A Warning

         Watching the news on TV is extremely depressing. You see myriad sins being committed nonstop both at home and abroad, causing unbearable pains and sufferings to so many people worldwide. It's even sadder when you realize that all these sins are committed against our God who's filled with love for us. Then I remember that when Jesus was carrying his cross on his way to being crucified, he turned to the mourning and lamenting women who followed him and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.'" Indeed, this is also the time for us to weep for ourselves, for the worst is sure to come if we do not turn to God. 

To Die to Live

        To die in Christ is to live in him. If there's no death, there cannot be new life. To enter God, who is Life, one must die first.

Being Alive or Dead Defined

        One is not alive unless he is spiritually alive, and is indeed dead when he is spiritually dead.

Let the Unknown Be Unknown

        At morning Mass, the Lord showed me again that I must trust in him in all things. Even though I have no idea about what's going to happen next, to me and around the world, I should not let any unknown disturb me. All the worries won't do any good. God's will for us is to have peace, his peace, as Jesus had repeatedly wished his disciples. Our God is the God of peace. He only wants us to trust in him and not worry or be anxious about anything, for he is in charge.

The Joy of Going Home

        This morning before Mass started, I felt that in a way I was going home to the Father like the lost son in the parable. Even though I hadn't squandered my inheritance on a life of dissipation, I was still returning to the Father as a repentant sinner and there would be a celebration, albeit not a big one, at his house. Returning to God is always a joy for both the Father and us.

Let God Mean the Most

        We can make what means a lot to us mean a lot to God. For example, we give up a strong desire to possess some material thing for the sake of pleasing God. "No pain, no gain" applies here too. The gain is the freedom we gain after letting go of what we would've liked to have. The more we let go of our own cravings to please God, the more he grants us peace.  Let God mean the most to us.   

Beauty in Obedience

        Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin. The Gospel reading comes from Luke 1. The angel Gabriel came to Mary to let her know that she would conceive in her womb and bear a son, to be named Jesus. After Mary fully understood the message, she responded, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." When I heard that read, I sensed the beauty in obedience to God. This is no slavery; on the contrary, it is the path to freedom. This is the way it should be ~ all of us creatures obeying our Creator.

God's Love the Greatest Gift

        I attended a Bible study session this morning on the subject of heaven and hell. It made perfect sense to me that since the love of God for us is so great, so amazing and incredible, those who reject this love will have to face serious consequences. It's basically spurning the greatest gift that's offered to you. 

I Need God

        Thoughts I had this morning before Mass started. God put me on this earth; he set the date and place for me to be here. I had nothing to do with it. I and everything I have now came from him. I am still breathing and alive because he's sustaining me. I owe him for everything ~ he completely owns me. Therefore, how dare I think that I am somebody, that I don't need him, that I can do all right on my own, and be not grateful, especially after what Jesus had gone through to show his infinite love for us?  How dare I not be humble before the Lord? Yes, I need God, I love him, I embrace him, and I'll praise him forever.     

Stages of a Spiritual Journey

1. Life is empty.
2. You search for God.
3. You find Jesus.
4. You want to know more about him.
5. While he draws you in, you fall in love with him.
6. You yearn for him so much that you want to become one with him.
7. By his grace channeled through the Holy Eucharist, you achieve union. Now you totally belong to God.  

The Faith Difference

        Without faith in God, you have nothing. With faith in God, you have everything, for everything he has is now yours.

To Be Truly Healed

        If you ask God for healing, ask him to heal your soul first and the body second, for the soul lives on forever and the body doesn't. Anyone with a sick soul, not matter how perfect his health may be, cannot be considered a truly healed person.  

A Choice of Yokes

       In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Matthew 11, Jesus said to the crowds, "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will fine rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and burden light." So, it's either we carry the yoke of sin on our own or take the yoke of love upon us and walk with the Lord. The yoke of sin is heavy and oppressive, while that of love is light and sweet. 

Joy at Finding Each Other

        Today's Gospel from Matthew 18 is about rejoicing over finding the one sheep that has gone astray out of the hundred sheep. God rejoices over finding one lost human soul. In the same way, when we seek God, we rejoice over finding the true God, lovely and beautiful beyond all expectations.

Let God Have His Way

        God's ways are not our ways ~ I believe that we all know that. But do know that God's ways also include God's way with each one of us! So, let God shape and transform each of us freely the way he likes.

Getting Along with Others

        There will never be another person you can get along perfectly in this world ~ we were all made differently. That's why Jesus taught us to be nonjudgmental, to be forgiving always ~ all part of loving others which he had commanded. In a way, it's much easier to get along with God because he can help us change ourselves. In fact, we should seek to get along with God first, then we'll be able to get along with all other fellow human beings as well. 

How to Live

        Live as if you are going to live forever, but not forever in this world.



Jesus as Rock

        When you say "Jesus is my rock," it means that he is so solid that you can lean on him all you want. I see it in another way. I feel that he dwells within me like a rock, keeping me anchored and stable. This gives me a great secure feeling, knowing that I am safe with him from committing sins. 

Opening Up to the Lord

        God already knows what is in our heart and mind, but for our own benefit, we must keep communicating with him to show that we trust in him and that we want to stay close to him. Therefore, it's good to turn to the Lord to let him see exactly what's in our hearts, our spiritual state, desires, wishes, concerns, our burdens and problems and everything else.  The communication must be free, thorough, and heart-to-heart. Basically, you bare your soul to the Lord who loves you.  If you make this your daily practice, you'll definitely experience his peace.    

Praying Effectively

        (1) Pray "Thy will be done."  

        (2) Pledge obedience to God.

        (3) Place all your trust in God.

Jesus Challenges Us.

        In the same story of the paralytic, Jesus actually forgave the man's sins first.  Then, knowing what the scribes and Pharisees were thinking in their hearts, to show that he truly had the authority to forgive sins, he ordered the man to rise, pick up his stretcher, and go home as well. The crowd was astonished and struck with awe. Who wouldn't be?  Our Lord is authoritative, knows everything and exactly what he's doing.  He is absolutely unique among all the religious leaders in history.  If he is not truly God, then he must be the biggest liar who has ever lived.  Again, Jesus challenges us. 

Faith Must Shine

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 5: A paralyzed man on a stretcher, not being able to get through the crowd to get to Jesus, was lowered through the tiles on the roof into the middle in front of the Lord. He made quite a dramatic entrance. Jesus healed him because he demonstrated his great faith. We too must let our faith shine in every way at every opportunity we get. 

The Beauty of Christ

        The beauty of Christ is not merely perceived through the senses, not even sensed by the heart; it is etched in the soul of the one who's deeply in love with the Lord.

A Way to Remain Humble

        Looking at our great Creator and realizing how small and imperfect we are is an effective way to keep us humble.

God's Love Frees Us

        God is real, not empty talk.  Christ had come and finished his work of salvation; God had demonstrated his unconditional love for us.  How can we not love God?  I believe it's because of our self-love.  We need to be loved and put ourselves in place of God to love ourselves.  What does that accomplish?  Nothing, because it's a dead end ~ it just shuts God's love out of our life.  It's by replacing this self-love with God's love that we can break out of our self-isolation and be set free, for God is greater than us.  By letting in God's love, we become greater too.  

Most Importance Relationship

        For each of us, there is a whole list of things, such as our health, our house, etc., that  we want to maintain in good condition for as long as we live. What should be at the top of every list is "Our relationship with God." This should be of first importance to us, for a bad relationship with God invariably turns life into a shambles.

God Is Freedom

        Today is the Memorial of St. Francis Xavier.  At Mass, somehow St. Francis of Assisi entered my mind and I felt the great freedom he felt when he gave up all his worldly possessions to follow Christ. Indeed, letting go in God and freedom are synonymous.   

The Unavoidable Meeting

        As one past post mentioned, there are many who are greatly interested in Jesus' Second Coming.  Whether it's seeing the Lord then if we are still alive or facing him after we die, it's all about meeting with him ~ that unavoidable, critical moment of either great joy or great sorrow.   Let's get ready for that meeting while we still have time.      

Transforming Life into a Joy

        Life is full of ups and downs and it's the downs that usually get us.  Most recently, a married couple, our friends, is on the verge of breaking up, causing severe emotional stress to themselves and others.  We all experience pains, disappointment, suffer losses of various kinds, receive unfair treatments...  Peoples in many other countries face even more and greater disruptions and dangers of life.  It seems that life is good only temporarily in all those intervals between the "down" moments.  This is reality!  What can you expect when you throw billions of sinners together on a relatively small planet?  So it comes down to how we are to deal with life.  Personally, I believe that believing "Christ is the way" is the way to go.  By following him in this life, we are actually preparing ourselves to live the heavenly life with him for all eternity.  This is how we transform our present life into a joy.       

Lessons for the Troubled Heart

        I've been praying and listening hard because of the burden I mentioned last time. And I have learned the following.

        (1) God does not want us to be affected by any false accusations we face. Don't ever let lies upset your composure. Only what God thinks of you matters.

        (2) If your heart is troubled, go deep into the Lord. Center on him alone and obey him in all things, then you are ready to face any unknown.  

        (3) Any time is the time to start following the will of God. It's never too late to put your trust in him. This is the way to get you out of any mess you're in in time.

        (5) No matter what, never harbor any hatred, bitterness, or resentment toward others.  The peace of God needs to be preserved in your heart for you to hear the Lord speak and for you to be able to think clearly.

        All the above may seem hard to accomplish, but our God is God of the impossible!

    

First Burden of December

        On this first day of December, I have a quite weighty matter on my heart, so I am praying deeply for directions from God. I know which way I would go if I were without faith. But now I must seek God's will no matter how difficult it may turn out to be.  One thing I want to be sure is that whatever action I take will draw those involved (who don't have much faith in God in this case) closer to him or at least not make them go further away from him. May the Lord provide me with discernment and strength.   

Reaping What I Didn't Sow

        When we get to go to school, especially college, we must appreciate the fact that all the knowledge and information that have been found and discovered during the prior thousands of years are there for us to acquire and absorb. In a relatively short time, we are able to reap what we really did not sow, in a way.   

        These thoughts made me think of the good news of salvation that had been revealed to us by Jesus Christ. I feel so blessed that when I was born, the good news was already here.  Everything I needed to know for living a good life and securing eternal life afterwards was laid open before me.  In this case, it's truly reaping everything I did not sow because God had done it all!

Called for a Reason

        Today is the Feast of St. Andrew, apostle. He was one of the first disciples called by Jesus to follow him. Jesus then called the others one by one. When the Lord saw Nathanael, he said, “Here is a true Israelite.  There is no duplicity in him.” Jesus knows each one of us inside out.  When he calls us to follow him, it is for a definite reason and we must respond immediately as the early apostles did.  Following Christ is the most exhilarating, fulfilling, and rewarding life you can possibly lead. 

Jesus Is Our Joy!

        Jesus is already the way, the truth, and the life for us.  In addition, he is the light of the world.  My heart was filled with great joy after receiving him in the Holy Eucharist this morning.  To me now, he is also the joy of the world, our joy.  In him, joy overcomes all sorrows.

Road to Freedom

        No one can set himself free ~ only God can set us free.  Surrender to God to embark on the road to freedom. 

To Be Truly Classy

        There are many vain people in this world who go for name brands. They wear expensive name-brand watches, name-brand coats, and even name-brand underwear. (Speaking of underwear, I will never buy the Calvin Klein brand only because of the company's indecent, sexy ads featuring young, semi-nude men and women.) These wearers think that they are classy, even though others don't think so, let alone what God thinks.  To be truly classy in a class of its own, be pure and humble before the Lord. One is truly classy only when God thinks so. 

Sin Can Be a Curse

        Earlier today, I posted "Sin Is a Blessing." This is true only if you realize that sin is bad. Otherwise, it'd be more like a curse.  When I see someone committing a sin, even a small one, I feel sorrowful because nothing we do can escape God; later that person will have to account for that transgression. Today's Gospel message from Mark 13 is relevant: "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come."

My Greatest Blessing

        No doubt about it ~ it is that God had called me through his Divine Son Jesus.  It is the greatest because there's absolutely nothing else that could possibly benifit me more. It resolved the riddle of my life forever.  Jesus' saying "The truth will set you free" turned out to be true!  

Sin Is a Blessing

        To want to be holy, we must ask the Holy Spirit to sharpen our conscience.  In reality, as you become united with the Lord more and more, the process goes on automatically. With a sharp conscience, a small sin will hurt you a lot, making you lose your peace. This is necessary because a muddy conscience overlooks a lot of sins, making it impossible for you to become holier.  I see sin as a blessing ~ after you remove it through penance, you're holier than ever. The pain of sin spurs us on to new levels of sanctity. 

Good Reason for Meeting People

        To see Christ in each person.

The Holiness of God Is...

the most refreshing thing in the whole universe!

The Mystery of God

        I got up early this morning to go to Mass. It was a beautiful day.  The sunlight was filtering through the mist hovering over the fields ~ it was a quite a mystical scene.  I thought of the mystery of God.  There's so much we don't know or understand about God, yet he has revealed enough for us to return to him in good grace through Christ.  This is sufficient for me now because I can always find out more about him later after I see him face-to-face. 

My Thanksgiving

        Today is Thanksgiving Day. I owe everything to God's goodness. In the Parable of the Lost Son, I shall always remember what the father said to the older son who became jealous and angry, seeing how the father celebrated and rejoiced upon the return of his younger brother, the lost son: "My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours." Indeed, everything I have came from the Father in heaven.  Thanks be to God! 

Is Jesus Always Right?

        Jesus is always right.  If you disagree, then show me where he went wrong or why he is not true. When Jesus was brought before the high priest Annas to be interrogated, a temple guard did not like the way Jesus answered the high priest and struck him. And the Lord answered back, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” So, if you find Jesus wrong or false, just don't follow him. But if you can't, then you have no excuse for not accepting and believing in him.    

On Second Coming

        Recently, a Harold Camping predicted more than once that the end of the world was coming. The predicted day came and went right by. There are many others trying hard to figure out when Jesus will come again. You just can't get more foolish than that! Jesus himself told us that only the Father knows when that day will be.  To me, the Lord had already come and is here, for his last promise was that he would be with us always until the end of the age. Every time I receive the Holy Eucharist, he enters me. The right thing to do is to enjoy him and bear fruit while we are still here.  Wasting time predicting and waiting for his coming will not get you into heaven. 

Most Beautiful Journey

        To discover the great inner beauty and inexhaustible riches of God, one must enter deep into him. Staying on the periphery will get you nowhere. You must go deep enough to taste the Lord first. That's why union with God is the most beautiful journey you can possibly embark on.     

Christ Is Everything and All

        In morning before Mass started, I had the desire to be aware of Jesus alone and oblivious to everything else, saints included. Christ is really the only one you need to know and hold onto. He is everything and he is all. He is Lord God.

Miracles not Amazing

        Miracles are not amazing; it is God who makes the miracles happen that's amazing.

No Other Place I'd Rather Be

         This morning after Mass, I and another person were to visit some of the old, homebound folks. I had nine consecrated Hosts on me and was also holding six more for my partner because she temporarily had to leave to get something done. Imagine having fifteen consecrated Hosts in two pyxes hanging around your neck ~ the feeling was overwhelming! I felt that I was actually embracing the Lord and that there's no other place I'd rather be than being with him. He is where I belong!

Back to the Beginning

        At the beginning, God created Adam and Eve and a perfect relationship existed between them and God. Then they sinned and were exiled from paradise. Now, Jesus has come and redeemed us. This is the perfect time to restore that perfect relationship with God (unless you prefer to remain banished forever).