Sole Occupation

        Communion experience. I let Jesus capture my heart and everything else was forgotten.

Fighting Temptation

        In the Lord's Prayer, we ask the Father not to lead us into temptation because temptation can directly lead us to sin seriously. It is like quicksand which can sink us fast if we do not take drastic action fast. I know people who are aware that they should not be in a certain situation, but feel completely helpless in getting out of it because they are already in the grip of temptation. Since all temptations start with a thought, the big advantage of being in union with God is that you are able to discern a sinful thought immediately, drop it from your mind, and turn to Jesus, thus nipping it in the bud and preserving your inner peace.     

Suffering Alleviated

        When you suffer physically, mentally, or spiritually, think of Jesus and Mary who had gone through everything! Then you will be comforted and find strength in bearing your sufferings.

Warning to the World

        The whole trouble with the world is that we want to be gods against God. John the Baptist, after testifying to Jesus said, "He must increase; I must decrease," and we are doing just the opposite! Consider the God/god ratio. For the perfect, that value should be infinity; but for the godless, it's now zero or near zero. The world must wake up or face condemnation that will make us wish that we had never been born.  

Finding the Center

         As a Catholic, you attend weekly Mass, go to confession regularly, get involved with parish ministries, etc., hoping that you'd be drawn closer to Christ. After you get to know the Lord intimately and fall in love with him, he becomes your center and all. Now you attend Mass, go to confession, participate in ministries, etc., spontaneously because he has drawn you close to him. 

*Power of God

        As I was praying the first decade of the Rosary on the Glorious Mystery Resurrection this morning, the Lord made me see his power. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven ~ all this happened supernaturally without any effort on God's part. By contrast, for example, human scientists have worked hard for decades to find a cure for cancer and are still unfruitful. When God wills something, it's done. Let there be light and there was light. I know that he can heal my sprained wrist instantly now if he so wishes. When we repent and ask him to take away our sins, it's done. When we surrender and desire union with him, it's done. When we believe and beg him to grant us eternal life, it's done. Follow the will of the Lord to let him accomplish what he wills.

We Need God

        I have a simple, straight mind. I see that we live in an imperfect world with every person a sinner, my family and myself included. Therefore, we need God to save us. Period. 

Most Special Relationship

        The most meaningful, satisfying, fulfilling, uplifting, life-changing, private intimate relationship one could possibly have in this life is union with God. You know that you are God's most special creature.

Afraid to Die?

          If you are afraid to face death, know what your reason(s) could be to help you overcome that fear. Here are some possible reasons: (1) Being afraid of God's judgment, (2) not willing to leave your loved ones, (3) not willing to leave your material possessions, (4) not willing to give up your way of life, (5) being worried about going to hell, (6) not knowing what's on the other side.

        None of these reasons are valid since they are all removable with your cooperation with God.

How to Be Beautiful

        If you want to look beautiful before others, that may be impossible. Then why should you care? Be holy and you'll be beautiful before God. Remember that we are ugly only if we sin.

Resting in God

        Communion experience. I rested in the peace of my Lord and saw clearly that we are to do our utmost to love and obey him and not worry about the fulfillment of our own wishes. To rest in him means just that'

More Lessons Learned

        Today is Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist. The Gospel reading from Mark 6 tells that after Herod had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, he still feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and even liked to listen to him speak. At this point, it looked as if John was not in any danger. Then Herodias, who harbored a grudge against John, had an opportunity (with her daughter' help) to get John beheaded. This was certainly a turn of events, although now we see that it was all in God's plan. This made me see that life is unpredictable. Take driving the car. I dare say that every driver gets into an accident at least once in his or her life. The last time my small truck was totaled, it was because someone who had lost his way abruptly switched from the far right lane to the far left one across my path. And I remember one early, dark morning as I was making a left turn, I was almost hit by a car I didn't see because its headlights were not turned on. I have now learned to drive with vigilance, patience, and even humility. The lessons apply to living the spiritual life as well : We are to be vigilant and humble, and rely upon God.    

Feeling Greatly Blessed

        Communion experience. I felt so fortunate, lucky, blessed that I'd gotten to know Christ, my Lord and God. He truly changed my life by raising me to live in him and with him. The best was still to come. I am just so happy and grateful. God is to be praised!   

Serious Business

        In the Gospel reading from Matthew 25, we heard the parable of the ten virgins. The clear lesson here is that we must take God seriously or we can miss the boat and be locked out of his kingdom forever. Taking God casually is not any better than not believing in him. We must attempt to give our all to God, for he has given his all to us.  

Be Strong Now

        Yesterday was the memorial of St. Monica and today, that of St. Augustine, her son. In the Gospel acclamation Luke 21.36, Jesus said, "Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man." This is the strength we need to stand before the Lord at judgment time. But we are standing before him right now, the only difference being that he is not judging us yet. So, why not live assuming that he is judging us and we don't have to be concerned about being judged later?       

Cause of Our Problems

        Because of the recent horrible killing of two journalists of a TV station in Virginia by an unhappy former employee, the subject of gun control surfaced again. Stricter gun control can help, but won't solve the problem. Even if we dispossess all of our guns, criminals can still find ways of harming others. The cause of so many crimes is that we have abandoned God ~ this is absolutely correct. Yet today, no one, all politicians included, has the courage to say this. They are all concerned about being politically correct rather than listen to God. Trying to solve our problems while excluding God is trying to be god themselves ~ they are already doomed for failure.

Our Role Today

        The population of the world is around 7.3 billion, so each one of us is just one of 7,300,000,000 people. In this secular, chaotic, disordered world, what good can we do? I see clearly that the role of each one of us is to keep the word of Christ, follow him and be holy, never letting all the problems we face get us down, because if everyone serves God, there will be peace. 

In Heaven on Earth.

        Communion experience. Wherever Jesus is, heaven will be. My body is on earth, but when I receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, our heart is already in heaven, and my soul will follow later.