A Different Kind of Lord

        Thoughts received after the Gospel reading (Matthew 20:17-28) at Mass. When we submit before the rulers of the world, such as a king, a general (if you're in the army), the president of a company where you're employed, the principal (if you're a student)... any of them can lord it over you. As Jesus said, they can make their authority over you felt. Then I think of Jesus, our Lord. When we submit ourselves to him and realize that he is also our brother and our servant, all fears vanish. We are submitting to Love to become love.    

Intention Under Scrutiny

        Politicians come to my mind again. In a recent post, I expressed my disapproval of the dirty attacks some of the presidential candidates had made on other fellow candidates. All sinful actions stem from the heart and God will look at the intention more than the subsequent actions, not that he's going to neglect any part of the consequences. Let's recall what Jesus had said, "From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts... All these evils come from within and they defile." (Mark 7:21-23)

Stillness of the Heart

        Before Mass this morning, I felt that beautiful stillness of the heart, like the calm surface of an undisturbed pond. The message of the short homily given by Fr. A at Mass happened to be trust in the Lord. Indeed, if we trust in him with our whole heart, even though there are a million things going on all around us that can easily be upsetting, we turn to God, pray, and he lifts all the burdens off of us, restoring that stillness in the heart.

Amazing Creator

        As I drove to Mass in the morning, flowering trees had already started blooming along the road and in the fields in anticipation of spring. The colors were beautiful. There are thousands of man-made colors out there which you can find at any paint store, but it's impossible to come even close to the gorgeous colors of fresh flowers. Artificial flowers look very realistic today, but hold them next to the fresh ones in the sun and you know that they are dead and fake. What God has made, man cannot approach. Even man's best art creations appear unnatural and contrived. We are doing OK only if we judge ourselves by our own standards.

        God also creates amazing human talents. One example is Derek Paravicini, the blind British autistic pianist. The blindness was caused by oxygen therapy given after his premature birth at 25 weeks. It also affected his brain, resulting in his severe learning disability. He doesn't know his right hand from this left nor his own age; yet he is a genius on the piano, for he can play any tune, in any style, in any key instantly. You can easily search and find him online to check him out. 

        But it's the other aspect of what God has created in us that amazes me the most. Like God who's not only a builder of the physical universe but also pure love, we feel many emotions, sense the good and the evil, appreciate beauty, can reason and deduce, find life meaningful or empty, become aware of the existence of the soul, desire to find God, and so on. Let's say that science has advanced to the point that we can actually create a physical copy of a human being down to the last cell and molecule, do you think that this model will become alive? I don't think so because it'll be just like a masterpiece in a museum exhibit. Will it get feelings, understand the good and evil, appreciate beauty, be able to conceive God, and so forth? Even less likely. In any case, examining ourselves, I've come to see how truly an amazing creator God is.  

Most Personal Moment

        This was how I felt during Holy Communion today when Christ came and entered me again. It's a moment personal beyond words. If only everyone would have such an intimate, loving friend, there would be peace in all the hearts and in the whole world.

Choosing Death or Life?

        In today's Responsorial Psalm, the psalmist pleaded with the Lord to free those doomed to death (Psalm 79:11). The phrase "doomed to death" somewhat shook me a little when I heard it read. In the last post, I touched upon the joyful death of the old self in Christ; here I am thinking about the horrible eternal death of the soul. This really needn't happen because we all have the choice to steer clear of that for good! Our loving Father would gladly grant us eternal life, not death, if we will only ask for it. So, change "doomed to death" to "destined for life" once for all now.  

Joy in Death

        I am not talking about the physical death, although it can be joyful too. This morning before Mass, I sensed the great joy in dying in Christ. When you die in Christ, you become a new creature filled with him. Now you are his! This is total abandonment that opens wide the floodgate to joy and freedom. Nothing more needs to be said.

In, but not of the World

        Jesus said, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." This goes directly against those who seek only earthly pleasures for themselves. They are not willing to suffer, but since life always has its hardships, they basically have no inner peace. Jesus was actually showing us the way to freedom! He is the only one who can lift us out of this world so that we are in the world, but no longer of the world. He raises us to live on a higher plane (closer to heaven), you might say.

On Leaving Your Mark

        Many of us, including myself in the past, want to leave some mark in their lifetime. My grandfather used to say that it's better to be known for being either good or bad than not being known at all. Now I see that whatever mark I leave, if the objective is to call attention to myself and not in any way to bring others closer to God, it'd be all wasted effort, for all things in this world will pass in time. The desire to leave any mark is to be directed by the Holy Spirit for the glory of God alone, with us being merely the instruments.   

God Seeks Us!

        After watching the latest Journey Home program on EWTN, this thought hit me. When we seek God, it's really God who's seeking us. If there were no God, we would not be seeking anyone like God. It's by God's very existence and how he had created us that we start to seek him. He's the one who initiates our search for him. This awareness should help anyone looking for him come to early fruition.

God's Selfless Mercy

        I know that God's mercy is infinite. No matter how sinful we are, if we want to reconcile with him, as long as we repent, he is eager and ready to take us back. I really felt this great mercy at Mass this morning during consecration of the bread and wine when I heard the priest repeat these words of Jesus: 

        "Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body which will be given up for you" and "Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me." 

        Here is the giving of the Lord himself to us and there cannot be any greater proof of his mercy than this. 

Incredible Union

        Today being the first Friday of the month, we had an hour of Eucharistic adoration after Mass. I saw that this exposed Blesses Sacrament I worship and adore was just what had entered me a little earlier during Mass. It is truly an incredible union!     

Sin Resolution

        This morning's Gospel was read from Matthew 5. Jesus made it clear that we must be righteous. Even being angry at or saying "You fool" to someone is liable to judgment. Therefore, what we do with our sins must be resolved. We can either repent and be forgiven or keep the sins to be judged later. Quite uncomplicated.

Created to Know God

        As I was driving to Mass this morning, I became amazed at my own coming into existence and I felt so grateful that God had created me to know him. This made life worth living and I greatly rejoiced.

How to Greet the Lord?

        Last night I had trouble falling asleep because I felt the strong presence of Jesus in me. I started thinking what I would do if I actually see him in the distance. I know that Peter jumped into the water from his fishing boat and swam toward Jesus as soon as the disciples on board recognized him standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (this was after his Resurrection ~ see John 21). I probably wouldn't rush toward him until after he gives me a signal, I don't know. Once I get the OK, I'll probably run as fast as I can toward him, then I don't know whether I should kneel at his feet or dive right into him first.  

Making the Right Choice

       Here's an interesting mathematical question. Suppose you have the choice of receiving for a month of 30 days:

         (a) $10,000 each day.

        (b) one penny on the first day, two pennies on the second day, four pennies on the third day... in other words, you get double the amount of the previous day.        

         Which option would you choose?

        Well, if you choose 'a', you would receive a total of $300,000 at the end, not bad; but if you've chosen 'b', you'd have come to $10,737,418.24 ~ that's way over 10 million dollars!

    Now, choose your answer for the following question:

        Would you rather be (a) the greatest in the eyes of world or (b) the least in  the kingdom of heaven?
     What's attractive at first sight may not be the best choice.

"Christian Hypocrisy"

        Last thought of the day (sad). All the political candidates now running for president have declared themselves to be Christians, yet so far they have spend millions and millions dollars on negative ads many of which are deceptive, misleading, and even false, attacking each other. Have they forgotten the Ten Commandments? The holy saints don't even say one bad word about others. To do whatever it takes to get yourself ahead is just the extreme opposite. Again, I am not judging any of them; I am just lamenting the fact. It's time to ask God to forgive us before asking him for blessings.

Interior Accomplishment

        Somehow the picture of how a large cruise ship is prepared for its cruise came to my mind ~ I must have seen it on a TV travel program once. It's quite impressive to watch that you load tons and tons of food stuff and other items so that there'll be enough to serve thousands of meals for the entire cruise. Man surely can accomplish a lot (I am not even thinking about the Great Wall, the Pyramids, Hoover Dam, Brooklyn Bridge, etc.)! So why not do something as impressive for God? Of course, this would be mostly work you accomplish in your interior, but infinitely more satisfying as what you accomplish is pleasing to God and becomes your treasure in heaven. Yes, why not?    

Learning from Everything

        I am having some shoulder and back pains. I realize that sometimes when you are in good physical shape and see someone in not quite good physical shape, it's easy to take pride in your own condition and somewhat "look down" on the other person. Of course, this is being unchristian. I see that everything that happens to us is permitted by God for a reason. What I should do is to figure out what the Lord wants me to learn from my experience. In the present case, I must remember how Jesus suffered and endured his pains and imitate him. Yes, there is a lesson to learn in everything, no matter how small, that happens to us. What wonderful opportunities God provides us to get close to him!

March Prayer

        This is March 1, the month in which spring begins. In spring, all things renew. When I think of God, this season springs (pun intended) to my mind, for God is the renewer. Pray that we'll let God make all of us new in the spring, for he is our only hope in this disordered, dark world. 

The Height of Christ

        I've been posting about the depth of Christ and how exciting it is for us to enter and explore this depth, both simple and profound. Now I see it more as a height because after you discover more of its beauty, you are lifted to new heights by the Lord. Perhaps I can see it as a width too, as he is infinite in every dimension. 

Be Humbled Before All

        Today's Response to Psalm 51 is: "A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn." I am thinking that the Lord equates loving him to loving others (the least of his brothers and sisters), then if we are to remain humble before God, we are to do so before others too. This will keep us from passing judgment on others. Basically, God wants us to have peace, since a heart contrite and humbled is one that has made his peace with God.

Accomplishment That Matters

         February is coming to an end today and I can't help feeling how time flies again. So, what have I accomplished this month? I've enlarged the irrigation circles under the growing fruit trees, replaced a defective smoke alarm in the house, and done other things like that; but they are just part of what you have to do in life. The accomplishment that truly matters comes down to just how much more I have loved God over the period.

On Forgiving Others

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus taught his disciples the Our Father. Then he added, "If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." Straight and clear speaking. It comes down to whether you want God to be lenient with you or not.

        If there are men who have transgressed against you, then you pray for them. This may be extremely hard, so I suggest that you don't think of them as your personal enemies, but as sinners in general ~ they simply offended God as you did. Besides, Jesus commanded us to love our enemies ~ what beautiful teaching this is! If you can forgive all your transgressors from your heart, you will receive absolute peace and great joy for obeying and glorifying God! This reward alone is worth the work. 

In Harmony with God

        Great feeling at Mass. God is sitting on the throne within my heart in full command. He knows everything about me and I am in total communion with him.

Choice of Future

        Thoughts early today. I can plan my future so that I shall receive the most security, comfort, and enjoyment of life ~ it seems such a natural, sensible thing for me to do. The other choice: I don't know what the future holds, but I know that God knows what he wants for me and I am giving him the honor to unfold the future before me.

Revealing Dreams

        Early this morning I dreamed that I was eating a meal at what appeared to be a big dining hall. I just finished my soup and got up and walked away a few feet to look at some magazines or something for a short time. Then I returned to my dining table and saw that my main plate with nothing touched yet had been taken away already ~ apparently, the server thought that I wasn't going to be back anymore. I was somewhat upset and found and told the server that she should have made sure that I was done with the meal. 

       Then I somewhat woke up and realized that in a dream, I behaved exactly the way I was. In fact, thinking about all the past dreams, I have never reacted in a situation as if I were someone else. For example, if I was kind, then I was never mean in a dream. It's always been me. In a dream if there are still things buried in my subconscious mind, they can surface too, so I may not be the person as good as I appear to be in my waking hours. I want to ask the Lord to remove all that shouldn't be in my subconscious so that I would be truthful even in my dream. This has been an interesting learning experience.

Critical Information

        If you are not at Mass today, I urged you to read the Gospel for today, which is Matthew 25:31-46. It's about Jesus' second coming, the judgment, what love is all about, eternal punishment and eternal life. What's said is crystal clear and all should pay great attention to it because of its critical nature.

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.