Appreciating God

        At Mass this morning, I saw myself, a most wretched sinner, before the Most Holy One, yet he understands me perfectly with great love. How could I not be moved and grateful! 

** Prayer Coverage

        We can just pray that God's will be done, not asking for anything in particular. This is a prayer that that's comprehensive and should please the Lord greatly, for it calls for our total obedience and abandonment to God. Then in Matthew 7, Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you." In Luke 18 in telling the parable of the persistent widow, he teaches us to ask for our rights with persistence. I thought about it and saw that we should pray both ways. We need to pray for our total abandonment to God always and our specific needs with persistence. 

**Trusting in God ≠ Doing Nothing

         When I say that I trust in God and do not worry about any problem that might come up, believing that God will always take care of it, people often misunderstand me and tell me that you can't just sit home, do nothing, and expect God to do everything for you. They are right and they are wrong. Of course, I would do what I can, but if I can't possibly solve my problem on my own, then I am confident that God will step in to help me do it. After all, nothing is impossible for him. In fact, as soon as a problem comes up, I hand it over to him and do my part, knowing that he'll be with me doing his part.

***To Be a Saint

        For most people today, to be a saint couldn't be further from their mind. It's easy to think that saints belonged to the past and are totally out of fashion now. The fact is that fashions of our world come and go, while achieving sainthood puts you ahead of all the fashions and you remain in fashion forever! And by the way, there's nothing more exciting and satisfying than being in union with God as a saint.

**Be Mary First

        In Luke 10, we read that a woman whose name was Martha welcomed Jesus. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feel listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Many has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." We have to be Martha sometimes and Mary at other times, but we must be Mary first always. When we are Martha, we must be a Martha who does not get anxious nor worry about things. In my own case, prayers, blogging, and other spiritual works must take priority over all other necessary tasks. And I can certainly do all things in Jesus' name and for his sake.

**Clear Choices for Us

        Here are our only two choices.  (1) We have the God of Christ. He is all holy and loves us. If we follow him, We are set free from sin and gain peace in this life and eternal life afterwards. (2) We have Satan who is all evil and hates us. If you follow him, you may get to enjoy all the worldly pleasures, fulfilling your temporal desires, but then you'll suffer hellfire for all eternity afterwards. 

***God Perfect for Us

        Of course, God is almighty so that nothing is impossible for him. And through Christ we know that he absolutely loves us. It is clear that he is exactly the one we need, the one perfect for us. Submit ourselves to the God of Christ and we are loved and protected for all eternity. Our life is now completely fulfilled!

**Benefits of Prayer

        Pray the Rosary is not that easy for some, for you are supposed to meditate upon the mysteries as you recite the words. I believe that when you have the Lord in your thoughts, he is present with you already. And when he is present, no evil can possibly approach you. That's why praying unceasingly is so beneficial.

***True Freedom Meaning**

         In my last post, I talked about freedom. So what is true freedom? Certainly being able to do whatever we want is not it. Freedom can only mean that we no longer sin! Think about it carefully and you'll see that I am right. Should sin does not exist, we'd never wonder whether we have freedom or not. It is sin that causes us to lose our freedom. I can also say that when one is no longer on the way to heaven, he has lost his freedom.

****Obey God and Be Free

        How can you obey God and still be free? Let me explain. If you don't obey God, then you are free to do whatever you want to do. Invariably, you end up sinning, becoming enslaved by your own sins, and losing all your freedom. On the other hand, God never forces us to obey him, so it's by our own free will that we choose to follow him. Now we serve the Lord freely, and we stop sinning or at least get all our sins forgiven at all times. As a result, we are truly free. In sum, only God can set a sinner free.

****Be Proud of Loving God

        If you love the Lord and feel prompted by the Holy Spirit to declare your love for him openly and have no problem yelling out "I love you, Lord" at the top of your voice, you are ready for total abandonment to him. Many Christians love God but remain quiet, either their hearts are not on fire yet or they stifle the Spirit. Openly expressing your true feeling allows the Holy Spirit to reign free within your heart, thus setting you free. Don't be a closet Christian. Be a bold, proud, and fearless follower of the Lord instead.

***Understanding God's Love for Us (Living the Most Wonderful Life)

        God loves us so much that if we can actually feel that love, we would break down, cry, and beg for his mercy. If you love someone, it's natural that you would want that person to love you back. God's love for us is so great that he's not satisfied if we just love him back 10%, 50%, or even 99%. So when we love him back 100%, union with him takes place and we start living the most wonderful life!

***Freedom from Knowing Christ

        If you do not know Jesus well, you simply live for the world. You seek pleasure and find enjoyment in food, music, art, collecting objects, various hobbies, leisure time, your environment, etc. When someone dear to you passes away, you look back and go over old memories trying to find some answer. In sum, people dwell upon the present life or reminisce. I treasure the freedom that comes from knowing Christ. I am now free from the world and the past and know exactly where I am going. This makes all the difference to one's outlook and disposition. I no longer need to struggle to figure out what I should do to find happiness in this life, and the past is no longer relevant. I am still in the world, but I have a comprehensive overall understanding of it and beyond. Thanks to Christ, I am no longer bonded to this world and this life.

***Most Beautiful Life

        Today at Mass, when I heard the priest say the words of the Lord during consecration of the bread: TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT: FOR THIS IS MY BODY WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU, the Lord readily changed the the bread into his body without reservation. It struck me that I should receive him into me without reservation too. When we want to be united with him as eagerly as he wants to be with us, the most beautiful life begins.

**Learning from the World and God

        Reading today's psalm 19 prompts me to share the following thoughts. In my many decades of existence on earth, I have learned a lot about engineering, mathematics, music, photography, etc., but none can compare with what I've learned from the Lord in the last decade and a quarter. While the world gave me knowledge, the Lord gave me wisdom. The world taxed my mind, but the Lord refreshed my soul. The teachings of the world can be drudgery, but God's revelations are always delightful to the heart. The world is often vague, but God always clear. God's words are Spirit and life.

***Joy of a Christian

       In today's first reading from Nehemiah 8, Ezra the scribe read the laws of Moses to the people. He told them not to be saddened on this day holy to the Lord, for rejoicing in the Lord must be their strength. Come to think of it, joy is a Christian strength. The joy of Christ's Resurrection alone is enough to overcome all sorrows. A Christian who experiences no joy in his heart is not a bona fide Christian. Even being persecuted for the sake of Christ or suffering for him becomes a joy. We have another distinguishing mark of Christianity here. This is a good time to watch the video Infectious Joy in Jesus I posted on October 17, 2010.

**Why Spread the Gospel?

         There are those around the globe who do not know Christ through no fault of their own, but are good people—they may still be saved through God's mercy. Then why do we still need to spread the gospel? We do it for these reasons. (1) Before his Ascension, Christ commanded his Apostles to go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. (2) Truth deserves to be made known to all. (3) Even though those who do not know the gospel may be saved, they do not have the assurance. Knowing and believing in it makes it certain that you will have eternal life in heaven. This is the crowning trademark of Christianity.

**Dealing with Temptation*

        If we pray the Our Father and ask him not to lead us into temptation, we must learn to turn away from temptation the instant we sense its presence. As starving the ego is the best way to eradicate the ego, escaping from temptation is the best way to overcome temptation. It is to be nipped in the bud fast. If you have a pretty good conscience, a one-second delay can cost you many days without inner peace. Temptation is worse than quicksand or plague, for it can lead to spiritual death.