In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9, Jesus said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." The picture I see is little me carrying a tiny cross, following the Lord with his big cross. As I follow along, I realize that he's caryimg me with my cross as well. Following the Lord is letting him carry you!
Thursday, February 23, 2023
**Alone with God, Not Alone
First thought this morning. I am not alone! For the Lord is with me—he watches over me; he knows all my intentions, and he hears me when my heart speaks to him. It's impossible for me to ever feel lonely!
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
**Reluctance and Willingness
We are always the ones reluctant to let God love us, whereas God is always willing to save us from sin. When you are willing to embrace God, you are like the prodigal son returning to his father. The whole heaven rejoices and you are an instant celebrity.
****Being Marked by God
Today we all received ash in the form of a cross on the forehead. It's a beautiful mark to remind us that we are but dust, and to dust we shall return. To the faithful, I also see that God has marked them as ones chosen to inherit eternal life! From dust to becoming eternal sons and daughters of the heavenly Father, that's truly an amazing metamorphosis!
***Best Healing Experience!***
Communion experience. Christ is he one who can shake up, enter, purify, and heal my soul! I love it! Lord, now I can truly thank you from my soul.
***Living in Secret, the Secret***
In the Gospel reading from Matthew 6 today, Jesus said to his disciples: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father." The Lord wants us to live our lives in secret, hidden from others. This is living for God alone! This is being truly humble and liberated from yourself!
***Ash Wednesday Hope*
Today is Ash Wednesday. In the first reading from Joel 2, the LORD calls the people to return to him with their whole heart, with fasting. and weeping, and mourning. We weep and mourn because we have sinned against the Lord. But we can also rejoice and celebrate because the Lord is also our Savior! To those who believe and follow him, he promises that he will wipe every tear from their eyes and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain (Revelation 21: 4).
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
**Advice to Married Couples
Union between two human beings can never match our union with God who alone is perfect. True, on earth there are happy marriages and not-so-happy ones. Always remember that in Mark 10, Jesus said that in marriage, the man and the woman shall become one flesh, and no one must separate what God has joined together. Again in Luke 6:32, Jesus said, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them." In other words, we must love everyone, our wife or husband included. Learn to love the unlovely and we grow spiritually. The goal is to let the love of God rule in our hearts. And this can best be accomplished through attaining union with God. For in union, you become humble, selfless, and generous like the Lord, thus you will be able to overcome all difficulties in your marriage or elsewhere in your life. The love of God is the most powerful force in our universe. Obey the Lord to become powerful.
*Attaining Freedom in God*
Communion experience. It's by surrendering every bit of yourself to God that you gain total freedom in him! Everything else fades away, the LORD alone looms large. And I got myself totally renewed.
*Overwhelmed by God
My feeling at morning Mass: "My cup overflows." The Lord has filled my life with so many spiritual blessings as well as material things. Who am I that he should care for so much?
**Make It Good Now*
Live every moment for the Lord. Go all out to receive the most from him. Why not? You live only once on earth, so make it good by loving the Lord God, your creator and Father, as much as possible. (Even though you can undo your sins by repenting and asking for forgiveness from God, the damage has been done and you've lost valuable time on earth.)
***Desiring God in Any Manner*
At the current revival meetings happening at various colleges, we see students with outstretched hands raised high, yearning for the LORD or Holy Spirit. This was also what we did in the Catholic Charismatic Movement that began in the 1970s. Then there are always people who don't feel comfortable exhibiting themselves like that. No problem, you can always praise or contemplate the LORD quietly alone in a sitting, kneeling, or prostrate position. In fact, after being an active charismatic for four and a half years, the Lord "quieted me down" and eventually led me to experience the Holy Spirit fully through receiving the Holy Eucharist. The outer exuberance has now been replaced by an even deeper joy and contentment. Anyhow, desiring God in whatever manner is good, exciting, and rewarding.
Monday, February 20, 2023
***I Speak Jesus***
Jesus will indeed set you free if you will let him! Abandon yourself to the world (Satan) and you lose your soul. Abandon yourself to Christ the Lord and you are saved forever. It's that simple.
*****The Great Awakening*****
God not only exists, he is a living God. He not only lives, he is a caring God! We have a God who actually loves us with the greatest possible love—how can we not be moved to tears and rejoice in him for ever?
How do we connect with this God of Christ? We only need to open our hearts to let the Holy Spirit touch us. This is the great sweet awakening! Once you experience the Spirit, you are never the same again. Now you are ready to let the Lord draw you all the way to his bosom. I am speaking the truth, for I experienced all that personally. You see, when you let God lead you, everything becomes sweet and easy! To be lost in Christ is to be free in paradise forever.
The day before yesterday, my post Viva Cristo Rey showed that the students at Asbury College were being awakened by the Holy Spirit. The movement has now spread to other Christian colleges and universities in various states. These students are experiencing this life-changing awakening right now. Praise be to God!
*****Perfect Union*****
Communion experience. The Lord God has made me. When I received Him in the Holy Eucharist, it was a reunion with him since my creation. It was a perfect union! 😇😂
***Mighty Power of Prayer
In today's reading from Mark 9, the father of a boy possessed by a mute spirit first asked Jesus' disciples to drive the demon out, but they were unable to do so. Now he asked Jesus to do it, and the Lord healed the boy. Later his disciples asked him why they could not drive the spirit out, he said to them, "This kind can only come out through prayer." Let's realize that through prayer we can bend God's ear, sway his heart, and have him change our lives and heal the world for us! With prayer we become powerful influencers of God.
Sunday, February 19, 2023
**Don't Lead a Double Life
We often live our lives acting as our own boss most of the time and with God in mind the rest of the time. This is living a double life, whereas we should live 100% for the Lord God. A divided loyalty makes us hypocrites, don't you agree? In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus taught about retaliation and love of enemies to his disciples and concluded, "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Hence we should not think, say, or do anything apart from the Lord. The more we abandon ourselves to God, the easier it becomes for us to succeed.
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