Our Duties to God

        God is to be praised, worshipped, thanked, and adored; but most of all, he is to be loved.

Loving Explained

        God by his nature loves us; we love others because he loves us.

To Be Exalted by God

        Praise God diligently and he will lift you up high.

Real Presence

        It is the Holy Eucharist I have consumed that makes me aware of the presence of Jesus within me.

Have Theories but No God

       It saddens me to see so many people spending so much time theorizing how they could maximize their profits in investing in, say real estate, what they should look for in shopping for a certain product, how best to grow plants, what to eat to stay healthy and live longer, etc. What good is it if you know all the theories, but not God?   

Suffering Intention

        To want to suffer for God is not the same as to be willing to suffer for him. The former is ego-oriented, while the latter shows your abandonment in him, pleasing him much more.       

Watching What We Say

        Never say anything that can possibly hurt another person's feelings, even if your intention is just to tease a little bit. It follows that you should also not yell at anyone in your own family. Then both you and the world will have more peace.

Returning Son or Daughter

        When you live for God alone, you have returned to the Father.

Communion of Saints

      I got back home late yesterday and am happy to have resumed attending morning Mass. I shall predate each post to reflect the day on which I received the insight. 

         Since your God is my God and your Savior is my Savior, we have communion of saints. United in God as one and we are never alone again ~ such a beautiful thing!

*Special Joy of Sharing

        It's almost 1:30 a.m. The moon shines brightly outside. Normally, I would be sound asleep in bed, but I was awake and speaking to the Lord in the quiet of the early morning. Everything came straight out from my heart ~ petitions, longings, prayers for others, etc. There was this complete openness and trust between us and I sensed a special, beautiful joy. How privileged I am! 

Jesus, Surprise of My Life

        Communion experience. I received the Holy Eucharist, and the Lord completely fulfilled my desire, joy overflowing my heart. I couldn't imagine that I could be happier!

Sweet Power of God

        I have already tasted the freedom, peace, and joy of Christ. Today he added another ingredient: sweetness. Every word from him is sweet to the ear. And it's as if everything about him has a fragrance to it too. Such is the power of God.

Formula for Freedom

        I thought I would stop blogging after my last post, then I attended Vigil Mass because I must leave home early tomorrow, and the Lord fed me with more thoughts. In the Gospel reading from Luke 9, Jesus said to one who would follow him, but wanted to say farewell to his family at home first, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." I immediately saw the formula for attaining freedom, which is following Jesus single-mindedly and single-heartedly, abandoning everything of the past and of the present. When we leave his world, we'll have to do this anyway to be free, so why not start now when you decide to follow Jesus?

Preparing for the Inevitable

         Last Wednesday, I posted about a friend who suffered two strokes. She is still found to lose blood somehow, requiring constant blood transfusion. Another friend is receiving stents for his two clogged arteries in his chest. This morning after Mass, I went to get some bread at the local market and met a fellow parishioner there who will undergo surgery on July 13 to get enough blood to circulate to his lower body. We shall all get to some stage like that as we age. I've already found out how one problem joint can prevent me from doing the many things so simple I never gave a thought about doing them before. All of you, young or old, who still have good health, think about how you would handle yourself when you become weakened or disabled in some way in the future. Will you be happy or unhappy? This is the time to prepare for that. Even more importantly, prepare for your transition to the next life now.       

        [Note: For the next week and a half or so, mostly likely I won't be able to blog. Please check back around July 8 or 9. God be with you always.] 

At the Lord's Table

        Communion experience. I received exactly what the Apostle did at the Last Supper!

Obligation to Jesus

        The only "justified" reason for not accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is believing that he is not God. If you cannot be sure, then you are obligated to accept and believe in him. Delaying your decision only adds urgency to making it.

Division for a Reason

        In Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." Indeed, Jesus is the most compelling controversial figure in the history of mankind. You have to be either for him or against him, precisely because he is true God and because true evil does exist.   

Answering Jesus' Call

        Communion experience. Receiving the Holy Eucharist reverently is answering Jesus' call to union with him.