In today's Gospel reading from Acts 16, the Lord delivered Paul and Silas from prison. It happened like this. The two had their feet secured to a stake in an innermost cell. About midnight, there was suddenly a severe earthquake; all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose. It was a dramatic occurrence. I was lead to ask if we are free. Physically we may be, but are we also mentally and most importantly, spiritually free? If not, the Lord can surely deliver us from the world that holds us as prisoners.
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Monday, May 27, 2019
**A Story of Love*
Watch this 14-minute long video and you can't help feeling sorry for those who choose to abort their own babies.
*What Ultimately Matters
Today is Memorial Day, a national holiday, and we sang America the Beautiful to conclude the Mass. I felt proud of being patriotic, but I also realized instantly that what ultimately matters the most to us individually or as a nation is our trust in God. It is this faith that can make or break each one of us or the whole nation.
**Testifying for God
We must testify, proclaiming the glory of God. It is the Spirit of God who sets our heart afire to want the whole world to know that God is love and that he wishes to save us. As Jesus said to the Pharisees, "If his disciples keep silent, the stones will cry out!" (Luke 19.40), and we are certainly more sensitive than stones. We must never stifle the Holy Spirit, but respond to his every prompting.
*No Love, No Peace
World peace must start with inner peace within each one of us. And we shall not have inner peace until we have surrendered ourselves to the God of Christ, the God who is love. It is love that begets peace.
Sunday, May 26, 2019
What Christians Must Be Aware of
If loving God is our top priority, its flip side, fighting evil, becomes equally important. They are not the same, but they are the same in the sense that you cannot love God if you don't fight evil and vice versa. A Christian must be acutely aware that he is engaged in fighting an enraged war against evil if he loves God. There is no time to waste in fighting for all the souls.
**Perfect Match
Becoming one with God absolutely makes our life beautiful, for God has made us for himself. When one sinner repents, the whole heaven rejoices. When we follow God, his joy is complete (John 15.11) and our life fulfilled.
***Knowing God the Expedient Way*
When we join a pilgrimage, attend a conferences, go on a retreat, or participate in any other spiritual activity, our goal is to know Christ. Of course, these experiences can all be helpful, but I have never heard anyone say that the best way to know the Lord is to go directly to him, for he is instantly accessible to all of us. You can talk to him all you want and he knows all your problems and desires. In no time, you can develop a most intimate relationship. It seems almost common sense, yet people attempt to know him through others who are doing exactly what they are doing. Thus, any progress made is slow. It must be that it's not easy to abandon oneself to God. If you can let yourself go, you can let everything else go too. Then you are free.
What Christians Lack
The willingness to let Christ change them. Could the reason be what Jesus said in Matthew 26.41: "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak"?
***Our Most Beloved Teacher
In today's Gospel reading from John 14, Jesus said to his disciples, "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything." I can testify to you that the Holy Spirit will indeed teach us God's ways, his wisdom, and how to live and keep his word. You do hear firsthand from the Lord when you are in union with him.
***Right Approach to God
At Sunday Mass this morning, I saw clearly the right, logical approach to God – open your heart completely to God and surrender yourself unconditionally to him. This leads you straight to union with God, with you enjoying freedom and peace, and joy as icing on the cake.
To Be Rewarded Now or Later
If you seek your reward only from the world, you will have them. Then there will be no more reward for you after you leave this world. If you do not care about receiving any reward now but concentrate upon storing up treasures in heaven, you'll be rewarded amply later in your next life.
*Cause of Christian Joy
True Christians are joyful because they are in love with Christ the Lord, not even thinking about going to heaven.
"Chain of Command"
Just watch someone (maybe yourself). The person is physically active at all times . . . getting up, sitting down, eating, talking to someone, sending an email, cooking a meal, driving to work, and so on. All these physical activities are motivated at the mental level by the brain. That is, you do what you think of doing. To do the right things, you need to have the right thoughts. And you are sure to have right thoughts when you have a heart that's been purified by God. Therefore, know the Lord well and you'll be blameless in whatever you do.
Saturday, May 25, 2019
**We Are No God
Everything God does for our salvation will be known forever in heaven. What God does in saving each of us will be remembered by us forever too. What we do to glorify God will be known to him always, but what we do to serve ourselves will all be dismissed after our judgment. God forbid that we should ever think and act as if we are God.
Friday, May 24, 2019
*Only One Who Matters
What's great with the God of Christ is that in him, we can forget everything else and start anew. So there is always hope for us. Knowing that we are going to him, there is no point in looking back ever. When you have the good Lord, nothing else matters.
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