anyone else and take full responsibility for it. For every sinner will have to answer to God on his or her own.
*How to Become Loving
Care only about loving the Lord and you'll become the most loving person in the world.
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
***Critical Realization
It is critical that we realize God and Evil are engaged in a spiritual warfare fighting for our very soul. Without this awareness, we are likely to make many wrong life decisions at the risk of losing our soul. We simply cannot remain as bystanders. This is another wakeup call for all.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Patience Needed to Listen to God
I have said we Christians do too much talking and not enough listening to God. So I also see that we tend to start a lot of things before we get any clear signal from God. Our intention may be good, but we can get ahead of the Holy Spirit and end up wasting much of our valuable time. Unless we face some urgent issue, the Lord does not rush us; he will let us know what to do at the right time. To be patient and to trust in him are what we need to learn.
***Best Way to Know God
I watched Ben Shapiro interviewing Bishop Robert Barron on his show and realized that many intellectuals came to know God through studying philosophy, theology, and writings of saints who happened to be great intellectuals. I know each of us Gods leads to him via an individual path. In my own case, the spiritual growth of the past decade or so began after I opened myself up to God, asking no questions, but trusting. And he responded by speaking to me directly from my heart, revealing himself to me in the most intimate way. I really think I have discovered the best way to know God – the childlike approach.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)