As it's All Saints day today, I am asking all the saints to bless me and pray for me and the world. Why not? They are one with us in union with the Lord and will be happy to intercede for us in glorifying God. Take advantage of all the extra help you can get to make your job easier and even more rewarding in serving the Lord.
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
**Letting Joy Reign!
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, we heard the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus gave us the Beatitudes and said at the end, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven." Faithful Christians should realize that there will be so much glory coming to them greater than they can possibly imagine and start to rejoice and be glad right now, no matter how dark the world seems.
**Something to Look Forward To
Today is the Solemnity of All Saints. In the second reading from 1 John 3, the Apostle wrote, "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Of course, we look forward to going to heaven. The other thing we can really look forward to is that we shall be like God!
**Praying Hard Needed
The world is falling apart, but I know in the end it'll be all straightened out by God. In the meantime, we must pray hard and unceasingly so that it may turn around. This is the right thing to do, for if everyone prays to God like that, we'll have instant peace and order. If you do not pray hard, you obstruct the Lord.
***God in Charge
I am open to the Lord everyday. On some days I receive as many as ten thoughts or more to blog. On other days, maybe just two, three, or four. Yesterday I received none. This shows clearly that the Lord is in charge. He gives and take away as he pleases. It makes me trust in him even more.
Sunday, October 30, 2022
**Ego Our Enemy
Ego can destroy us if not checked. It make you feel good, but what good is it? Do you also feel more peace? If not, then it's only a false good feeling. If someone praises you and you like it, what do you really gain? Isn't that just vanity? In truth, you are being fooled, thinking that your are something, but in reality you are nothing more. A puffed-up ego is like a balloon filled with some gas. Once it gets punctured, you'll feel the hurt. Hopefully, you'll then wake up and understand what it's all about and become more humble.
***What Makes a Message Powerful
You can talk about how to love Christ or Christ the Lord. Any message or homily that tells you how to love God is just some good advice, never very memorable. Only by focusing upon the Lord can you expect to convert or change the hearts of people, for he alone is the power that draws all to him.
**Easy to Be Foolish
I see some people who have just retired starting to build their dream house, travel around the world, collect their favorite cars, or do whatever they have always wanted to do in a big way. This looks more like beginning a new life in this world than retiring from it. I wish them the best, but at the same time I recall the parable of the rich fool from Luke 12. To retire and really live it up is definitely not being wise. To be wise is to grow closer to God as the day of meeting him gets closer.
*More Important than Myself
Communion experience. The Lord is more important to me than my own soul, for without him, I wouldn't be existing at all.
***Making Jesus Come to Us
In today's Gospel reading from Luke19, Zacchaeus sought to see Jesus. Being short in stature, he could not see him because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." And he came down quickly and received him with joy. Today we don't see Jesus, but we can actually invite the Lord to enter and dwell within us. Before receiving Holy Communion at Mass is the perfect time to do this—we remain completely open and anticipate his entry. By the way, this is exactly how we attain union with God over a period of time.
**Faith Necessary
To know someone doesn't guarantee that you'd get help from him if you needed it. It's the same with the Lord. You must know and believe in him in order to be saved. That is, faith is requisite.
**Worry or Trust in God
Worrying shows the lack of trust in God. This is the God who has created our vast universe and also died himself in order to save us, and you believe that he will not take complete care of us? As humans we are weak, but we are capable seeing the truth too. Worrying never improves anything; it only makes you feel worse. All things pass. God is so good that if you trust in him, even if you lose your life on earth, you will live forever in heaven. Abandon yourself totally in God to banish worrying altogether. Yes, God is to be trusted.
Saturday, October 29, 2022
**Great Miracles in Comntrast
Today I prayed the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. The 4th and 5th Mysteries are Transfiguration and Institution of the Eucharist. Both are awesome and glorious miracles, yet they contrast with each other. The Transfiguration witnessed by Peter, James, and John was truly dazzling to the eye, while the changing of the bread and wine into the body and blood of the Lord, normally invisible, affects directly the soul of the one who receives the sacrament. (I said "normally invisible" because many Eucharistic miracles have taken place.)
***Most Valuable Sociable Person
Some of us are more sociable than others. Being sociable is not good if your intention is not pure, but it can be great if your intention is all good and clean. Do you realize that Christ, who has nothing but selfless love for us, is the most sociable (and friendly) person there is? He's ever ready to communicate with us at the heart level. Yes, he longs to know you most intimately. He'll always listen to you. Since he understands you perfectly, he'll always give you the best possible advice too. He patiently awaits. He's the No. 1 person you should want to know. Once you know him, he'll become the only one you'd want to know, for he is that delightful and endearing. There is a lot more I can say, but it'd be a lot more exciting for you to find out things on your own.
**Great Blessing
Another reason I feel so good believing in Christ is that he has made my conscience and mind so sharp and clear that I can discern if something is good or evil, right or wrong, true or false . . . easily. This provides an extra safeguard for the soul.
****God Most Trustworthy
The triangle is geometrically the most rigid of all polygons. A truss in civil engineering is a structural frame the design of which is based on the rigidity of the triangle, thus providing maximum strength. Also, a table with three legs offers the greatest stability. I thought of the Triune God, comprising the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three in and as one. Intuitively, I sensed the strength and stability of our God in whom we can fully trust.
***Our Necessary Choice***
In today's first reading from Philippine 1, Paul wrote, "I do not know which I shall choose I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better. Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit." This teaches us that in serving God, we should not do what we wish to do, but do only what is necessary. The key word is "necessary."
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