Content in God

        Communion experience. After receiving the Lord, time froze and I clearly saw all the sins I committed before I knew him and the restless state my soul was in. Now, I am in him, with him, and could ask him to keep me clean to my heart's content. What a difference God can make! He does want to give us joy that can wipe out all sorrows.

Experiencing the Holy Spirit

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 24, Jesus, after his Resurrection, appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Even though they were prevented from recognizing the Lord at first, their hearts burned within them when he spoke to them and opened the scriptures to them. If you experience the burning of the heart at the thought of him, it is the Holy Spirit, for you cannot induce this feeling yourself. Paul wrote that it is the Holy Spirit in us who prompts us to cry out, "Abba, Father!" Naturally, this has to come from the heart and not just saying it without feeling. Tears of joy is another gift of the Spirit. God is not cold; he is to be experienced.

Most Pleasing to God

        Sometimes we promise God that we would glorify him in some way if he would grant us a certain favor. But the Lord would be more pleased if we do not bargain with him but submit ourselves to his love with great trust. 

Our Full-Time Job

        Following Christ is a full-time job. In fact, it should become our second nature. To achieve that, simply seek union with God by surrendering ourselves to him.

*Tough or Timid

       There are guys who want to be tough, believe that they are tough, and act tough. But if they are afraid to look into themselves to see what they are made of and are afraid to face God, then they are in truth timid souls. On the other hand, those who remain humble and willingly submit themselves to God are the courageous (and wise) ones whom God will happily exalt.

God Incredible

        He loves me; he died for me; and he enters and becomes one with me through the Holy Eucharist. I believe in him and receive unbelievable benefits. Praise be to him forever!        

Feeling Sorrow in Happiness

        Communion experience. I already have the Lord and lack nothing, so I felt great sorrow for those who do not know him and greater sorrow for both the Lord and those who reject him.

Life Also Precious

        Even though our life on earth is relatively brief, it does provide us with many opportunities to increase our faith. When we are receptive to God, he also uses every moment to teach us. It is through living on earth that we receive our faith. Besides, our life is given by God. Thus life is essential and precious too.      

Faith Over Life on Earth

        Faith in Christ is infinitely more precious than life on earth, for the former guarantees life eternal, while the latter is over in the blink of an eye. If you ever have to choose either faith or life to keep, you should clearly choose faith.

**Life's No. 1 Concern

        If you have any foresight and courage at all, you should do your best to make sure that you soul will enter eternity happily, for it exists forever. A pointed question: what's the point of living if you future life is going to be even more miserable?

Guidelines for Living

        In today's first reading from Acts 5, the Apostles rejoiced that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name of Jesus. So it's not what others do to you, but how you respond to the Lord that matters. What the world thinks of you is utterly unimportant relative to what God think of you. And always follow the will of God and not be concerned about your success or failure in whatever you do.

Joy of Resurrection

        It's a great joy because the Resurrection of Jesus definitively gives us the hope of eternal life ~ simple as that.       

Profound Interior Renovation

        Communion experience. God entered me and I was never going to be the same again.

*Compelling Truth

        In this morning's first reading from Acts 5, the Apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin and the high priest forbade them to teach in Jesus' name. Peter and the Apostles chose to obey God rather than men and this infuriated the members of the Sanhedrin. In the Gospel reading from John 3, John wrote about Jesus, the one from heaven: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him." We see the clear division Jesus caused and that we must choose sides. The sign of truth is that it does not override our free will; it only compels us to either accept or reject it.  

*On Borrowed Time

        I got up this morning and realized that it's another day, and of course this has happened to me thousands and thousands of times. But today I realized something extra, that we are all on borrowed time. We don't know exactly how many days we borrowed from God, but that number is limited. When we return all the days to him, we shall be checked for how we "took care of" our days. Did we squander them as the prodigal son did in the parable or listen to and obey what he had taught us through Christ the Son of God? I am citing two extreme examples. Remember that everything that comes from God will return to him.

*Big Screwup

        Reflecting on the earlier post "Declaration of Critical Truth," I see that God has made salvation simple and straightforward for us, but we have made it convoluted and hard for ourselves! 

Great Privilege

        Communion experience. I received exactly what Jesus handed out to his disciples at the Last Supper.

*Declaration of Critical Truth

        John 3.16-21 was today's Gospel reading at Mass. Here's verse 16: God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. You've probably heard this verse quoted and seen it on billboards so often that you don't think about it much anymore. To think about it, it is a declaration of the most beautiful truth of critical importance to us! We should really know it by heart and think about it often. Here are verses 19-20: And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. Here we have the "sickness" of the world clearly diagnosed by the Apostle John just about two thousand years ago.