God loves us so much that he wants to possess all of us. And he has made us so that we can only truly be happy when we possess all of him. When you let God possess you, he is all yours too. Imagine how happy both God and you will be when you offer yourself to him!
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
God's Surprise Response
I posted recently that my wife underwent kidney stone surgery. She had a stent placed in her ureter to prevent any blockage of the urine flow. Five days later, she lost urinary control completely and developed a high fever accompanied by shaking chills. I rushed her to emergency at the hospital. Her temperature was high and blood pressure low, signs of an internal infection. She went through various tests and was treated with antibiotics. The stent was to remain in her for another 10-14 days. On the 4th day she was ready to be released to come home. A nurse's aid, while preparing her for leaving the hospital, discovered the string that's attached to the stent. Ignorant of what it was, she started pulling on it and the stent came more than halfway out. Of course, it was a mistake and could possibly cause further complications. My wife, I, and the hospital staff were all concerned. But the doctors had no choice but to remove the stent entirely. The surprise was that after it's all pulled out, my wife's urinary control became normal again. Her temperature was now almost all gone. The next day on August 18, we quietly celebrated our 57th wedding anniversary at home. It seemed that the Lord allowed this mistake to happen and turned it into a blessing. It sure was a pleasant surprise.
Monday, August 19, 2019
*****Wakeup Call to the Whole Church*****
Recently, on August 12, I posted "Failings of the Church," lamenting the fact that the majority of Catholics who attend Mass do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. (For details of this finding, read this report.) I feel a tremendous burden on my heart, for it is worse for Catholics not to believe in this teaching than it is for non-Catholics not to believe in Catholicism. The general lack of reverence seen at Mass and the fact that parishioners who don't go to confession continue to receive this holy sacrament indicate the lack of this central belief. The Church should start educating her flock on the double now before trying to evangelizing the world. If your belief is seriously in error, how can you possibly go convert others? Correcting this problem is fundamentally even more important than exposing all the scandals within the Church. Never forget what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11.27: Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. Most serious warning! [I know I may be rocking the boat, but I cannot stifle the voice of the Lord.]
**Do the Impossible in God
Communion experience. It was the perfect time to abandon myself to the Lord after receiving him. I did it and now I can say I've done it! In God, all things become easy!
***How to Be Perfect
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 19, Jesus told a rich young man that to gain eternal life, he needed to keep the commandments. But to be perfect, he should go sell what he had, give to the poor, and follow him. Although we may not be able sell all our possessions, we should at least be able to detach ourselves from them totally. Again, seeking to attain union with God will take care of this. In perfect union, you become detached from not only your things, but also your family and yourself! You are now attached to God alone and are free!
**God's Continues Calling Us
In ancient Israel, God spoke to his people through the prophets, but many did not remain faithful. Then Jesus the Son of God came himself to proclaim salvation for all nations, but still many hardened their hearts and rejected him. More recently, the Mother of our Lord has appeared many times calling us to return to God, but the big division between those who believer and those who don't has remained. I personally belief that God, being most merciful, will show us great signs to draw us to him once more yet at the appropriate time, and this could be the last call to wake us up before the final judgment. But don't take any chances.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
*Greatest Spiritual Gift
Communion experience. The Eucharist is our greatest spiritual gift and treasure, for it's the Lord himself. I experienced great fulfillment and contentment. Truly, he is with us always, until the end of the age (Matthew 28.20).
***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.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
***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.
Friday, August 16, 2019
**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:
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