When you pray sincerely, you shape yourself too. Saying the Our Prayer from your heart makes you aware of your place before God. When the Holy Spirit leads you to share all the good thoughts with others, you are shaped by him too. As you teach others, the Lord teaches you. Serve God faithfully and he makes you holy.
Sunday, May 19, 2019
**Glorifying God Nonstop
In today's first reading from Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas exhorted their disciples to persevere in the faith, saying, "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." In the Gospel reading from John 13, at the Last Supper after Judas had left, Jesus said to the rest of his disciples, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him." Jesus meant that he was to glorify God by letting himself be killed. Must we undergo hardships or die to glorify God? The fact is that we can glorify God at any time in every way. Celebrating Mass is a happy way of doing it. If I do dishes or take out garbage willingly for the sake of God, I glorify him too. Life provides a big opportunity of glorifying God in every way and we should appreciate that. Yes, keep glorifying God to store up treasures in heaven and we are bound to end up there.
Saturday, May 18, 2019
*In Spiritual Doldrums
The God of Christ has given us clear, simple instructions on how to enter heaven after we leave this world after sacrificing his Son on a cross for us, yet we hem and haw, drag my feet, or pretend that we don't know a thing. It shows how dull-witted we are and how badly we need to be saved!
**God Removing Our Limitations*
If you are not in union with God, what you want to do for God may not be what he wants you to do – this I would call "rushing ahead of the Holy Spirit." When you are in union with God, what's amazing is that he may want you to do what you would not think of doing – this is exciting, for the Lord shows that he can help you break through your self-imposed limitations.
***Knowing the Truth
Today's Gospel acclamation from John 8: If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. What Jesus says here is absolutely true: I know the Lord and he has set me free. That the Lord is the truth does not mean that everything else is false; it simply means that he is the most relevant truth essential for us to know, superseding all other truths. I know him to be this truth because he has revealed it to me in my very heart – there is no other way I can explain it. This is how God communicates with us. When he lets you know something, you just know it without any doubt. Very cool!
Friday, May 17, 2019
Being Good, Not Good Enough
Being a good person is not the same as accepting the truth. If you think you are a pretty good person but do not believe that you need Christ to save you, there is no guarantee that you will get to heaven.
***Most Mistreated One***
Jesus came into the world to give us the good news of God's salvation, and people put him to death. He has risen from the dead, but people today still snub him. God came to us purely because he loves us and wants to save us from eternal death, but we just don't get it. We are most precious to him, yet we are so thickheaded that we don't even care. In today's Gospel reading from John 14, Jesus says to his disciples, "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I will come back and take you to myself so that where I am you also may be." Then, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." I hope we all hear him loud and clear. Most urgently, we need to repent of mistreating the one who cares about us the most and to whom we owe our very existence!
Thursday, May 16, 2019
The Holy Spirit Within You
If you feel the urge from your heart to address Christ "My Lord and my God" as Thomas did after he eyewitnessed the Risen Lord, you can be sure that you've been prompted by the Holy Spirit.
Where to Find Your Solution
God should be the solution to all our problems. When you face a problem, don't just focus upon the problem. Instead, focus upon God for your solution. If God is truly your Lord, you must get him involved in every part of your life.
**Don't Just Talk About Jesus
If you only know about Jesus, you can only talk about him as you are still basically you. So, get to know the Lord so well that you become like him, then you can talk like him too.
**How God Overcomes Us*
Today's entrance antiphon at Mass from David's Psalm 68: O God, when you went forth before your people, marching with them and living among them, the earth trembled, heavens poured down rain, alleluia. Look at our world. The leaders, the politicians, the big company CEOs, the pop stars, the entertainers . . . all try to gain a following by making big promises, coming up with enticing products, putting on dazzling performances or shows, etc., in an effort essentially to sell themselves. Now look at Jesus. He is meek and humble, focusing only upon serving and saving us via pure love. In the end, we are willing to offer him both our heart and our soul. Such is his power. And it is God who has designed us this way to be overcome by him. The psalmist is not exaggerating in what he writes.
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
No God More Credible
In today's Gospel reading from John 12, Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observer them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak." I left out only the last verse. I feel that we must absolutely pay serious attention to whatever Jesus says, for he speaks the truth as God. There is none other like him. He is our most credibly incredible God.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Saints Praying with Me
I had the chance to visit St. Antony's Chapel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, yesterday. It is the biggest reliquary outside of Vatican, containing over 5000 relics. Here's the website. I prayed to all the saints there to intercede for my intentions. As I prayed after Mass at my own church back home this morning, I felt that I was completely moved the Holy Spirit, for my thoughts did not wander in the least. And I did feel that those thousands of saints I prayed to were all praying with and for me. Indescribable peaceful feeling.
*Nothing More to Say
Communion experience. God has chosen me, called me. I now belong to him totally and am being taken care of by him for all eternity. What can I say but feeling gratitude and joy?
**Most Essential Joy
It would be most horrible to think that God does not love you nor want to save you. The God of Christ is our Savior, period. He wants to save our soul and desires us to live with him in paradise after we die. He cannot promise our happiness in this world, but he can promise joy in him – this is a big distinction. Happiness in the world does not guarantee eternal happiness, but joy in the Lord does. Have vision and patience and you will be rewarded with nothing short of God himself for all eternity.
Spreading the Gospel As Jesus Did
Christ has given us solid promises authoritatively. It is only a person with weak faith who would hope what Christ has promised will come true. Like the Lord, we can also spread authoritatively the messages he had already proclaimed with authority. The Holy Spirit is an emboldening spirit.
A Disciple's Perks
I resumed going to morning Mass today, which is the Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle. The Gospel reading was taken from John 15. Jesus first said to his disciples, "Remain in my love." I thought of resting in his love, letting it envelop and saturate my whole being so that his love would not only protect me from evil but also guide and motivate me in everything I do – it was certainly a beautiful image. Then later Jesus said, "It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last." Again, I was impressed by the fact that Christ had chosen me! Of course, he definitely had noticed me and given me my mission. Here's another cause for rejoicing.
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