Crying for Joy & Sorrow

      During prayer after morning Mass, I wanted to cry for joy and for sorrow. For joy because Jesus loves me and has been so good to me. For sorrow because he is being rejected by so many. Rejecting someone who hates you is expected by that person, but rejecting someone who has died for you out of love amounts to putting him through death once more. You are killing your Lord and God!     

Jesus Is Our Answer

        What is a good life? What do you really want out of life? Only Christ Jesus provides clear-cut, completely satisfying answers. He not only gives us answers, he is the answer to all our questions! Read about him in the Gospels ~ his example speaks everything to us. Without him, you may find something to help you get by, but nothing can ever be as definitive and authentic as he is because he is God. One cannot exist without him whether you know it or not. Have him in your life and you'll never be lost again.   

Christians to Stand Out

        Today is the Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola. In Reading 1 from Exodus 34, Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of commandments in his hands. The skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord. It made me see that an encounter with God must make us look different. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus likened the Kingdom of heaven to a treasure which a person finds, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has to buy. Do we feel that way when we find Christ? In any case, a Christian who has encountered the Lord and treasured the experience will definitely look radiant on the outside and feel joy on the inside. After all, we are to stand out as the light of the world.   

Keeping Motivation Pure

        I hear people talk about how they eat right for good health a lot. While the motivation may be self-centered, it could be made pure by desiring good health in order to serve God better. As a matter of fact, our ultimate motivation for all things should be loving and serving God so that we may remain pure before the Lord.

Heeding Jesus' Words

        I missed Mass this morning and read the Gospel reading for today from Matthew 13. Jesus explained to the disciples the parable of the weeds in the field. He mentioned the world, the Evil One, the Devil, the end of the age, angels, the collection out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers ~ throwing them into the fiery furnace where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth, and the righteous shining like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. At the end, Jesus said, "Whoever has ears ought to hear."   

         Indeed, Jesus' words are life, the most important thing we'll ever hear. Listening to him or not can result in eternal life or eternal death. His words are especially acute with me now when I am constantly hearing about the deaths of many I personally knew and seeing so many other living friends who do not show any interest in knowing him or knowing him better.

        Note that Jesus separated those who cause others to sin from all evildoers ~ we must avoid causing others to sin like the plague.    

Proper Communion Response

        Today is the Memorial of St. Martha. John 11.27 was the communion antiphon: Martha said to Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into this world." My desire after receiving the Holy Eucharist was to ask the Lord to make me holy for his sake.

Learning from Suffering

        When I am experiencing any physical or mental pain, I realize how horrible the pains the souls in hell must be suffering and I do not wish anyone to ever experience that. So I learn to not judge anyone but pray urgently for everyone.  

Benefiting from Suffering

        When we suffer, we think of how Christ suffered and realize how much he loves us. And we are drawn ever closer to God. 

Unique Joy

        Just watched the Holy Father celebrating the Mass at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, concluding the World Youth Day festival, on EWTN. More than three million young people had gathered for the service and the joy was palpable. This joy is unique because it can only be experienced in Christ. I am just so joyful that I know this joy. It signifies that one has found the fulfilling truth. It is a joy that frees one from the clutches of the world. Alleluia! 

The Suffering Christ

        Communion experience. Since I still felt the pain resulting from the accident I mentioned, today after I received the body of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, the body I saw in my mind was the body of the suffering Christ on the cross. My own suffering didn't seem to matter that much anymore.

Swaying the Lord

        In today's Reading 1 at Mass from Genesis 18, Abraham intercedes for Sodom. He asks the Lord if he will sweep away the innocent with the guilty. The Lord agrees that if he finds fifty innocent people in Sodom, he will spare the whole place for their sake. Abraham keeps asking what if there are forty-five, forty, thirty,... innocent people. Finally, the Lord agrees that he will not destroy Sodom if there are at least ten innocent people.

        What I learn here is that holiness (being innocent) means a great deal to the Lord. Be holy and you can sway him from his plan.  

Jesus Alone Suffices

        Today's Communion experience. Because of the painful accident that happened to me, I experienced even greater joy by contrast. If you have Jesus, nothing else matters anymore.

Ongoing Healing

        Let God be your attending physician. Be ready for him to check and heal you in body, mind, and spirit at all times.

Dealing with Accidents

        Yesterday I had an accident which caused me physical injury. I started thinking about accidents. They are something that happens to everyone no matter how careful you are ~ traffic accidents, for example. Unlike God, we do not foresee what might be ahead. Accidents always come as a surprise or shock. The normal reactions are sorrow, bitterness, self-pity, worrying about the worst to follow, loss of hope, etc. ~ all negative and unhelpful. I believe that the healthy, realistic attitude is to accept that accidents do happen and they happen for a reason. Some of the things we can realize are the following: (1) Whatever has happened will pass in time. (2) Here's an opportunity for learning to be patient. (3) By offering our suffering up to God, it becomes meritorious. (4) Experiencing suffering makes us realize how terribly Jesus suffered for us, thus uniting us to him even more. (5) If we love God, he will never allow us to suffer to the point we cannot bear. (6) We can accept suffering as being purified by God in this life. (7) First, I thought if I am temporarily handicapped, how can I serve God effectively? Then he showed me that accepting suffering is serving him. (8) We can still pray to God for physical healing and he may do just that. In conclusion, be thankful to God for all things.

Banqueting in Heaven

        Communion experience. Just before receiving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, I was content to bask in his light and enjoy my rest in him. After receiving him, I knew I had just attended a banquet in heaven. Seeing it this way, I am already a frequent guest at the dinner table of the Lord in heaven.

Chosen and Called!

        Today is the Feast of St. James, Apostle. The Entrance Antiphon from Matthew 4.18, 21 reads: "As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother mending their nets and he called them." What a great honor and how good it is to be chosen and called by the Lord! If you don't feel he has chosen and called you, ask him to do so, for he calls us so that our life might be fulfilled and our joy complete.

Ideal State of Living

      To me, it is being in union with Christ, following every will of his. This way, you don't ever have to be concerned about what you should do and you know that he will always lead you to do what is right and pleasing to God. 

To Be the Best

        We all desire or at least dream to be the best in something. Once you know Jesus and fall in love with him, you will want to be his best possible disciple. You look at Christ, Mary, and all the other great saints in the Church and you get excited and will want to imitate and learn from them as much as possible.