The yearning for the Lord prompts us to seek union with him. The Lord then helps us grow in holiness and the process of union begins. Now he helps us even more (rather, we are now more receptive) and we are drawn still closer to him. This process continues on. It all starts with a desire at the very beginning and ends with perfect union. Naturally, the Holy Eucharist is the essential aid in this process.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Does the Lord Know You?
Today's Gospel reading is from Matthew 7. Jesus told his disciples that only those who does the will of the Father would enter the kingdom of heaven. And to all the others he would say, "I never knew you. Depart from me..."
It would be so terrible for the Lord to not know you. This is worse than being a nobody ~ it's like you have never even existed. So, we must live in such a way as to make him notice us. Another reason for seeking union with him in this life.
Grafted to the Lord
Today I heard the verse before the Gospel reading about Jesus being the vine and us the branches. This gives me another picture of union with the Lord. We are grafted to him, thereby becoming part of him. Cut off from him and we die. United with him, we get fed and continue to grow. How nice it is to flourish right before his eyes!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Charity Begins at Home
We often act nicer to those outside of the family than we do to members of our own family. To the outsiders we want to create a good image because of pride, whereas at home we freely show our true colors as there's not much to hide anymore. Well, the Lord makes me see that this shouldn't be so. Everyone must be treated alike with love, respect, and patience. The saying "Charity begins at home" takes on a new meaning.
Chance for Heaven
Last thought as I came home from Mass. No one looks perfect in this world. We can be ugly, have wrinkles on the face, scars on the body, bad teeth, crooked smiles, and so on. After we die, we all turn into bare skeletons. Lucky for us is that when we apply for admission to heaven, the Lord totally ignores our appearance and looks at our heart only ~ so we stand a good chance getting our application approved.
Clear Choices to Make
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 11, Jesus asked the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders whether John's baptism was of heavenly or human origin. (John refers to John the Baptist.) Of course, it was either one or the other. Then I thought that with Jesus and the Church, it's the same. Either Jesus is true God or a false impersonator, and his Church of divine or human origin. We are either saved or not. Hopefully, the fact that there is no muddy middle ground to stand on will not delay us in making the right choices.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Two Astounding Facts!
(1) Jesus who is God, became man so that we could get to know God intimately. Astounding!
(2) Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist so that we may become one with him. You could say that this is how we get to get inside God. Again, astounding!
"Desire Nothing"
This was what I received from the Lord during prayer after Mass and I tried to understand what it meant. I believe that it means "we are to conform to God's will and beyond that there's really nothing for us to desire."
How to Ask in Prayer
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 11, Jesus counseled "all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." Again, faith is requisite.
I started thinking: how shall we ask in prayer? If I ask to win the lottery and believe that I will win, will it happen? Then I realize that whatever we ask must glorify God. Therefore, ask the Holy Spirit to teach us how to ask before asking. Basically, we must always ask out of love for God. We ask not to have our way but to have God's will be done. Looking at it this way, I see that asking is also a form of listening to God, a way of discerning his will to which we must conform.
Real Living
As I drove to Mass in the morning, I was acutely aware of God's existence and presence. I know that I trust in him, being not anxious about anything, and just want to follow him with no desire to go off on my own to chase after my own dreams. A peace pervaded me. I realized that this was real living. Any other way would be squandering away the time of my life.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Listening to God Is Essential
It was just in the news that members of certain denominational Christian church picketed with "hate signs" at the funeral service of a veteran. They were anti-gay and believed that God was punishing this nation for tolerating homosexuality. Would their kind of action draw other to Christ?? It just made me realize how we could be so easily mislead when we don't listen to the Lord carefully enough. I always stay away from anyone who proclaims self-righteousness. Let's ask the Lord to teach us in all things and lead us in everything.
God Alone Is to Be...
desired, sought, listened to, and followed. To get ahead, go for the best and ignore the rest.
On Feeling Good
If you feel good when you know that you look good to others in or out of clothes, have won honors and earned higher degrees, or possess good health and great wealth, then you must be a pretty vain person. Whatever pleasure you derive from such satisfaction only feeds the ego and is therefore superficial and short-lived. By contrast, the hidden joy you feel when you humbly serve the Lord is pure and deep, permanently affecting the soul.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Most Wonderful Offering
One person prays for a job and he's offered one. Another prays for healing and gets well speedily. These are all wonderful happenings. But the most wonderful of all to me is that when a sinner prays to become holy, God transforms him or her into a saint. In all cases, God shows his love for us and hopes to draw us closer to him; but in the last, he is most pleased because instead of asking to receive something, the sinner offers himself to God for his glory ~ meeting him halfway, you could say. God's love for us deserves our all.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
To Get Closer to God
If you yearn for God, the only way to get closer to him is to love him more and he will draw you to him ~ most satisfying and rewarding.
Faith Leads to Beauty of God
The more your faith deepens, the more you see the beauty of God. This is somewhat like a spelunker exploring a cave ~ the deeper he enters the cave, the more it opens up before him a new, more beautiful world.
Holy Eucharist, the Most High
Today's Communion verse is from Matthew 28.20: "I, the Lord, am with you always, until the end of the world." To me, the Holy Eucharist Jesus instituted for us confirms this promise in a special way. The Holy Eucharist is the bread of life, the Lord himself, the greatest gift he has left us, so special, so extraordinary, a treasure beyond measure... When I receive the Holy Eucharist, not only Jesus touches me, we become one. This gift is absolutely necessary to attain full union with the Lord. I shall extol and exalt it as long as I am still breathing.
Living a Life of Love
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 10, Jesus makes it clear that anyone who gives up everything to follow him will receive a hundred times more in this life and eternal life in the next. Basically, I see that Jesus wants us to to love him, to experience his love, to be filled with his love. Our whole life then should be one fully immersed in the love of God.
To Take on the Heart & Mind of Christ
On the way to morning Mass, I felt that I wanted to pray like Jesus. He is completely intimate with the Father (they are one) and always asked for the will of the Father to be done. Then I thought that I wanted to think like Jesus and feel like Jesus too. It's clear that union with Christ will bring about these desired changes.
Back to Abandonment in God
The other day I had a chance to urge someone to come back to the Church. I began well; but gradually, because of my zeal, I started swamping him with too many words. The lesson I learned is that even with zeal, I should always follow the Holy Spirit and not take over his lead. And I must always leave the outcome to him so that my zeal may not get out of bounds. It's back to abandoning myself to God.
Monday, February 28, 2011
To Achieve True Freedom
Today's Entrance at Mass from Psalm 18: "The Lord has been my strength; he has led me into freedom..."
How to be truly free? Anyone in slavery himself has no power to free himself. It's like trying to lift yourself up by pulling on your own boot straps. He needs someone greater than himself, a master, to free him. And that master is God, with whom nothing is impossible. It is in letting ourselves be captives of God that we become free ~ one of those paradoxes that are true.
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