Jesus the True God

        I woke up in bed around 2 a.m. this morning.  In the dark stillness, my mind was drawn immediately to Jesus.  I started thinking that here's someone I've never met in person and was here on earth some 2,000 years ago, in a region far away from where I reside now; yet, among all the people I know, he is the  one closest to my heart and most intimate to my soul.  I don't believe this kind of relationship exists in any other religion.  I wasn't ever brain-washed, nor was I under any kind of spell.  No one has  pressured me into this relationship, which I am free to sever anytime I wish.  And I am not alone, knowing that there are many, many others feeling the same way.  The only conclusion I could come to is that I have encountered the True God in Jesus.

Trying God Last

        Just saw someone on TV saying how yoga helps him live a balanced, holistic life and all that.  This is fine, but it just struck me why people always try God last in times of need.  If we say that we believe in God, then is it right to set him aside, feeling that we don't need him to "interfere," until we are in a jam or some desperate situation?  To ignore anyone's presence amounts to an insult, let alone that someone is God.  If you wish to establish an intimate relationship with God, then the first step to take would be to stop ignoring him.  Remember: "Draw God in," not "leave him out."

Self-Importance Blinds Us

        I've been thinking about our own place before God.   We are really a lot smaller and more limited than we think.  God is infinite in every way, while we really know practically nothing.  It's true that man has made great progress in all areas of knowledge, discovered many "secrets" of the universe, and changed the material world for his own comfort and convenience, but that does not mean that man is getting smarter.  When you play hide-and-seek and find the object, your IQ just doesn't jump higher all of a sudden.  The "tragedy" is that man thinks he's now god or at least more important than ever.      

        All day long, you hear politicians, scientists, news commentators, celebrities,... express their own opinions.  There are experts and pundits in every field now.  They all love to tell you what they think and knock others in the process.  They all want themselves to look good and be at the center of attention.  Rampant self-importance has blinded them from seeing the presence of God.  How important you feel about yourself really indicates how much you lack humility, the must-have for knowing God.  Christ is our supreme example here.  Pray hard for the conversion of our minds and hearts. 

Never mind...

what people think of or say about you; let only what people think of or say about God be of your utmost concern.

Made for Each Other

        God created the entire universe and all things in it.  He made the plants, all animals, us, and myriads of other objects.  It should be obvious that we are extra special among all his creations.  We were made in his image out of love and are expected to love him back.  No other creatures are expected to love him back because they were not created with the ability to do that.  A tree doesn't know how to love.  All non-human animals do not have the concept of God.  Let alone the planets and stars.  We are so special that God didn't even mind letting his own beloved Son take on our form becoming one of us to reveal his love for us!  Indeed, we and God were made for each other.  Rejoice please.   
        Another thought: We are the only creature that can be made Christlike!!!

Reject...

all praises, compliments, honors, and recognitions coming from other humans as if they were poison, but embrace all graces from God heartily as if your very life depends upon them (as a matter of fact, your eternal life does depend upon God's graces).           

How to Know God

        People want to know all kinds of things.  Scientists, philosophers,... all search and search, hoping to know more.  If the goal is to know God, then they will not find him that way.  You can study, learn, and research for a million years and never get to know God.  The Lord is not to be found in test tubes, cannot be cornered and examined, and is beyond the reach of our intellect.  You will only find him when you have the right attitude and mind-set, then he will reveal himself to you.  The way to know him is really simple ~ it just involves the heart.  Be humble, beg, and wait, and he is there.  This is what faith is all about.  This is why faith is so beautiful.  Sadly, this is also why so many do not get to know God.          

A Not-to-Judge Reminder

        On EWTN last night, I heard Father Corapi (in a 2003 video) quoting Jesus in The adulteress incident (John 8).  When the scribes and Pharisees tried to trap Jesus by asking him what he had to say about following the law of Moses to stone the woman, Jesus answered: "Let the man among you who has no sin be the first to cast a stone at her."  This again is a good reminder for me not to judge others. 

The Lord Really Meant It!!!

        During Eucharistic Prayer at this morning's Mass, father, consecrating the bread, said the usual words of Jesus, "Take this, all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you."  Then, to consecrate the wine, again using Jesus' words, he said "Take this, all of you, and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you..." ~ at this precise point, it hit me hard that the Lord really meant it, as he did go right on to shed his blood.  Then when he said "I am the way, and the truth, and the life," he must really mean it too.  It follows that the Lord has been truthful in all his sayings.  This greatly increased my admiration and love for him.  Thank you, Jesus.   

God Is Sweet

        If you love the Lord, you'll find that everything about the Lord is sweet, sweet to the spirit, that is.  Today at Mass when I heard "the kingdom of God" mentioned, I instantly sensed its sweetness.  (A note of caution to myself: I must never let such feeling distract me from the central faith I have in God.)   

Making God Feel Good

        I've been feeling happy because I realize that I don't need to hide in any darkness ~ I'll just let the purifying light of God shine upon me, revealing all the specks in me and then removing all of them so that I may be made clean.  Being clean is a great feeling, then I must remember that the goal must be to make God the Father feel good, not me.  I should feel good only when he feels good.  

        At morning Mass, I wanted to prostrate myself before the mercy of God, letting him take over, taking complete care of me.  Again, good feeling for both of us.     

"Pessimistic Christian"

        Another oxymoron here.  A true Christian places all his hope in God.  Being hopeful in God, he remains optimistic.  Placing his faith in God, he leaves all subsequent events to God.  Since he sees afterlife as a continuation of the present life, his vision is longrange, keeping him upbeat.  Suffering, OK; being pessimistic, NoK. 

The Christian Edge

        When you see others distressed, you comfort them by asking what's the worst that could possibly happen.  If they are not going to lose their life, then you tell them not to worry about it ~ right?  But we Christians have a edge here because even we die, it's OK ~ we get to be with the Lord in paradise ~ right?  Right.

A Judgment Experience (video)

        Here's the story of Fr. Steven Scheier as told to Mother Angelica on EWTN.

        The video plays for just over 40 minutes, but it's well worth watching.  The story reinforces the knowledge that God's mercy is so wide, broad, and deep in scope that if you are still an atheist or not a true believer and keep going your own way and end up at the wrong destination, you have only yourself to blame.  God has bent forwards, backwards, and sideways, to the point of sacrificing his own beloved Son to save us, exactly what more do you expect him to do?

        One last thought.  People will pay to buy a lottery ticket, hoping to gain financial security in this life when the odds of winning are so slim that you're more likely to be killed by lightning, yet they are not willing to accept the free mercy offered by God to win eternal life.  You figure that out.

"All Up to You"

        Instead of saying "Thy will be done" at the end of prayer, I find it easier to say "I leave it all up to you."  This immediately frees me because now it's the Lord's turn to make the move.         

Holy Spirit, the Teacher Extraordinaire

        I posted earlier about God the psychiatrist, now I want to say something about Holy Spirit the teacher extraordinaire.  The Holy Spirit teaches with love.  Other teachers lecture to the brain, but the Holy Spirit whispers to the heart.  Other teachers force you to reason, but the Holy Spirit gently infuses sublime knowledge of God into your soul.   All other good teachers demand you to do rigorous homework for you to learn, but the Holy Spirit only needs you to remain passive and recollected to be enlightened.  Best of all, the Holy Spirit already knows your heart and will always give you what's best for you to know.     

Remarkable Lord

        It struck me today that one most impressive, remarkable, and beautiful trait of Jesus is his humility.  He is God with infinite power and knowledge, yet he never once did anything to show himself off ~ every word and action were motivated by love and compassion.  He is Lord, but never lord it over us.  I rejoice that I have such a one to be my Lord.     

Concern for the Soul

        Early this morning the electricity went out and the whole neighborhood went dark.  It's the absence of light that made me think of "death."  I thought of all the people who leave a will behind before they die.  I pray that people will realize that it's so much more important to be concerned about where their souls are heading after death when they are still alive than about how their previous material possessions are going to be disposed of when they are not even around.

Live Every Moment

        In the older days when I was spiritually a lot less mature, I wasn't always happy at my job and felt that I didn't get to do what I really wanted to do in life.  I didn't exactly enjoy getting out of bed every morning to face the day ~ same old routine again!  Looking in the mirror I saw that I was getting older and older.  I asked myself, "What have I accomplished?"  

        Like most people, I lived for certain events.  For example: my upcoming vacation, Super Bowl on TV (for sports fans), the party at a friend's house this weekend, or the break coming up for me to finish making my storage chest.  I just looked forward to such events so much that it seemed that I basically lived for them and filled the in-between spaces with chunks of my tedious life.  I could see that this could go on easily for the rest of my life.  It's clear that this is not the way to live. 

        Now I am happy that with God's help I am living every moment instead of from event to event.  I don't need special events to keep me going; I am resting in God every moment of my life.  I am free to leave this world anytime.  To love and possess God is to be in heaven already.  It's just a matter of (short) time before the real heaven appears.  Events in life offer no hope of any kind; they merely provide temporary escapes.  Living for them is no better than going to a bar to get drunk to forget.  Live for God, the Truth, alone and you will know that you are truly living.
        (My apology for using "I" so many times in this post.)

Pure Is Best

        If I am asked to be holy, it seems to be a tall order.  Where and how do I start?  There must be a whole list of things for me to do. 

        Here's the good news.  Try to become pure, and you will be holy as well.  Ask the Holy Spirit to make your heart pure, then your thoughts, words, and actions will automatically come out pure.  When you are pure, your are clean, and you'll have peace in your heart and be fragrant before the Lord.  So, be pure and let the Lord love you.

         

Most Wonderful Relationship

        This morning I was thinking about the fear of the Lord being a good thing.  Perhaps in some other religion(s), the fear of God or god(s) is a scary thing.  But Christians, acknowledging themselves as sinners and knowing that God is all holy, fear God more out of respect and love than out of true fear.   Jesus has come and shown us that God is our most loving Father and we, as his adopted sons and daughters, can approach (run to) him without fear as long as we have the proper attitude.  This is a most wonderful relationship that's, shall I say, made in heaven.        

Be Liberated

        All things belong to God.  Think about it: what can be considered yours alone?  Even yourself belong to God, for no one comes into the world on his own, knowing where and when he was to be born.  Everything you have now was already here or made from things already existing.  Not a thing has your name stamped on it that says it's yours forever.  We'll all be gone soon and not be able to hold onto any material things.  Even non-material things such as love, appreciation of natural beauty, etc., belong to God, for he made us in his image in the first place.  When you are aware of this truth, you become immediately liberated!!!  There's no need to be attached to things that are transient, to fight for things that cannot truly be yours anyway, or to get uptight about not being able to get something you want.  You will always have God's love and that is more than sufficient.

        A footnote: All things include the people you know.        

Spreading the Good News

        St. Matthew, whose feast is today, after preaching the gospel to Jewish communities in Judea for 15 years, traveled to Gentile nations and spread the gospel to the Ethiopians, Macedonians, Persians, and Parthians.  He died as a martyr in Ethiopia.  This made me think that we who follow Christ should regard evangelizing as our full-time job, whether at home, at work, or traveling somewhere. 
        Normally, I am happy not to leave home, but last time I went on a cruise, which is usually boring, after I found out that there's daily Mass on-board and saw the trip as an opportunity to evangelize, as some of the friends going along were non-believers.  It turned out that the priest's room was right across the aisle from mine and I got to assist him at Mass.  Then one couple was very receptive to Catholicism when the chance came up to spread the good news of Jesus with them.  This alone made the trip worthwhile.                

Do You Need Jesus?

        Today is the Feast of St. Matthew.  From Matthew 9: Jesus spoke in Matthew's home for the Pharisees to hear, "People who are in good health do not need a doctor; sick people do... I have come to call, not the self-righteous, but sinners."  So if you believe that you are not spiritually sick and is not a sinner, then you don't need Jesus.