Unity Is Strength

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus drove a demon out of a mute man and the crowds thought that Jesus did it by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons.  Jesus then said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.  And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?"  Indeed, strength comes from unity.  And our strength is derived from union with the Lord, who is invincible and against whom only fools will go.

We Must Choose Sides

        Today's Entrance verse: "I am the Savior of all people, says the Lord.  Whatever their troubles, I will answer their cry, and I will always be their Lord."  How I wish that every person will believe.  The world is in chaos, and unbelief and sin are the cause, yet people still feel that nothing bad should happen to them, forgetting that by choosing sin, you reject God.  In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus said, "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."  Yes, we must choose sides. 

Perfect Relationship with God

        I've been thinking about relationships among people.  I dare say that there isn't a single instance in which you feel absolutely close to someone because there are always some differences between any two people.  But with God you can get so close to him that you become one with him.  Basically, I see him as being so great and merciful that we can be totally absorbed by him.  If we repent, any distance between him and us vanishes ~ we're back in the bosom of the Lord like what happened to the prodigal son.  What a great God we have ~ he is all we need!    

The Passion of Christ

        In this Lenten season leading to Easter, we think of the Passion of the Lord ~ how he went through the agony, was scourged and crowned with thorns, etc., ending with Crucifixion.  Then I thought of one excruciating moment: After Jesus had been nailed to the cross, the whole cross had to be lifted up, dropped into the hole, set straight, and compacted to stay in the upright position.  There had to be a lot of violent jerking and shaking of the cross with Christ on it during the process.  Imagine how painful it must have been for him, our most loving Lord!!!  May he be appreciated and glorified forever and more.   

Formula for Freedom

        If you don't care about what others think and do everything only out of love for God, you are truly free.  If you are much attached to the world and concerned about how you appear to others, then you are still imprisoned.  It's all perfectly logical. 

The Body and the Soul

        After Mass during prayer, I became aware of the following.

        God has created this physical universe, but he lives in the spiritual world.  We have our physical body here, but our soul is not to live forever in this physical world.  We are very much aware of the body ~ its weight, the pains and aches, the tiredness, etc.  Even when I pray, I am conscious of the discomfort of the body, distracting me from my concentration.  The body basically is a drag, but we just have to live with it. 

        Then I intuitively see that the soul is a separate entity.  The soul has a life of its own, you might say.  The body and the soul have different demands, each operating in its own world.  In this life, they are merged in one person, but they are so distinct from each other that I see clearly that the soul's home is not in this world.  The body is designed to dwell in this physical universe temporarily and the soul to dwell in the spiritual world for all eternity with God, just as Jesus came into the world and then ascended into heaven.  

        This awareness helps me become even more detached to this world.      

Power of the Holy Eucharist

        Right after receiving Holy Communion this morning, I recalled Jesus proclaiming that he is the light of the world and is also the way, the truth, and the life.  Then I saw the power of the Holy Eucharist: illuminating my soul, leading me all the way to the Father, setting me free, and filling me with new life.     

No Procrastination

        Procrastination is a "bad" word.  To procrastinate doing God's will is even worse ~ it's refusing to do his will temporarily.  The whole purpose of life is to follow God every step of the way so that life becomes meaningful.  When we hear God calling, we must act ~ this is obedience.  It could be as small as responding to someone wanting to talk to us. 

        [I am posting this message for myself to hear too.]

We Are Special!

        Before Mass started this morning, I was thinking that the Israelites were special because they were chosen by God to believe in him from the very beginning.  Then we are special too for being chosen by God to know the Son, Jesus the Savior, and inherit eternal life.

Warfare Continued

        Jesus came to engage the Enemy.  He lost his life, but he won the war.  For us to fight the spiritual war, we must likewise counter hatred with love and pride with humility.  This is God's way and must be our way too.  Utter dependence upon the Lord is called for.      

How to Fight the Enemy

        I personally feel that God and his Church are facing vicious and violent attacks today.  I think many of you will agree.  Just look at the news every day.  People just do what they want to do and say what they want to say.  The closest description would be to say that they all act as if they were god (not God because they are in reality anti-God).  So what are we the believers to do?

        Realizing that the objective of Satan is to alienate us from God, we must all the more cling to the Lord.  We must be ready for martyrdom if necessary.  After all, this is warfare!  Stick with the Lord through thick and thin all the way to eternity and nothing can harm our soul.  We know who our leader is, but our poor enemies don't even know that they are being lead astray ~ they need our prayer.         

Attending Daily Mass

        I have been attending Mass daily for over three year now.  Way back in the past, I did attempt to do the same.  Some of my friends attended daily Mass (this was at a different parish), so I thought it should do me good too.  But it didn't last long ~ I didn't feel I was getting enough out of it and besides, getting up early in those days was hard for me.  I already loved the Lord, but my thinking was more or less self-centered. 

        I am recalling all this because this morning as I drove to Mass, I felt that I had an important appointment with the Lord and was eagerly going there to meet him.  This time, definitely the Lord was drawing me.  What I pray is that even if I don't feel the draw, I will continue to go to him, for he always bless you extra for making the effort to please him and not yourself.           

On Obeying the Lord

        The strong in faith obey the Lord out of love, while the weak in faith obey him out of fear.

Jesus Gives Living Water

        In today's Gospel reading from John 4, Jesus told the the woman of Samaria by the well "whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  This statement really resonates with me because like the spring water Jesus does refresh my soul, especially when I receive him in the Holy Eucharist, and I do feel the constant surge or welling of the Holy Spirit within me.  As the Lord said, the water he gives indeed quenches the thirst of the soul, but it also intensifies the soul's yearning for him.  This is only natural, as once you have tasted something good, you desire even more of it.

Jesus Is Ours!

        Today's Gospel reading at Mass was the well-known Prodigal Son parable from Luke 15.  It's such a beautiful story depicting God's love for us.  Books have been written based upon this story.  It richly provides so much we could reflect upon.  What struck me this time was what the father said to the older son near the end: "My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours."  To those of us who already belong to the Father, even if nothing special happens to us, we know that God's love is ever present and most of all, Jesus is ours.   

Surrender Leads to Union

        "Surrender" is the last thing people want to do.  To surrender is to yield or submit to another person, or to give oneself up.  But surrendering to God actually turns out to be the way to freedom.  God now takes over and starts removing all your worries, fears, and other negative feelings; for he is merciful, gentle, patient, understanding and full of compassion.  He does not boss you around; he even gave you a free will!  If you think otherwise, then you have not known him yet.  The whole goal or wish of God is to free us.  To surrender to him is to surrender to Love.  It's what every human being should do ~ to acknowledge that he is the Lord and to recognize and accept ourselves as his beloved children.  Therefore, surrender leads to union.  What else could you possibly wish for?

        A footnote.  God never forces us to love him, because there cannot be love if it's not genuine.  In the same way, there is no genuine faith if we are forced to believe.

Be Truthful

        To maintain the most intimate relationship with God, I see the absolute necessity of being truthful to him.  By that I mean laying yourself open before him, hiding nothing but revealing everything.  You want the Lord to see everything in your heart, your mind, and your soul to let him help you understand and see so that he may guide and heal you.  If you are closed to him, then he cannot help you.  So, be truthful to God and you'll be truthful to yourself too. 

A Conjecture

        Today's Gospel reading is from Luke 16 ~ the well known story about the poor man Lazarus who died and went to heaven, while the rich man died and landed in the netherworld.  Some people have asked why others seem to have everything in this life while they live a hard life.  Here is a conjecture.  No one is 100% good or 100% bad.  Let's say someone is only 10% good, then he's probably reaping his reward for the good part in this life already.  Someone 10% bad is probably just being "punished" for the bad in this life.  Obviously, the choice to suffer in this life and be rewarded in the next is preferable.