We pray for many things to the Lord; but ultimately, we want to become totally obedient to him. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Jesus gave us the right counsel: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
Sunday, September 3, 2023
*****The LORD Is Real!
From today's reading 1 from Jeremiah 20, we heard read "I say to myself, I will not mention him [the LORD], I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it." Let me tell you that the LORD is real and you can develop a most intimate relationship with him until he becomes your conscience. Now you lead an absolutely exhilarating, rewarding existence!
***Blunt Reality***
Sept. 2. We are all being processed on earth to enter heaven, purgatory, or hell right now. And we have total control over this process when we have Christ with us!
****Every Thought Counts
Sept. 2. Not just our words and deeds, every single thought we have matters—now we are provided with myriad opportunities for storing up treasures in heaven!
***Experiencing God's Wonders
Sept. 2. The more you praise Jesus, the more he exalts you. A wonderful way to feel wonderful!
**Beware of Dementia
Recently, quite a number of old folks I know have developed dementia. This should be a warning to all older persons who have not considered accepting Christ yet. My advice is to look into Christ when your mind is still clear, no matter what age you're at, as he is our only Savior and the one who can give you eternal life. Accepting him has absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.
***Most Appropriate Prayer
Sept. 2. Asking for God's mercy greatly pleases the Lord and benefits ourselves.
***Blessing in Disguise
Sept. 1. Do not complain about your suffering. Accepting it for the Lord's sake will unite you with him and make you strong.
***A Warning to Remember***
September 1. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins. The five foolish ones were not ready when the bridegroom arrived and got locked out of attending the wedding feast. They knocked on the door, asking the Lord to let them in. But he said in reply, "Amen, I say to you, I do not know you." Therefore, we must stay awake at all times. It would be the worst nightmare of our whole existence should that ever happen to us!
**Liberating Thought
August 31. I became aware that I was "trapped" on earth; basically I was limited to traveling over the surface of this planet only. Then death would set me free from my physical body, enabling my spirit to soar toward my loving creator.
***Living Right
August 31. This I've said before and became extra clear to me. It always comes down to be between God and us, never others and us. So make sure that you are always on good terms with God and pray for others instead of blaming them.
***A Form of Self-Slavery*
August 31. The Lord made me see that feeling hurt is a form of self-slavery! We must ask the Lord to deliver us from that.
*Spiritual Progress Necessary
August 30. When Christ underwent his Passion on earth, he faced his sufferings squarely, never complaining nor shrinking back, in carrying out the will of the Father. I look at myself and see that when things don't go my way, I easily lose patience, get upset, start complaining, or even pity myself. Shame on us who do not follow the Lord's example perfectly. But things do get easier as we surrender ourselves more to him. Progress we must if we are not to remain lukewarm.
***Unimaginable Burden
August 28. I felt the burden when I saw that most of the world did not know or had forsaken God, the God of Christ. And I realized how infinitely heavy the burden the Lord God must be carrying when he looked at the ungrateful world. It was unimaginable for me!
***How God Has Made Us
Nothing but God can truly satisfy us. I enjoy listening to music, but I definitely don't want to do that forever. God hasn't made us to live for this life only, and I am glad that my time here is limited. To live with the Father in heaven forever is what I desire and was made for. Above all, it's the Father's wish. He loves all of us, understands our deepest desire and knows exactly how to satisfy us. Aim heaven high is the way to go.
***Our Perfect Soulmate*****
On Aug 27 I realized the following. Since we are all unique and different from each other, finding a perfect soulmate is nigh impossible. Then there's the Lord God. Not only he understands each of us perfectly, he can also transform each of us. Submit ourselves to him, receive him in the Holy Eucharist, and we attain union with him and become like him. Now we and the Lord God are soulmates with each other!
**Fundamental Revelation
At the Vigil Mass on August 26, in the Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in replay, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father." It dawned on me that many of us also believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, without any doubt, so it's the same heavenly Father who has revealed that to us.
**God Totally Trustworthy
I am back after I last blogged on Aug. 25. On Aug. 26, I boarded a plane flying to another city very early in the morning. The window shades on the plane were all lowered, so I couldn't see a thing outside. As the plane was getting ready to take off, I only sensed that it was moving in a certain way. Minutes later, we're airborne. I trusted in the pilot that he would get me to my destination on time. Then I realized that this is how we should trust in God, even more so, for he is infinitely more knowledgeable and reliable than any human pilot.
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