Matthew 11.25, today's Gospel acclamation: Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. In the parable of the rich fool, the rich man thinks that once he has all the material properties and goods he needs, he can just sit back, eat, drink, and be merry, not realizing that he's going to die that night. Today we have smart fools (an oxymoron for you). These are people who are rich in knowledge. You could say that they own a lot of intellectual properties. They are fools because they could also die, without knowing the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. All knowledge that comes from humans cannot save us. Only what's revealed by God to us can save us. To have hope of being saved, be like the little ones.
Friday, October 23, 2020
**Following the Lord with Patience
I want to to draw every singe person to Christ, to be saved and go to heaven. This has been my burning desire. Then I realize that the Lord desires this much more than I, for his love is infinitely greater than mine. I must follow him and not rush ahead on my own, for apart from him I can do nothing. Anyway, I am satisfied that he knows my desire. I must trust and follow him in every little thing I do with patience. The Lord must lead and we follow.
*****What We Forget to Rejoice About***
It is most amazing that we are made in the image of God. This makes it possible for us to understand the Lord! We all have a heart, so we know that our Lord has a heart too, sacred and most pure. We can truly relate to him. He knows everything about us, so if we open ourselves up to him, he reveals himself to us. Once we know him, we know ourselves too. This is absolutely cool (marvelous)! Since we are made in his image, he can make us holy to be like him. Again, wonderful! We should truly rejoice that we are made in the image of God!
***How to Follow Christ Effortlessly***
In today's first reading from Ephesians 4, Paul wrote "I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace...." I could add many, many more things on how we should live as Christians. But without knowing Christ well, it would be impossible to do all or even just a few of these things. On the other hand, if you really know the Lord, you don't even need to think about what you should do, for he will let you know and lead you to do his will at all times. This is why I advocate that you seek to attain union with Christ through the Holy Eucharist, for this is the shortcut to allowing the Lord to accomplish all things through you, eliminating all struggle on your part.
**Inner Healing No Problem
If you still have wild, weird dreams or nightmares, you most probably still have inner wounds to your psyche, unpleasant memories that haunt you, various hangups, secret unfulfilled desires, and/or other suppressed feelings. For Jesus, the past and the buried present no barriers. Ask the Lord to enter your innermost interior to clean up and heal your soul, for you want to enjoy his peace fully. If he is your Lord, let him be the lord of the whole of you.
Thursday, October 22, 2020
***My Joy Is Complete***
Recently, I realized that God is the only one who can make me happy which I posted about. Looking back, I had done many things in the past, but nothing totally satisfied me. Even after I knew Christ, there were still the ups and downs of life. Nevertheless, my life became meaningful and my faith certainly gave me much peace. What I had not expected was that after I retired from work, the Lord started to fulfill me more and more. It all started in 2009 when I began blogging. I had only intended to put down my conversion story, not knowing that the Lord continued to put thoughts in my heart to post. A year later, it became clear that he wanted me to let all know that he wishes to draw all to union with him through the Holy Eucharist. I am now typing post #10,625. In these years, the Lord has been teaching me continuously that my joy is now complete. I can only thank him for his mercy and generosity. If you stick with God, it'll always be "the best is yet to come."
**Taking Advantage of God's Love
In today's first reading from Ephesians 3, Paul mentions the love of God that surpasses knowledge. It's true that we cannot comprehend how great that love is, yet we can believe in it, receive it free, and enjoy it, letting it making us anew. To have faith is wonderful!
**Two Great Transformations
The last two Luminous Mysterious of the Holy Rosary are The Transfiguration and Institution of the Eucharist. At the Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John were with Jesus. When Jesus was transfigured before them, his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. Moses and Elijah appeared and conversed with him. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him." This visible and audible experience must've been absolutely spectacular and stunning to the three disciples. When Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper, he changed the bread and wine into his body and blood in substance, but not in appearance. This is an invisible mystery. Nevertheless, it is even more amazing than the Transfiguration when it comes to making us anew in the Lord.
***Living the Most Exciting Life*
While living on earth, we have the opportunity to live the most exciting life. That is, we can deepen our relationship with God without end! With continuous submission to our dear Lord, we can attain the best possible intimate union with him in the limited time we have on earth. What a beautiful way to live!
*Chosen by God's Chosen One
In John 13.6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." When the Father chooses us, he lets the Son know first. Then the Son chooses the ones the Father has given him. So we who follow the Lord were all chosen by the Chosen One of God.
***Beautiful Way of Living for God
The word of God is our spiritual food; it is most beneficial to our soul, as it's written: "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." In John 14.23, Jesus said, "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him." Therefore, surrender yourself to the Lord to become one with him, then you'll be able to keep his word joyfully and effortlessly. To submit to the word of the Lord is to submit to the Lord. This is the most beautiful way of living for God.
**How Good and Bad Things Affect Us
Good things and bad things happen to both good and bad people for different reasons. God always blesses those who love him. Good things encourage them, making them even more grateful to him; bad things draw them close to him, making them even stronger. In fact, bad things would be a big blessing if they serve as part or the whole of their purgatory. As for the bad people who do not love God, good things happen when God rewards them for their ego. If this is all the reward they are going to get, it would absolutely be bad news. On the other hand, when bad things happen to them, they can be blessings in disguise, for God is trying to wake them up to realize that they need him.
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
***Our Big Day Coming
We all have some big days in life. I suppose that it was a big day when I got my college degree, but I would say that the day I got married was a lot bigger because it affected me emotionally a lot more. Then we'll all have a truly big day coming to us, that is the day we stand before the Lord. Today's Gospel acclamation, Luke 21.36: Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the the Son of Man. Will you be strong enough to face Christ on that day? Will you be standing with knees shaking and a heart fast pounding? Or do you actually look forward to that moment with great expectations and joy? In the Gospel from Luke 12 that follows, we hear Jesus say to his disciples, "Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival."
*Unification and Division
In Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." The fire he has come to set is the Holy Spirit who has united all those who believe in him into one Body in one Spirit. He has also come to cause division, for he foreknew that there would be many who would not believe in him. It's all part of the spiritual battle to this day.
*A Life-After-Death Experience
You can read the story telling what Fr. Jose Maniyangat experienced after he died in the right margin of this blog. Today I came across his story told by this video. I think it'd be worth watching if you haven't seen it yet or read the story.
**Praying the Rosary
The difficulty of praying the Rosary is that we are supposed to meditate upon each mystery while reciting the words of the prayers at the same time. It'd been a back-and-forth thing for me, so I decided to do it this way to help me become more focused. Maybe you'll find it helpful too.
Before I start, I let the Lord know what my main intention is. It could be for world peace, mercy on all the souls, and/or anything that's on my heart. Before starting a decade, I declare the mystery to which the decade is to be dedicated and that I am going to commemorate that mystery by praying the decade. After making my intent clear, I can wholly concentrate upon praying the Our Father to put me in the right place before the Lord, the Hail Mary's to ask the Holy Mother to intercede for me, and the Glory to fully praise the Holy Trinity. The Fatima prayer the Holy Mother asked us to say at the end of each decade is also important. We must constantly ask the Lord to save souls, especially those in most need of his mercy.
**God Alone Our Judge
We should not judge others because we just don't know what's truly in their hearts. Sometimes we do not even understand ourselves. Compared to God, none of us is completely trustworthy. God being our creator is the only one who knows our hearts and can judge us fairly. Also, since we are all to be judged by God as equals, we are not qualified to judge anyone.
**Thinking Beyond Death*
We all know that we are going to die, yet we think mostly about things of the world. As we get older, we may start composing a will, think about how we can avoid paying too much death tax, and possibly look into where we might like to be buried. That's about it. The most important question about where our soul will go after death for all eternity is just not taken seriously enough. This is odd, sad, and bad. As soon as we realize that God, heaven, and hell all exist, we should focus upon this issue before all other worldly considerations. Know that the Lord God wants to save us from our sins and we are sinners. Once we are sure that our soul is safe, we'll feel a lot more peace in our heart.