Today is the Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr. He was filled with wisdom and spirit. As he was stoned to death, he called out "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." David, in Psalm 31, prayed to God: "Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, Lord, God of truth." Before Jesus breathed his last on the cross, he cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Can't imagine that we don't want to commend ourselves to God. After all, We were created by God, owing our very existence to him. He is the one to whom we rightfully belong. So let's commend our heart, our mind, our body, our soul, my spirit, and our all to the Lord, our creator and Father.
Thursday, December 26, 2019
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
**Learning from God
I am most grateful for God's mercy on us. I am awed and inspired by his holiness. And I admire his humility the most, for he is omnipotent, yet he never looks down on us. We are nothing, so we should never let pride or ego get in our way. He has made us in his image and we can be like him if we remain humble most of all.
**Truth About Not Facing the Truth
It's clear that we are sinners, that we need a savior, and that God loves us (Christ is our living proof). So if we do not believe in God to be our Lord and Savior, it's not because what's been mentioned is false, but because we are afraid to face the truth.
*Our Only Focus
Seeking union with God is the means to the end of knowing God. Achieving union with God is not a status symbol. Whatever we do, the focus should always be knowing the Lord.
*God's Mercy Undeniable
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.
*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.
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