Our time on earth is extremely brief. Whereas we should spend time preparing for meeting our creator upon departing from this world, we entertain ourselves and fight each other instead as if there'll be no life after death. When shall we wake up and face reality?
Saturday, July 16, 2022
Friday, July 15, 2022
**A Christian's Super Advantage*
Those who belong to Christ are untouchable to Satan, for their souls are completely safe under his care. This is a super advantage that must not be overlooked by anyone who is concerned about his or her soul.
**Only One Lord of All
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew12, Jesus let the Pharisees know that he is the Lord of even the sabbath. There can be only one Lord and he has to be the lord over all things in heaven and on earth. And that Lord can only be Christ, our creator and Savior. How foolish it would be for us to live and not acknowledge this fact and truth!
***Ain't Going to Die!
Today is the memorial of St. Bonaventure. Reading 1 from Isaiah 38 starts out thus: When Hezekiah was mortally ill, the prophet Isaiah came and said to him: "Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order, for you are about to die..." When I heard that, it struck me that since Christ has already promised me eternal life, I am never really going to die! This is nothing new, but somehow I never thought about it much. Now that I am more aware of it, I feel even more peacc and joy.
Thursday, July 14, 2022
***How to Go Straight to Heaven
(1) Have that desire. (2) Then abandon yourself totally to God. (Remember that in Luke 23, the "good" criminal who was crucified with Jesus asked him, "Jesus, remember me when he come into your kingdom," and he replied, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.")
*****Our No.1 Obligation
We are to pray for others and the world, of course, but our No.1 obligation should be to pray for ourselves—we can't help others and the world much if we are still weak and not holy enough. And the No.1 thing we should pray for ourselves is obedience to God. If we always do God's will, then nothing can disturb us anymore. Pretty cool!
*Going to the Lord
Are you ready to go to the Lord? Do you look forward to seeing him face to face? If you answer yes and yes, then he probably wants you to remain here a little longer to do more work for him. Anyhow, be ready whenever he calls you and you'll have a most joyful meeting.
***Momentous Event*
At Mass, before the breaking of the bread, we prayed the Lord's Prayer in preparation for receiving the Holy Eucharist. This prayer is already the perfect prayer. As I said it from my very heart, I was ready to melt myself into the Lord. Finally, the most beautiful encounter this side of heaven happened!
****Why We Believe in Christ
Why are we happy and even grateful that we've found Christ? That's because deep down we know that we are sinners and need salvation! As for those who still have not accepted Christ yet, they are still under the influence of the world (other religions included) too much for the time being. Anyway, this is what I see.
****Having God Forever
The Lord God exists forever and remains the same forever. He loves us forever and want us to go to heaven to be happy with him forever. He is absolutely trustworthy. If you lose him, you lose him forever too. Hold onto him and you'll have not a thing to worry about forever.
**Big Deal for Christians
Today is the memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin. The entrance antiphon: Here is a wise virgin, from among the number of the prudent who went forth with lighted lamp to meet Christ. You are probably familiar with the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25. It is poignant to hear that someone is ready to meet the Lord when he comes. It's equally poignant to learn that someone is caught unprepared when he appears. For Christians, this is a big deal.
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
****Wonderful Old Age Opportunity
I watched a short tonebase video in which the celebrated pianist Leon Fleisher gave a master class on the opening five bars of the Beethoven's 4th piano concerto. I mention this because I met him at his 70th birthday celebration at the University of Kansas in 1998. This video was probably made more recently, in which he looked older. My thoughts are that as we age, our hair, our skin, our teeth . . . all exterior parts of our body show our age. If you examine the X-ray or CT scan images of an older person, you'll find that the interior parts also no longe look as pristine as before. Nevertheless, spiritually we can always become more robust and beautiful. What an opportunity for us to grow holier and more pleasing to the Lord! The body deteriorates, but the soul becomes more immaculate! Growing old affords us the time to get perfectly ready for meeting our Lord.
*****What God Wishes the Most from Us*****
God wants us to pray for the world and many other things, but most of all he want us to pray for ourselves. He wishes the most that we surrender ourselves completely to him so that we may receive power to become holy and blameless. Whether you are happy or feel uncomfortable upon hearing this, he is calling you!
****Never Lock God Out
Never lock God out of your heart. If you do, you cut off your lifeblood. Seek the God of Christ with an open heart and he will enter and become your dearest friend, then you'll have more life than ever. (John 10:10) We can be stone dead or filled with abundant life! Which would you rather prefer?
**Greatest Fulfillment or Tragedy
Knowing Christ is the greatest fulfillment of my life. So I see that not knowing him can be the greatest tragedy of one's life.
**To Be Freed from Now On
In this life, we are stuck with our physical body and original sin. The body will always be a burden to us while we're on earth, so there's not much we can do about it. As for the original sin, we can take care of that by believing in and following the God of Christ. In fact, by so doing, not only are we set free from sin now, we'll also remain free forever after we lose our physical body.
**Taking Holy Eucharist Seriously
Early at morning Mass today, it came to me that I was to receive the Lord shortly, so I must not sin again. To receive the body and blood of the Lord while having no intention of stopping sinning is in itself a serious sin.
***The Virtue We Need the Most
Humility is what we sinners need the most. The lack of it causes us to rebel against God and judge our neighbors. It is a virtue we must never stopping praying for. Imitating or seeking union with Christ is the effective way of acquiring humility.
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