We praise God, we thank God, and we tell him that we love him. Then we pray for the world, for the Church, for our own country, family, friends, etc. But it's really more relevant to pray for ourselves first, because if everyone of us becomes perfect, the whole world becomes perfect. If the proverb Charity begins at home is correct, so can we say Holiness starts with oneself. If we are not strong ourselves, how can we help others? If we are not perfect, how can we change the world? We'll all answer to God each on our own, so perfect yourself by presenting yourself to God first, then pray for all other things.
Saturday, January 21, 2023
**What People Say About You
This is the short reading from Mark 3 today: Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." When you follow Christ faithfully, your relatives or others may think that you are out of your mind. You are out of your mind only if you let what they say about you bother you. Live for and respond to the Lord alone and just pray for everyone else.
*****Best Move to Make*****
Christ has offered himself up to God the Father to obtain our eternal redemption. It would be right and just for us to offer ourselves up to him, warts and all, just to show our gratitude. Of course, in doing so, we gain eternal life. And this has to be the best reward we can possibly get, one only God can give.
**Mass Experience
Attended morning Mass. Today is the memorial of St. Agnes. I was heartened to see that the church was quite packed and after Mass the confession line fairly long. Before Mass started, I just wished to bask in the Lord's radiance and holiness.
Friday, January 20, 2023
***Surrendering Ourselves to God**
To show that we truly love the Lord, we need to surrender ourselves to him fully. If you find this difficult to do, then ask yourself what disadvantages there might be in doing so. See if you can come up with something worth considering. I hope this can help you come to a decision. We can always start out with our willingness and ask the Lord to help us attain what we desire. This is one way to get the surrendering process going.
**Sin and Inner Peace*
When we sin, deep down we know it, and we lose our inner peace. God has made us this way so that we know when we have sinned. There are those who carry their sins all their lives and finally have to confess them before they die so that they may die in peace. But what if you die suddenly, die in sleep, or suffer dementia first? We just can't take any chance with our soul. Best yet, the moment you lose your peace because of sin, get Christ to take all your sins away so you may remain clean and pure. This peace is a special gift from the Lord showing that you are in a state of grade before him and he is pleased with you. Therefore, treasure it and preserve it by all means.
***Submission Most Satisfying
Communion experience. When you submit yourself to God completely, it's so satisfying! for you are now completely fulfilled. By the way, this experience can be quite overwhelming, but you'd know that it comes from the Holy Spirit and love it.
****Most Beautiful Response to God
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus appointed his twelve Apostles. We read from the Gospels how some of them dropped everything to follow him the moment he called them. This strikes as a most beautiful response to the Lord. He speaks and we obey immediately, as it should be. For he is the Lord and we are nothing without him! Only following him can do us good. The reason the world is such a horrible state today is precisely that we no longer obey the Lord!
Thursday, January 19, 2023
*****Never Go to Hell!*****
In John 21:18, Jesus said to Peter, "Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. It is true in general that when we grow old, we become increasingly helpless and would need others to do many things for us. Now, in hell the souls are completely helpless; they are not in control of anything and suffer whatever they deserve for all eternity. At the same time, those in heaven experience the greatest freedom and joy everlastingly. So, think about your own future right now! Don't ever end up in hell! Do your utmost to keeps all others out of hell too. This is my message for the whole world. I am bringing it up squarely before all because not thinking about it amounts to committing suicide. God does not go away and we'll all ultimately face him. For both his and your sake, think about him right now. With God the Omniscient, we must be completely open and go all out to know him. Avoiding him is terribly wrong and a huge mistake. So please help me warn as many others as possible. God bless you.
**Taking Advantage of Your Sins
The more sorrowful you feel about your sins, the more you should abandon yourself to God. Never despair, but hope and trust always. Then God will set you free from all sins. Let each sin make you holier until you sin no more! Be amazed by his love and power!
***Truth About Us (and a Choice)
God has made us in his image so that it'd be possible for us to become like him, then sin gets in the way. But now we have Jesus Christ our Savior right with us, ready to remove our sins to turn that possibility into a reality. So our choice comes down to "become like our God" or "remain in sin." The second one just sounds so horrible to me.
***My Greatest Intercessor
In today's first reading from Hebrews 7, Paul writes, "Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them." It's good to know that Jesus is interceding for me; he's on my side and is totally for me! How can I possibly fail? Who can be against me? He has surely made my life most memorable!
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
**Heaven Calling
You probably have heard the saying "Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one want to die to get there." As Christians, we know we can get to heaven and even how we can get there! If you yearn to go there and know that it'll feel like going home, you have been called by the Father.
**Money as a Burden
Money can be a great burden in life. I still remember way back after I got out of college, I finally found a job. I was happy, even though the pay was not very good. I was single and rented a room in a house, sharing the kitchen and the bathroom with others. As a new convert to Catholicism, I was filled with joy. I decided to support two overseas children thru a charity and freely donated to other causes too. Saving money for the future never entered my mind, and I truly was carefree and free. After I got married and started having kids, giving away money became less free. Anytime you work hard and earn more money, money just becomes more precious to you. The point is that money can weigh us down. And we should give away for the glory of God as much as possible under the circumstances. Happy is truly the one who is free to give away whatever amount he wishes.
**Goal Attained
Communion experience. I have attained my ultimate goal on earth and am ready to return to the Father.
***Inextricably Related to God***
The Lord God created us, gave us life on earth, supplies what we need for our sustenance, and has even paved the way for us to return to him after this life. We are totally dependent upon him for everything and related intimately to him as his beloved children. Without him, we wouldn't even exist. If you don't think you need him, you can't be more lost. Even after we die, we'll have to appear before him to give an account of our past. In other words, we are inextricably involved with God, whether you realize it or not. Next time you sin, pause first and know that God knows everything about you, that is, you can't hide anything from him. So be smart and live in complete obedience to him and start you days in heaven on earth.
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