In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, two blind men believed that Jesus could heal them and he opened their eyes according to their faith. Then he warned therm sternly to tell no one about it. But they went away and spread word of him thru all the land. Of course, if something good happens to you, you want to share your joy with every one else. But here, the men should have rejoiced in God's mercy first and less in their own freedom. Besides, they should've heeded Jesus' warning. We are human, but we must obey God and not always follow our own inclination. Sure, we feel bad that Christ got crucified for our sake, but rather than wishing that he didn't have had to suffer, our right reaction should be to thank him and be willing to suffer along with him.
Friday, December 2, 2022
**Suffering in Peace
If we all believe in God and faithfully follow his will, we'll have peace on earth. But there'll still be sufferings, for natural disasters can strike, we can get sick, and accidents invariably happen. You could say that it's a good thing that we won't be living on earth forever. I do see our time now as an opportunity for us to learn how to suffer. If we accept our sufferings patiently and offer them up to God, we not only atone for my own sins and those of the world, but also get to unite ourselves to Christ in his suffering. This surely is an excellent way to prepare ourselves for entering heaven.
Thursday, December 1, 2022
***On Our Own Without the Lord
When we simply do all things, usually fun things, and not't think of God at all, we just while away our time. As Catholics, we should do all things in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is not hard. It's just being aware that we do everything in his presence and should do it for his sake and glory. In John 15.5, Jesus said: "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing." Sure, we can do a lot of things on our own, but we won't be bearing any good fruit, if at all.
**Heart to Provide Sixth Sense
We experience the world thru our five physical senses. To experience God, we need to have our heart provide the sixth sense, for you can not know God without involving the heart. Let us treasure our heart and put it to good use.
***Different Ways to Success***
To succeed materially, you go after something you want and never quit to make yourself rich. To succeed spiritually, you do the exact opposite—you let yourself go in God to allow him to do all the work to make you holy. Of course, what God can achieve is always far greater than what we can.
***Fulfilled to the Max
Communion experience. I belong to Christ totally and he is all mine. You can't possibly get fulfilled more.
***Most Beautiful Name***
At Mass, we call on the Lamb of God to have mercy on us and grant us peace. This Lamb of God sacrificed for God the Father for our sake. He is most humble and also most exalted. What a beautiful name! How blessed we are to have him to follow as our Lord!
***Relationship with God Says It All
If your relationship with God is right on, you would feel good about everything. But if you try to avoid or hide from God, you'll never be able to feel good about yourself! This is how God has made us.
***Formula for Entering Kingdom of Heaven***
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." Here revealed is the simple formula for entering the Kingdom of heaven. We do the will of the Father and our future is taken care of for all eternity, and we don't have a thing to worry about anymore. Truly believing in God requires being obedient to him. So let's make everything we do an act of submission to God.
**The Lord God Most Reliable
Winter hasn't officially begun yet, but the local weather has dramatically changed. When I went to St. Joseph's Chapel for Mass this morning, it was darker than usual and raining, with strong winds howling. Normally, from inside the chapel, the stained-glass windows appear bright and colorful, but this morning their all looked dark as if the light outside had been switched off. Anyway, with weather changing for the worse, I know that my Lord and God will always remain the same and be trustworthy. This is a great comfort to me.
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
*Wise Petition
Communion experience. I just asked the Lord to displace all my pride with simple humility, for I knew that this would please him and give me more peace.
***Christ Heals!
Jesus came to cause division because he knew that not all of us would accept him readily. But let us realize that there is no division he cannot heal, for he is our greatest healer and his true intention is to bring us peace to our hearts and the world.
***Think of Ourselves as Nothing
We all have pride and when it gets hurt, we feel hurt. The remedy is to see ourselves as nothing before the Lord. Today is the Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle. In the reading from Psalm 19, we hear that the LORD gives wisdom to the simple. So be simple and become wise, then we'll shine before him. Focus upon loving God alone and not think about ourselves much is the way to go.
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
***Urgent Need for Prayer
Innumerable souls are teetering on the brink of falling into hell now; probably many do stumble or slip and fall into it every second. Keep this picture in your mind and show your love for God by praying hard for the salvation of all of them.
**To Become Free for God
First, you need to be free of ourselves. Then you'll be free from the world and ready to belong to God exclusively. That first step is crucial—taking it would require great humility and faith. But once you do it, nothing can stop you anymore. You have now officially become a bona fide child of your heavenly Father. (This is also the step you need to take in seeking union with God.)
***We Are Important to God
We are not nobody. On the contrary, we not most important and precious to God for the following reasons. (1) God as our Father loves us to death. (2) Each of us is unique and most personal to him and he would do anything to make any of us eternally happy. (3) We are indispensable to God, for only thru our diligent prayers will we have peace in the world and salvation of all its inhabitants.
**Let Advent Begin in Our Heart
The Advent season has begun. Christ has already come and will come again. In the meantime, we'd better let him enter our hearts. We'll all go to him sooner or later and it's best that we don't meet him with an empty heart.
Sunday, November 27, 2022
***Wonderfully Made by God
I felt a little tired, so I went to bed to rest a little bit. I turned on the radio and the light jazz that came out was relaxing. Things were OK for the moment. You can add drinking some good wine, having a good sex life, traveling to visit all the beautiful places around the world . . . but I instantly knew that all such things could never completely satisfy us. Living like that forever may be better than living in hell, but something is missing. And it's clear that something is the Lord God. Only in heaven shall we be completely satisfied when we'll be with him forever—God has made us for himself.