Nothing is impossible for Christ, for he is the Lord God. The many miracles he performed witnessed by many were most impressive. But equally amazing is his power to transform us. When you let him forgive all your sins, your heart become clean and pure. When you let him heal your inner wounds, your soul is made whole. When you abandon yourself to him, you become a holy person. The Lord can completely make you anew. So take advantage of his great power to get you ready for heaven. We have a most powerful helpful God.
Monday, September 28, 2020
Sunday, September 27, 2020
**Who's More Important than Us?
In today's second reading from Philippians 2, Paul writes, Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others. The first part is manageable, I can stop being selfish. But the second part, to regard others as more important than yourselves, that is much harder. Sure, God is more important than me, but others? In Luke 9, Jesus did say, "For one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest." It's good to know this. Perhaps, to start with, we can as least regard others as important as ourselves.
*Communion Experience
Today I actually started to attend Sunday Mass at my church again. I had to register in advance, for only a hundred parishioners are allowed inside the church at one time. And, of course, all wore masks and sat apart. Many rows of seats were taped off, so I couldn't even use the kneeler attached to the chair before you. This is California, you know. Anyway, it's good to receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist again. I trembled with joy, hoping that the Lord will draw me even deeper into him.
***God's Gifts for Following Him
Following Christ is not forcing yourself to follow him in any way. Instead, you go passive to let the Lord take over. The rewards are freedom, peace, and joy. I am repeating this here to let you know that this is true fact. For Christ your creator is the only one who can fundamentally transform you internally. Freedom, peace, and joy are what you receive after you make him truly Lord (beyond calling him Lord). I listed these gifts in the order they normally come. Of course, they can overlap.
**Fighting for the Church*
As a Catholic, I'll never leave the Catholic Church, even if everyone in the Church becomes corrupt. For this is the Church Christ has built upon Peter for us. To reject her amounts to rejecting Christ. Catholics like all sinners can become evil, but Christ remains holy and perfect forever. This is something all Catholics must clearly see. The fact that the Church is being attacked so viciously by Satan is precisely because she is the true Church. We are going through a most difficult period now, but the Lord will cleanse and restore his Church again. This is the perfect time for us to surrender ourselves to the Lord even more to help him fight the spiritual battle.
***What Alone Matters to Us
Each of us now lives among billions of fellow humans, but ultimately, we are alone with God. For all of us in the world will pass away and the Lord alone remains. We'll come to meet him face to face and give an account of what we've done. No one else will be there to speak for us. Each of us came from God alone and will return to him alone and be judged by him alone. So only God and how he wishes us to live matters.
*God and Worry Mutually Exclusive
You cannot abandon yourself to God and worry about things at the same time. Choosing one excludes the other. To abandon yourself to God totally is to give up everything else. To worry about all things is to have no trust in God whatsoever.
**Our Greatest Attainment
When we follow Christ faithfully and do everything according to God's will, we are in perfect harmony with God, becoming one with the Holy Trinity. For us, there is no greater or more beautiful and rewarding attainment than that.
**A Message to the Foolish
In John 14.6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." In fact, we cannot bypass the Lord in any manner. Whatever we do he knows. You want to go to heaven, you have to go through him, as he is not only our Savior, but also our judge. And he exists forever, for he is the life. If you think you can ignore him, you only fool yourself.
Saturday, September 26, 2020
***Christ Brings Life to Light!
2 Timothy 1.10 is today's Gospel acclamation: Our Savior Christ Jesus destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel. I do feel that Christ has liberated my spirit. He has made me see what life is all about and what is beyond this life. I am no longer lost. In fact, he has brought me to become one with him! Now I see all things as he sees them. He has truly brought my life to light and made me ready to live eternal life with him in heaven. There is no greater satisfaction than this!
**Don't Lose Your Eternal Freedom!
Today's first reading comes rom Ecclesiastes 11.9—12.8. After reading it, I understand that we are free to do whatever we want in life, but God will bring us to judgment one day. After the judgment, we'll either have freedom forever or no freedom at all. This is good for us to realize and remember so that we might live right.
***The Union with God Experience
How much we hear from the Lord is directly proportional to how much we abandon ourselves to him. In complete union with God, you and he become one. You now enjoy his most intimate presence within you. You are his and no longer of the world.
Friday, September 25, 2020
***Communicating with God Properly
When you pray or talk to God, you must do it with all your heart, meaning every thought and word from the innermost of your heart. It's as if you take your heart out of you and offer it all to the Lord. This is baring your soul before him. Then you'll enjoy your reward. The Lord will always give you back manyfold more than you give him.
**Our Most Fundamental Calling
You pray to the Lord, asking him whether he wishes you to become a religious or remain lay, to get married or remain single, to become an engineer or a teacher, etc. It should be clear that the Lord most of all wishes you to love him with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind—that is, he wishes you to become holy like him. Become one with him first and all other callings will be made clear. So seek to attain union with the Lord through the Holy Eucharist so that you may fulfill his most ardent desire.
**A Neglected Awareness
We are used to doing whatever we feel like doing and don't think about how we might affect others. But If our action does cause others to sin, then we have committed a serious sin. Of course, if you know the Lord well enough to have developed a super sharp conscience, this will no longer be an issue.
**Am I a Religious Right-Wing Extremist?
Someone I know who's also Catholic has called me a religious, right-wing extremist. I really don't care whether I turn out to be right-wing or left-wing, I only follow the Lord Jesus Christ. But I do feel honored to be considered an extremist for Christ, for how can you love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all you mind, and with all your strength, if you don't go all out for him? If I am an extremist, then Jesus has to be the most far-out extremist of all. Obviously, this person hasn't totally accepted Christ yet. Revelation 3.16: So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Here we learn what the Lord prefers.
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