On this Christmas day, I see the mercy of God to be undeniable. He sent his only Son to come into the world to be one among us and died for us so that we might be redeemed from sin. He will come again to judge us, giving us the chance to choose life or death in the meantime.
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
*The Peace of Christ
Jesus our Savior has come to bring us peace, but he has also caused division among us and there won't be peace in this world until we all have accepted him as Lord and Savior. Then where is this peace? For now, it is the inner peace he has brought to all those who follow him. For this, we can rejoice and be grateful. The peace of Christ must first begin in our hearts.
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
***Reflecting on My Blog*
This blog began in 2009 and it's in 2010 that the Lord made it clear to me that I was to let the world know that he wants to draw all to union with him through the Holy Eucharist. So this should speak to the Catholics most since they receive this sacrament at every Mass. Has the blog been a success? This is not for me to know or to be concerned about, for I am merely doing that the Lord instructs me to do. All is in his hands. But I can tell you my experience in general. Union with God is something people tend to shy away from; it is not something they want to latch onto right away. I could sense the disconnect in talking about it with others, laypeople or not. You don't get any reaction from them. Perhaps it's the fear that they cannot make it, so don't even think about it. As the pageviews are approaching 166,000, the message must have sown a seed in quite a few souls. Anyway, I am simply plowing along as the Lord leads me, which gives me great joy! My closing advice to all for the year on this Christmas Eve: Follow Christ all the way—yes, seek union with him—then your journey will be an absolutely safe and most exhilarating and uplifting adventure.
**Big Deal
"The forgiveness of sins"—we surely have heard that mentioned numerous times; but today, the Lord made me see that it is indeed a big deal. Essentially, we are all born sinners and sins not forgiven will keep us earth-bound. Only God can take away our sins and make us heaven-bound. To deal with our sins, we need God. Otherwise, we'll be stuck with them forever. To have our sins forgiven or not to have our sins forgiven, that is the big question!
**Solving Our Problem with Sin
As long as we keep sinning, we will not have inner peace. That's how the Lord has made us. He's letting us know that we cannot get along with sin and be happy, and that as long as we carry sins, we cannot get into heaven. We sin because we are self-centered. If we surrender ourselves to God, we become God-centered and our problem with sin will be no more. Not carrying any sin, our inner peace is then restored.
*Danger Zone
Without God, our mind wanders freely in all directions. We may not have evil intentions, but we seek to fulfill all our temporal desires. We are now in danger zone, may lose all self-control, and become addicted to certain sins. If we have God, he becomes our anchor and guardian, and we don't easily stray away from him anymore. When the Lord makes us feel good, we no longer desire anything that cannot truly make us happy.
Monday, December 23, 2019
*Only God and You
Let you be known to God alone, so live "secretly" in him. Live as if there are only God and you, as only he matters.
**Longing for Christ Only
Communion experience. I received the greatest joy and felt the deepest longing for Christ. I long for him precisely because he has fulfilled all my other longings on earth.
**A Lopsided Scene*
Today's Communion antiphon, Revelation 3.20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me." God is so polite, yet so intimate. If you still turn him down, then you are playing God and definitely have a problem with your heart and need to examine yourself to get it fixed. The Lord will wait for your response as long as you wish, but you have only a limited lifetime to respond to him. Look at this way: he is offering you the opportunity to be happy for all eternity and you couldn't care less. How more lopsided can it be?
*Beware of the Ego
Anytime you want to draw attention to yourself, it's your ego rearing it's ugly head.
***Leave the Blessing to God
In today's continuous reading from Luke 1, we heard the birth of John the Baptist read. When all heard about the amazing signs that accompanied the birth of John the neighbors and relatives witnessed, they were sure that the hand of the Lord was with the child. Of course, we know that John the baptist got beheaded under the orders of King Herod later. How could we see such a brutal ending to be fit for someone whom the Lord greatly blessed? Clearly, God's ways are beyond our ways and his thoughts beyond our thoughts. What we see fit may even be an obstacle Satan wants to place in God's way (Matthew 16.23). What's best for us to focus on is what Jesus said in Matthew 16.25: "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Amen.
***God Becoming Real!
When sometimes we even wonder whether God truly exists, that's because our faith is weak and we do not really know him. Here is the cure. Be courageous! Take a leap of faith to surrender yourself to God to be one with him. Once you attain union with him, he will become more real to you than anyone else you know on earth—I am telling you! This is now real living, being one with the living God.
Sunday, December 22, 2019
***Be with God Now to See Him Later*
Communion experience. When you are one with the Lord, you are with him in heaven spiritually. In a sense, you have already completed your spiritual journey. You die and you see immediately the Lord who has been with you all your life!
***To Be the Freest Person on Earth
In today's reading 2 from Romans 1, Paul calls himself a slave of Jesus Christ. For he knew that to be a slave of Jesus Christ made him the freest person on earth. I second that. (It follows that to be your own master is to be enslaved by yourself, and you are not free at all.)
True Joy in Christ
Watching those commercials on TV, you notice the phony joy paid actors display in selling or promoting a product or service. Without Christ, even the joy we seek and experience in this life seems to be empty or shallow. Only the joy of Christ is pure joy because it originates from the Holy Spirit. When we rejoice in Christ, that joy we feel is true joy.
**Well-Balanced in Christ
Once you have Christ, you never feel inferior to anyone anymore, for you already have the Lord; and you do not look down on anyone anymore, for you are humble in the Lord. You are now a happy well-balanced person.
Saturday, December 21, 2019
*Getting Personal with Jesus*
Communion experience. I felt that that Jesus was my home, the end of my search, my answer to all my questions, my all, my everything. Perhaps "my ultimate fulfillment" is closest to what I want to say. Then I feel best when I just say "Jesus is mine."
In Tune with the Holy Spirit
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 1, we read about Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant (John the Baptist) leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, knew that Mary was the mother of her Lord. When we know that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, it is also the Holy Spirit who has revealed it to us.
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