Blindly Following Jesus

        Before Mass started this morning, I felt the joy of blindly following the Lord. To follow him blindly is not to be blind ~ what I mean is to follow him unquestioningly with no reservation whatsoever. It's an abandonment in him, a desire to be with him alone, and this brings great joy and freedom.

How to Get Detached from the World

        I see so many people so deeply attached to this material world that this picture comes to my mind. Imagine that each of us is a piece of iron and is positioned between two opposing magnets, one of which is Satan and the other one, God. The magnet of God is so much stronger, but since the hearts of those deeply immersed in the world are open to Satan and not to God, they are drawn toward the former. The only way to sever that attachment and get attached to God is for them to turn around to face him, open their hearts to let him in ~ then he will pull them toward him. Remember that Satan is a master of slavery and God, the Lord of freedom.

Experiencing the Truth

        Say you have an ailment, hear about a wonderful medicine, and decide to try it. Then the medicine completely heals you and you are very happy and become a firm believer in it. Jesus is like this medicine. I did not firmly believe in him at the beginning, but I decided that he's worthy to be trusted. As I got to know him better and better, I received so many blessings that it's as if God had started giving me his own testimony. My actual experience finally confirmed for me the truth of Christ beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Repent and Believe

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 1, after John the Baptist had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." Now that the gospel is already here, the time to repent and believe is any time. God does not hold office hours only at certain times ~ he is wide open at all times. Repent and believe right now! There's never any waiting to see him either.

No God, No Peace

        It's undeniable that we are all sinners and as long as we sin, there will be no peace in our hearts (and in the world). Without God, sinners try to ignore and forget their sins. They seek escape in worldly pleasures or consolation from others, but the stains on their souls remain. God is the only one who can take away sins ~ there are just no other means! 

        In Matthew 16, Jesus said to Peter, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be be loosed in heaven." For us Catholics, we just take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation instituted by the Lord to get ourselves absolved of all sins. In any case, believing in the work of Christ and turning to God to repent are essential. Peace comes only to the one whose heart is clean and pure.

A Prayer Request

        Coptic Christians in Egypt are now the target of attack by militant Islamic extremist groups. Please pray for both sides that there will be peace and that meanwhile, God will keep the Copts out of harm's way. 

God All-Knowing

        Today I become extra aware that God knows everything about us. To him, both our minds and our hearts are exposed bare in the most bright light (x-rays might be more suitable). Every desire, wish, need, joy, sorrow, emotion, thought either good or bad... he knows. This awareness can make us aware of his constant presence and help us become holier.  

Following Jesus

        In the Gospel, Luke 5 this morning, Jesus saw Levi, the tax collector, and said to him, "Follow me." When I heard this, I was again elated because I knew that by following Jesus, I'd be walking in the truth.

Walking in the Truth

        The Response to readings from Psalm 86 at morning Mass: "Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth." When I heard "walk in your truth," I was elated because it just feels so good to walk in the truth ~ you have nothing to hide, nothing to fear, and you know exactly where you are and where you're going ~ feeling both secure and carefree. 

Why Go to Mass?

        Going to Mass is not just an obligation. I go because I am going to meet God in person, not only meeting him but also becoming one with him. Then God already dwells within me, so I go to receive him again in the Holy Eucharist to seal this intimate relationship one more time. I do not see any contradiction here because God is present everywhere, both within and without me. The Lord cleanses and heals me again, transforming me some more. At Mass, it's as if I were present at the Last Supper. At Mass, I get to celebrate again the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord. I won't want to miss Mass for all the world.  

How to Get an Audience with God

        Today's Response to the Psalm comes from Psalm 51: "A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn." So, being contrite and humble is the way to get the Lord to see you. If you are proud and unrepentant, you might as well not even try. In this case, even though he'd love to admit you, you have not met the entrance requirements. 

Addiction Is Enslavement

        Last December shoppers fought for the new Nike Air Jordan shoe. Today crowd is rushing for another new Nike limited-edition shoe. On last Black Friday after Thanksgiving, bargain-hunters stampeded stores, resulting in shootings and pepper-spraying. In a way, this kind of addiction to material goods is no better than addiction to narcotics or drugs because it can ruin your soul too. We could call all of them world addicts. And as long as you are one, you are a slave to the world and not free to attach yourself to God, who alone can and is ready to free you.   

Accessing God's Power

        The power of God is infinite. He runs the universe, keeps us alive, works miracles... the list goes on and on. Great news! This same God is accessible to us and wants to share his power with us ~ we can do great things in this life, be saved, and have eternal life in heaven, all through his power! To gain access, just follow Jesus.

Be Delightful!

        There is much beauty in both nature and man's creations in the world. I see even beauty in music that may be considered by some to be worldly. If you hear the Gershwin song "Embraceable You" arranged by Earl Wild for piano (Yeol-Eum Son played very well on YouTube), you must agree that it's beautiful. When I hear the melody, the excellent arrangement and beautiful interpretation by the artist, they lead my thoughts directly to God, the source of all beauty. The talents of the composer, arranger, and pianist as well as our sense of appreciation and enjoyment all came from the Lord. 

        Since beauty is delightful, I thought that we can be delightful ourselves too. By letting God make us pure and holy, we become delightful to him ~ what can possibly be more delightful?

A Paradoxical Truth

        In the Gospel reading from Luke 9 at Mass, Jesus said to all, "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever wishes to lose his life for my sake will save it." This is another simple paradoxical truth revealed by the Lord. The key is to live (lose one's life) for his sake.

Security in Jesus

        This morning's at Mass, the Responsorial Psalm was Psalm 1. As soon as I heard read the verse "Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away," I felt the rock-solid security in Jesus. Again, how good it is have him!

How Good It Is to Not Be...

        impatient, rude, jealous or envious, self-centered, quick-tempered, acting pompous or inflated, feeling hopeless, lonely or self-pity, brooding over the past and complaining about the present. How good it is to have Jesus!

Hypocrisy Displeases God

        Today is Ash Wednesday. In the Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus makes it crystal clear to his disciples that when they perform good deeds, pray, and fast, they are to do them in secret with only the Father knowing. In other words, if we truly wish to do good, it must be for God alone and not the slightest for ourselves. We'd be hypocrites if our goal is to make others see and notice us or to win praises from them, for all glory and honor belongs to God. For anyone who still has some hypocrisy in him, getting rid of it during Lent would give great glory and honor to the Father indeed. As I said in an earlier post, "the ego's gotta go". 

What Good Am I Doing?

        I've been talking about praying, transforming ourselves, loving God, etc., all this time, and I can hear someone say that rather than doing all this, why not go into the real world and do something constructive and helpful! Actually, I am doing things out in the world, but not in a big way in the eyes of the world. My answer to the question: "The reason why our world is such a tumultuous, disorderly, and tragic condition, needing much help, is because people in general have lost their faith in God and no longer love each other. What I am doing is exactly trying to correct this situation through God." 

God the Ultimate

        In the material world, there are good things and better things. First, the radio, then TV showed up and it became colored. Compact discs have displaced vinyl records. Even in the cooking business, you cook something good and someone else comes along to make the same dish a lot tastier. (But I must say that the flavor of the roasted peanuts I once had in a small Guatemalan village can't ever be bettered!) Moving into the intellectual world, we have the same. Certain areas of knowledge are definitely more advanced and a lot more exciting to study. There is great music and there's not-so-great music. In the spiritual realm, the ultimate is definitely God through Christ, for we cannot possibly find anything or anyone more satisfying in making life meaningful and in fulfilling our needs. He is the ultimate and a must-have for all of us ~ the improvement stops there.

        Mark 8.36: "What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" The way to go: "Gain God and forfeit the world!"  

Lent Intentions

        Tomorrow Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. You can choose to make more sacrifices or to love more. While the former brings up a gloomy image, the latter sounds so much more cheerful. Besides, in loving you are making sacrifices and you don't even think of it as such! I think it's the better intention of the two. Lenten season is a perfect time for us to grow holier. 

Love Ever Present

        God is ever present and since he is Love, his love is ever present too. God has no beginning nor end, so his love is everlasting too. All creation may pass, but not his love ~ this is of great comfort to me. On top of it all, it's yours whenever you ask for it ~ I would ask for as much as the Father will give me. The more love you receive, the more fringe benefits you get too.        

Love like Fire

        God's love is gentle and soothing, yet serious and intense at the same time. If you welcome and embrace this love, it will heal, cleanse, and purify your heart. If you ignore, reject, or offend his love, your risk getting yourself separated from him forever. Like real fire, the love of God can warm or scorch you, so don't play with it.

God's Takeover

        This Morning when I received Christ in the Holy Eucharist, I just remained open, passive, and let him take over, knowing that he's going to heal my soul. I instantly felt myself "weightless" and free. When the Lord takes over, all shackles and fetters vanish.

Most Personal God

       The God of Christ is a most personal God. He died for all of us to redeem us and he would have done the same even if you are the only person existing. He loves you as if you're the only one in his sight. And everything you do, no matter how small, affects him! His blesses us as much as we ask for. Whoever believes in him becomes a son or daughter to him. And through union, you and God can become one, belonging to each other. You cannot possibly get more personal than that. 

Self-Control Not Needed

        I mentioned in an earlier post that once you are in union with God, the free will is no longer exercised because your will is already following God's will. In the same way, self-control is no longer needed because you now automatically do what pleases God. In theory, when you are in perfect union with God, you become truly Christlike. 

Melting in God

        At Mass today, as the consecrated host of the Holy Eucharist slowly melted in my mouth, I felt myself melting away in the ocean of God's love ~ a great feeling and a great mental image. 

Remain True and Secure

        Do not let anyone who says false things about you disturb you, for what's true remains true and what's not will self-destroy. God is the eternal truth and nothing man does can change that. Untruth vaporizes before God. Remain in the Lord always and you will be secure.        

Choosing Your Part

        In the story of Mary and Martha, Jesus made it clear that Mary, for sitting beside him at his feet and listening to him speak, had chosen the better part. Today, amidst all those people who have succeeded in the eyes of the world, I know that I have chosen the best part, for I have the Lord.        

Communion Time Give-and-Take

        Today, before I received Holy Communion, I prayed to God to make me perfect for his joy.

        After I received Holy Communion, he told me to treasure everything he had given me.  

God Has Made Us So

        I've quoted at lease twice before St. Augustine's saying "Our hearts are restless until they rest in you." That's how God has made us. This morning at Mass, it was still hard for me to believe that God would give his own Son to save us (John 3:16). Then I saw that this is also a built-in thing ~ God wants us to wonder about his incredible love and be amazed so that we may believe and be drawn to him. 

Jesus Is All We Need

        In my younger days, it's important to me that I go through my life to leave a mark in the world. I did not exactly rule out making the world a better place for all to live in, but I basically wanted to feel good about accomplishing something on my own. Looking back, I see the foolishness of it all. Today I'd rather remain unknown and aim only to please God ~ so much more satisfying, and peaceful too. I could hear mentally Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Bach playing.   

Beware of False Prophets

        Today's Gospel Acclamation at Mass is the verse John 15:15b. "I call you my friends, says the Lord (to his disciples), for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me." I believe that Jesus had revealed all we need to know for our salvation and that his Church has preserved all his revelations to this day. Therefore, anyone who claims that he or she has received new revelations from God that change the status of Jesus or contradict the preserved revelations has to be a false prophet, and there has been plenty of that kind popping up now and then.

Most Amazing Love

        This is Friday, the day to meditate on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. I thought about the first mystery, Agony in the Garden. Earlier, Jesus already told his disciples that he's going to suffer and be killed. Personally, I believe that unlike prophets who realized their roles only at the time God called them, Jesus, as God, knew all along his mission from the very beginning. Imagine the agony he must have felt in all those years leading to his Crucifixion! One consolation I see is that his love for us is so great that you might say that he gladly suffered and died for us and was happy that he completed the work of salvation he'd set out to do. No matter what you think, his love is the most amazing thing in the whole universe.  

To Think as God Does

        Today's Gospel reading came from Mark 8. Jesus openly taught his disciples that he must suffer greatly, be rejected and killed, and rise after three days. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Jesus then, before all the other disciples, rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." Naturally, to be correct, we must think as God does. And the only way to achieve that is to be in union with him. 

        I heard on radio while driving back home after Mass two speakers talking about the Catholic Church (and other denominations and sects). It shocked me to hear that in their opinion, the teachings of the Church are just human inventions ~ they have absolutely no understanding of what I and many of you the faithful believe in. Here's an example of thinking totally as human beings do. At the end, as I had suspected, the program turned out to be an atheist one. One interesting thing though I caught in the last minute or so ~ when one of the speakers asked the other if religions will all be gone a couple of thousand years from now, the other said probably not because people always want to look for a god. This just confirmed what St. Augustine said.

God Deserves the Best

        This morning the new tabernacle finally showed up at my church. Before Mass began, the priest, with all of us present gathered in front of it on the altar, blessed it and placed the Most Holy Sacrament in its new abode for the very first time. This is the tabernacle which had been anticipated for a couple of months already. It's quite beautiful and shows the detailed craftsmanship ~ perhaps this explains its delayed arrival. Seeing it made me see that God absolutely deserves the best. He deserves the best from each one of us ~ this means that we must present ourselves in the light that makes us appear most pleasing to him. This calls for nothing short of being pure and holy in his sight.   

Heavenly Feast

        As I was going up to receive Holy Communion at Mass this morning, I knew that I was going to a heavenly feast. God himself was the host who invited me on this occasion and the feast was nothing but Jesus himself, the bread of life, who heals my soul. I mentioned before that I receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist to express my love for him, but I also need constant healing of the soul too. When he heals the soul, it is made fit for heaven. A taste of heaven starts right here on earth.

No Escape from God

        Thought of this morning. I am alive with my heart continuously pumping ~ surely it's not me who is making this possible. In fact, I don't even know how I got here nor when I'll be leaving this world as so many others have departed, often rather suddenly. Therefore, I am totally in God's hands ~ it's his call. We all came from him and we shall return to him too. Escape from God is impossible. To run away from him is worse than self-banishment to oblivion. Recognizing our total dependence upon God, the only wise and sensible thing left for us to do is to stop running and hiding from him. Instead, turn to him and embrace him with all our heart and you'll know that you've made the right decision.

Praying for Enemies

        If you find it difficult to pray for those who are enemies or whom you find it hard to forgive, pray for them for the sake of pleasing God. This shift of focus makes your job easier, while following God's will.

Love Needed for Happiness

        It is common knowledge that even any infant knows whether he or she is being loved by the parents or other adults. A child so loved becomes a happy grownup. This works for adults too. If we acknowledge that God is our Father and let him love us, we'll invariably be happy. This morning as I received Holy Communion, love came to dwell with me in solid form.

God Most Tender

        The Gospel Acclamation today is based upon John 14.23: "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him." I hear these words of Jesus said with such tenderness and love ~ how anyone with a heart can possibly shut him out?

God Is Our Friend

        Today is the Memorial of St. Cyril and St. Methodius. The Entrance Song reads: "These are holymen who became friends of God, glorious heralds of divine truth." What strikes me is that we worship our God, but we are also his friends. This means that we can approach and talk to him as if he is our equal, for he is humble. There is no doubt that he is the best friend we can possibly have and basically the only friend we'll ever need. I do not know other religions in the world well, but I venture to say that this is a unique aspect of our God as revealed through Christ our Savior. 

One More Mark of Truth

        In John 3, Jesus said that "everyone who believes in him may have eternal life". Later in John 14, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." These and others are familiar sayings of the Lord, but pay attention to the boldness of these claims! Either he spoke the truth or falsehood. We see that everything he said or did challenges us to deal with it. A big sign could be placed next to him that literally says "Ignore me at your own peril!" There isn't another human being like that. To me, this is another one of the marks of a true God. 

Freedom Under God

        By my own free will, I have chosen to surrender to Christ. Never at any time have I felt that the Lord has shackled me in any way. On the contrary, I've never felt so free in my whole life. Should I decide to break off my relationship with Jesus, I am entirely free to do so. In other words, the Lord only loves and teaches me, never trying to control me (the free will is mine to keep) ~ another reason why I love Jesus. (Psst, I am not going to break off with him.) 

Unseen Miracle

        In the Gospel reading from Mark 1, a leper came to Jesus and asked Jesus to make him clean. The Lord, moved with pity, touched him and said, "I'll do it. Be made clean." The leprosy left him immediately. To us that was obviously a miracle. Then I saw that every time we repent and Jesus forgives us and removes our sins, that's a miracle too! In a way, it's even more wonderful than physical healing and we should take full advantage of this power of God at our beck and call.      

We Are of Christ

        In Reading 2 at Mass from 1 Corinthians 11 was Paul's plea: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." It struck me that if we are faithful Christians like Paul, each one of us should be able to declare "I am of Christ" openly with great joy, pride, and satisfaction. 

We Cannot Beat God

        Today's Response to Psalm reads: "I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation." The Lord is always ready for us, so the question is whether we are ready to turn to him to receive his joy. Suppose we view this as a contest to see who can maintain his stance longer ~ you or God. Of course, God will always be looking at you. If you don't turn to him, you ultimately lose. But if you give up and turn to him, then both you and he win. In other words, in this game you must lose to win. The truth is that we can never beat God in any game we play ~ submission is our only sensible choice.  

Christian Life a Crescendo

        At this morning's mini-retreat, I heard the word "crescendo" and I thought of the Christian life as being a crescendo. As you discover Jesus and move closer to him toward union, you experience more and more love, freedom, joy, and peace and see that the Lord will be all yours at the end.

Becoming Fearless

        A Christian lives for God alone and not for himself. Because he has no more concern for himself and there is no need to fear for God, he becomes fearless.

"Porta fidei"

        At a mini-retreat, I heard part of this letter by Pope Benedict XVI on the "Year of Faith" read. It is very beautiful and well worth reading if you have some time. The letter was made public on Oct. 17, 2011 and the "Year of Faith" is to begin on Oct. 11, 2012, so you will probably hear more about it as we approach October. On the following site, you can read extracts of this long letter in PDF form: http://www.smcim.org/files/portal/news/attach1_307.pdf