***Transform Your Spiritual Life***

       In today's second reading from Hebrews 12, Paul urges all to rid themselves of every burden and sin that clung to them and persevere in running the race that lay before them. We are always being encouraged to love the Lord more, become holier, accept suffering, etc., and never give up. This is hard work if you try to do it on your own and you can easily get discouraged. But you may still make heaven, for God sees your good intentions. Now that you are going to heaven, why not make your journey on earth also joyful and enjoyable? This is my principal message, the message the Lord God wants me to spread for the world to know. I am reiterating it timely again here.  

        Struggling to love God on your own will alway be a struggle, as we are all finite beings. The secret of success is to let God do it for you! You can choose to climb the mountain all by yourself or ask God to lift you straight up to him. As always, I advise that you submit yourself to the Lord completely to let him take you where you want to go and accomplish whatever you want to accomplish for his glory. Then he will remove all your struggles and turn all your sufferings into joy. Why live a tedious, laborious spiritual life, whereas you can soar to him effortlessly in joy and with excitement? Why?

**Connecting with the Flock

        I wish that the Church hierarchy will always use plain language in teaching her flock. This calls for a degree of humility. A PhD talking at his level will surely not connect with a group of elementary school students. Many official messages and letters are written for the learned, the well educated, not always easy for the laity to comprehend. Jesus always spoke plainly and direct to his people. Personally, I enjoy reading Pope Benedict very much. I've found his writings beautiful and profound, but still within my grasp.

***Call to Arms*

        At an evil time like ours today, we need to heed Paul's advice given in Ephesians 6 all the more: put on the armor of God to hold your ground; stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace; in all circumstances, hold faith as a shield to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. This sounds like warfare to me. But today, the leadership within the Church is relatively weak or timid, and the messages preached in many churches rather mild or unfocused. Missing are the fire, the zeal, the spirit, for there is no going after the Lord! The soul needs to be pierced, prodded, stirred up, fed, nurtured, and the focus must always be intensely on Christ, our Lord and Savior. 

*The Perfection of Man

        God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are his ways our ways (Isaiah 55.8). Without God's guidance, we would be wandering farther and farther away from him. Therefore, seek to attain union with him to become like him. 

**Our Primary Aim

        Our soul is what Jesus cares about the most. The gospel he spread aimed solely at saving us. And that should be our primary aim too, to bring all to Christ so that they might be saved.

**Only Proper Response to God

        Communion experience. The Lord entered into my house, how could I possibly sustain his almighty presence in me? Then I realized that he was the one who had sustained me all along. How else could my heart have kept on beating and my lungs kept on breathing? In fact, my very existence depends upon his will. The only logical, proper response to him I can think of is to rest in him, putting myself completely in his hands and at his mercy.   

*The Day We'll Have No Say

        Should Jesus come today as he did last time, our world would be even more divided. Many will spread fake news about him and physically attack him right away, I am quite sure. But, of course, the next time he comes, he'll come as our judge and we'll be completely at his mercy.  

*Going Against God's Intentions

        Today's Gospel reading came from Matthew 19. Some Pharisees tested Jesus, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate." They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?" He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." Today man rebels against God in so many ways. Even within the Church, I wonder how some get their marriage annulled so much quicker than others. I know of one local Catholic celebrity who has divorced and married a number of times and he is still regarded as a celebrity.

All Is Relative (Only God Absolute)

        When some trauma came up like my having to rush my wife to ER unexpectedly, which I posted about yesterday, you simply put all your plans on hold and alter your daily routine for the time being. Things that mattered to you no longer matter much. I thought of the day we'll all face God and be judged. That will be the time we just have to drop everything we'd planned, owned, or saved. Nothing else matters anymore. If you are wise, you would start getting yourself detached from everything other than God right now.

*Truth About God Revealed

        I prayed the Holy Rosary this morning. As usual, I started with the Apostles' Creed. While saying it, I heard myself and felt as though the Lord was revealing everything about him I need to know, and I felt great joy. You can hear the creed recited in English on this short video:

**Facing Problems in Life

        I thought my wife was on her way to full recovery after the kidney stone surgery, but suddenly she developed a fever with violent chills and had to be rushed to emergency. It appears to have been caused by an infection of the kidney. She's still having her urine tested and I'll know more about the exact treatment to be administered to her tomorrow. How do you handle things like that? I believe that whatever we do, we should do it for the sake of God. This way, however things turn out, we'll know it's his will. Of course, we are free to intercede, possibly affecting the outcome. But ultimately, we must accept the will of God. I don't know of a more appropriate way. Your prayers for her would be appreciated.

To Win with God

        Anyone who is in union with God knows that the Lord always works things out. Therefore, he does not get anxious nor ever reach the point of not knowing what to do. Getting ahead of God is playing the losing game. To win, you always follow God's lead.

*Guadalupe Confirms Revelation

        Today is Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Reading 1 came from Revelation 11. We heard read: "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth." Immediately, the 1531 image of Our Lady of Guadalupe came to my mind. It shows the Blessed Mother having sun rays emanating behind her, the moon under her feet, and a black girdle around her waist signifying that she was with child. There are other signs in the image not that obvious, but what I could see confirms what St. John wrote in Revelation – pretty amazing.

**Falling in Love with God

        Falling in love with God is different from falling in love with any other human being. All love starts with a sense of attraction, usually physical, emotional, intellectual, or spiritual. With God, the attraction is spiritual, then you discover that he, being your creator, can actually transform your heart and heal your soul to make you experience freedom, peace, and joy. Now you can't help but fall in love with him who is actually your most beloved Father. 

*Need for Praying Together

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." It shows the importance of praying together. Most churches hold Bible study sessions, but lack a prayer group. Praying together will certainly draw you closer to God more effectively. By the way, Catholics should learn to pray spontaneously and not always read prayers written by someone else. After all, only you can express what is exactly in your heart.

**Fire and Water

        Today is Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, an incredible priest who showed his love for God at Auschwitz. May he inspire us to be as selfless and obedient to God as he was. The response to readings from Psalm 66 at Mass: Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire! God is not only fire, but also water. He is fire because he burns away our impurities and inflames our heart with zeal to serve him. He is water because he quenches our thirst and refreshes our soul. The Lord is good for us!

***To Live Passionately in Christ

        Benjamin Zander, the English musician, is currently the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. He gives interpretation classes to young musicians. I am impressed that he can make them play more passionately to liven up the music. Here is one video you'll enjoy watching if you like classical music. Of the ten violin sonatas Beethoven wrote, the "Spring" (No. 5) and the "Kreutzer" (No. 9) are best known. They are masterpieces for sure. Here the violinist and the pianists succeed in playing the first movement of the "Spring" as one. The music is filled with joy. My thoughts turn to  what we can do too: Living passionately in union with Christ as one to be filled with joy.

***Worth Dying For

        Communion experience. Unfortunately, all new churches built nowadays no longer provide altar rails and we simply receive Holy Communion standing and in the hand. But more importantly, how do we receive the Lord in our heart? Today I knew that I received the one worth dying for and who will raise me on the last day!