Today's Communion experience. I receive the Lord and know that he has already taken care of my eternity. More than feeling relieved, I still can't quite get over the fact that the Lord should be so incredibly kind to me.
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
***Blessed Lightning
Just a few days ago, the Brazilian photographer Fernando Braga shared his image of Christ the Redeemer statue being struck by lightning on Instagram, and it has gone viral. As you know, this is the 98-foot-tall colossal statue that sits atop Mount Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro. It's considered to be one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Could this event be some kind of an omen? Ten years ago also in February, lightning struck the Vatican and a little over two weeks later, Pope Benedict announced his resignation. Anyway, here's the video posted by Braga on Instagram. (Watch it full-screen best.)
Monday, February 13, 2023
**False Joy
The world is full of it. Just look at the ads, the TV commercials, and the entertainment industry. Leave out the word "joy" and look for falsehood, and you'll find it in the news media, the big corporations, many politicians, many government agencies, and even the churches. The world has lost genuineness and cannot be trusted any more. Only the God of Christ stands alone as our Savior. He's the one who will resolve all our issues and lead all genuine souls to victory in the end.
*****Spicing up Your Spiritual Life*****
Do you know that God can make you as perfect as you want him to? It all depends upon how much you get out of his way. The fact is that there's no limit to how holy you can become. Realizing this can make following Christ truly exciting! By the way, becoming perfect as much as possible before you leave this earth will also provide you with a most smooth transition to life in heaven.
**Restless Wanderers
Today's first reading from Genesis 4 tells us that Eve bore first a son named Cain and then a second one named Abel. Later, Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy and resentment. The LORD then punished Cain and told him that he should become a restless wanderer of the earth. This is a good term to describe all evildoers. They wander because they don't know the way and are lost. They are restless because they don't know God and so have no peace. They are the very opposite of the Christians who know where they are going and have inner peace in their hearts.
*Loving God over Repenting Sins*
We need to love God and repent our sins. Of the two, loving God takes priority over repenting our sins, for if you love God, you will automatically want to repent your sins. Conversely, repenting your sins may not mean that you truly love God. Besides, focusing on loving God will also lead you to doing many good deeds.
Sunday, February 12, 2023
***Bonding with God***
When God calls us to follow him, it's our highest calling and a great honor to us. When we submit ourselves willingly to God to do his will from our very heart, it's the most beautiful response we can possibly give that he'll remember forever.
*****To Be Perfect Should Be Easy*****
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5:17-37, Jesus gave his disciples many teachings. He said he came to fulfill the law and even "went beyond" the many commandments. They are hard to any average listener, but listen we must, for they come from the LORD. Essentially, he wants us to be perfect in following him. Since he did ask, it must be possible. And if we comply with his will, success is assured. So trust in the LORD, follow his will, and let him make it effortless for you!
***Aiming for Everlasting Life
Another fact we need to be acutely aware is that everything and everyone in this world are passing away! We ourselves are passing away. So there is no point in living for or getting attached to this world at all. We need to seek the LORD who exists forever to let him set us free first, then we can sensibly live our brief lives on this earth in spiritual freedom under his protection. Heaven soon comes next to end our passing away. Live for what passes and we pass with it. Aim for what's everlasting and we become everlasting!
*****Abandonment Our Ultimate Fulfillment*
During morning Mass, for a moment I became aware of my mortality—I could go in a snap of a finger. That was a grace from God to make me see that I am in his hands and I need to abandon myself to him. Now after Mass, I realize that "abandon myself to him" is the consistent message he's been giving me all along. When I cut my finger and had to stop doing some routine things, he wanted me to abandon myself to him. When someone misunderstood me for something I'd said and rebuked me, he wanted me to offer up my sorrow to him. Anytime something went wrong, the same message. So always go to the Lord to seek refuge in him. Live, suffer, and rejoice with him as one. There is nothing more beautiful nor more fulfilling than abandoning ourselves completely to our God.
**Fearing God the Right Away*
To fear God is to be aware that if we sin against him, we can end up in hell. And this makes us want to be holy and blameless before him. There are many among us who seem to have no fear of God at all. They've already been deceived by Satan and are to be pitied the most. Then perhaps they still fear God. But in their case, the fear has made them want to hide or run away from God even more, not knowing that God can actually take away their sins. Nevertheless, pray for them the most.
Saturday, February 11, 2023
****Understand Our Plight**
To know God is not easy, for the world has a big advantage over the Lord. We live in a material world we are in immediate contact with thru our senses, so we experience and are influenced by it at all times. Going along with the world is easy like going downhill. Then there are times we do get weary of it—this is when God calls you. But to know God we need to find solitude, open up our heart, and make the effort to talk to him. As a result, we do not approach him unless some misfortune or tragedy befalls us or we have sinned to the point that our conscience starts to bother us. Of course, once you know the Lord well, the bond you have formed with him should be strong enough to overcome all your attachment to the world. You are finally set free. Now that you know the whole process, it's time to choose to let God lead you all the way to eternal bliss. The going may seem uphill, but the reward is incomparable! (I say "seem" because God can actually make everything virtually effortless.)
***Point-of-No-Return Warning***
In these end times, you hear urgent messages from heaven through many seers. Mary our Mother has been been messaging us in profusion. The gist of all these messages is that we must all convert before it's too late, before the point of no return. Hearing such a warning sends chills down my spine, even though I know I'll be OK. I do not wish to scare anyone, but I do want everyone to know that the time now is most urgent and if you do not awaken to the reality of God, time will run out on you when you least expect it. This you can be more sure of than that that the sun will rise tomorrow.
Without faith in God, life is not worth living. The world has not a thing you can depend upon for long. Christ is our only hope, for you can only get to heaven thru him. He is our only light. Without him, we would end up in darkness for all eternity. There is so much more I can say, but it won't do any good if your heart is closed. I am just lighting up a little candle, hoping that it can help you see that the Christ is the way. Being the truth, he can set you free and make you whole again and you'll have the best possible time of your whole existence. I am speaking to you straight from my heart with absolutely no guile whatsoever. God bless you.
**Our Greatest News
From today's first reading from Genesis 3, we heard how Adam and Eve committed the original sin and the Lord punished them. But, have no worry, Christ our Savior has come and is with us. He will restore us to our pristine state if we follow him. This is our greatest news, worthy for us to rejoice about all our lives.
**Another Good Question to Ask
We can know God only via the heart. When the Lord looks at us, he sees what dwells in our hearts first. When he speaks to us, he always speaks from his heart. So the question for us is "Do we do everything from our hearts?" We should always mean what we do and do what we mean without duplicity.
**Good Question to All Catholics*
Today it's also the optional memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. In 1858, Mother Mary appeared to the fourteen-year-old French peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous (now St. Bernadete) at Lourdes fifteen times and totally changed her life. My question to all Catholics, myself included, is this: Now that you have received the Lord in the Holy Eucharist more than 15, 150, or perhaps even 1500 times, how much has he changed your life?
***Sign You're Becoming a Saint*
There are moments in which we are totally immersed in God's presence and moments in which we are totally immersed in the affairs of the world or our own doings. As we let God draw us closer to him, the former increase, while the latter decrease. Once you have become aware of God's constant presence and start immersing yourself totally in it at all times, you are becoming a saint.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)