Intimate Prayer Is...

pouring your heart out to God and baring your soul before him.         

More on Forgiving Others

        This morning's Gospel reading from Matthew 18 ~ The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, is on how Jesus wants us to forgive others, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 

        I always wonder if we should forgive someone who is not remorseful at all. Let's look at how our Father forgives us. Since his mercy is infinite, he is ready to wipe away our sins any time we repent. If we don't repent, then he can't do anything. Obviously, getting ourselves condemned is not saying that he's no longer forgiving.  Perhaps it's more correct to say that we should be willing to forgive anyone, regardless of whether the person is remorseful or not, as God is willing to forgive us always.  

Sign of Spiritual Progress

        As one becomes more Christlike, sin becomes more and more repugnant to him. He feels more the hurt that sin inflicts upon the Lord and wants to do whatever he can to lessen it. He cries out to the Lord and begs for mercy, and the Lord hears and consoles him. 

The Death Penalty

        Personally, I am against the death penalty. It is general knowledge that China is not lenient on criminals ~ sentencing and execution can follow quickly, but the legal system is changing. Recently, 13 crimes have been removed from the list of capital offences and cases that are considered fit for lenient treatment are given leniency. One judge even commented, "A life could end in the twinkling of any eye after a trial. I'd say this is also very cruel. It's also a means of getting rid of evil deeds through an evil deed. Since the death sentence for criminals is itself a violent act, then we should abolish it. However, I don't think our country is ready yet." Interesting!

The Sweet Power of God

        After you taste the Lord, all else becomes flavorless. After you know Jesus, all things of the world grow tiresome. After the Holy Spirit fills you, any other learning is no longer exciting. Such is the sweet power of God. 

Whence Comes Peace?

        Inner peace does not come from enjoying good health, having no family problems, enough money to acquire anything you want, success in all your pursuits in the world... True peace comes from having trust in God, a heart that's totally lifted up to him, and a mind that's emptied of everything except Christ. 

Reminder for Us to Be Humble

         This verse was read from 1 Corinthians 1 at yesterday's Sunday Mass: "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." A good reminder for us to remain humble.

To Really Know Jesus

        You can learn spiritual lessons from even secular programs on TV. One Korean film titled Poem on Netflix shows the poetry teacher introducing poetry to a new class. He shows the class an apple and asks if they have seen one before. Naturally, everyone has seen one ~ the point is if they really know one. He continues by saying that to really know an apple, one must be interested in it, understand it, converse with it, gaze at it for a while, observe its shadow, feel its every curve, turn it around, take a bite out of it, imagine the sunlight absorbed in it... Then it's really seeing it. Well said. I thought of knowing Jesus ~ it works the same way.

A Picture of Union

        When we say we decrease in Christ, we are referring to the old, sinful self. To vanish in Christ is to decrease the old self to nothing and let the self be renewed in Christ. The transformed self is now totally immersed in Christ, indistinguishable from him. This is one way of describing the perfect union with God.

Enjoy God's Holiness

        The Mass this morning started off with a song reminding all that we were on holy ground and that where God is, we have his holy presence. Since we are temples of the Holy Spirit, the most holy Lord dwells within us. With this thought, we must be holy to honor his presence ~ reverting to any sinful way is out of the question. Once we see this clearly, the Lord will keep us holy and we shall immensely enjoy his presence. 

Advantage over the Apostles

        The Apostles followed Jesus, but they did not understand everything fully until after the Resurrection of the Lord. We have the advantage because all that Christ had revealed to us has been made clear by his Holy Church. In addition, we are able to learn more about the truth from the writings of the great saints throughout history.

Bad-Happening Blessings

        Today's Gospel story at Mass was the familiar parable of the lost (prodigal) son. The younger son, after squandering his inheritance on a life of dissipation, got himself into a desperate situation. He finally came to his senses and returned to his father, repentant of his sins against God and his father. Here a bad situation turned him around. A fellow parishioner and good friend told me that he remains faithful to God because every time he strayed, something bad happened. In my own case, when I deviate from God's will, my inner peace leaves. Bad happenings can be blessings.  

Why Blame God?

        When things don't go right, people tend to blame God. My questions to them are: (1) Do you really know your God? (2) Do you really love him as you should? Remember how the scribes and the Pharisees brought the woman who had been caught in adultery to Jesus and told him that in the law, Moses commanded them to stone her. The Lord resolved the situation by saying to them, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." My point is that before pointing your finger at God, make sure that you are blameless yourself. I know that the saints argued with God sometimes, but they never really told the Lord that he was the one at fault.  

Our Joy

        At the end of praying the Stations of the Cross, the closing prayer contains what Jesus said to his disciples in John 16.22: "I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you." What encouragement! What consolation! What joy! And how sweet and loving the Lord is!

Jesus' Sorrow

        Today being Friday, those who remained after Mass did the Stations of the Cross. At the 10th Station: Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments, I felt particularly sad when we read that after the soldiers crucified Jesus, they divided his garments by casting lots for them to see what each should take. What's displayed were an utter disregard for suffering, a total lack of compassion, and the complete absence of heart! Is today's world any better? Jesus wept over Jerusalem and I wouldn't be surprised that he's weeping over us now.

Miracles Galore

        Holy Communion was another miracle for me at this morning's Mass. I am not thinking about the Holy Eucharist, which is possibly God's greatest miracle ~ rather, I am thinking about how this Holy Sacrament actually miraculously heals and transforms us, changing us also into miracles! Come to think of it, everything God touches becomes a miracle.    

Rejoice in God Alone

        People care about what others think of them, but the liberated Christian only cares about what God thinks. His soul rests securely in God and he is not affected in the slightest by anything others think or say about him. Look. If Christ is in you and with you, what can anyone do to harm your soul? If God has already forgiven you, what can others add to or subtract from it? Love everyone to keep the peace in your heart and rejoice in the Lord alone. 

The Use of Contraceptives

        Contraceptives are creating a big controversy now because the current government is infringing more and more upon the religious freedom of Catholics and other Christians. But what I want to talk about is the use of contraceptives. Like abortion, it is a subject that unfortunately, many Christians have not thought deeply about and therefore, allow. Here's my simple view.

         Why did God implant the sexual desire in us? Is it because (a) he wants to ensure that the human race will continue or (b) he just wants us to enjoy the pleasure of sex? If 'b' were the answer, then God would have not have attached baby production to having sex. So the correct answer is clearly 'a'. Therefore, the Church views the use of contraceptives as thwarting God's intention, a sin ~ logical and clear. Let me add that the Church is not against birth control; she objects to the use of artificial contraceptives only. The rhythm method under natural family planning is a form of birth control, but it's natural and approved by the Church. Again, God looks at our intention.

       Contraceptives, which may be abortifacient, only leads to more sex, then more unwanted babies, and finally more abortions ~ this is a fact! And abortion is the termination of an innocent life, no matter how you slice (pun not intended) it.

Listen to Jesus Now

        Today's Gospel reading at Mass is taken from Luke 16, on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man, who did not care for the poor, ended up in the netherworld and Lazarus, in heaven; and there is obviously a great chasm separating the two sides. The rich man ended up where he was because he did not listen to Moses and the prophets. Of course now, Jesus is the one we should listen to since the Lord had come himself. If we do not, we'll end up as the rich man. The message of this parable should be loud and clear to all.

To Be Childlike Again

        Jesus made it clear that he wants us to believe in him like children. In other words, before we can become the children of God, we must first be like little children. A child has a simple soul. The younger ones are especially innocent. They believe in whatever they're told easily. Unlike adults, they don't plot or scheme with selfish motives in mind. Unlike adults, their minds are not cluttered with complicated analyses or plans. We grownups can all recall our carefree childhood days when we just ate, went to school, and played, not worrying about what all the adults had to worry about. When Jesus renews us, we are actually transformed into such new childlike creatures, living the carefree days again.

Thoughts on "Time"

        What is time? Is it just something conjured up in our conscious mind? Is it truly another dimension like width, length, and depth? Einstein showed that one who travels at the speed of light will never age because time stops for him. For God who has always existed and will always be the same, you could say that time is at a standstill too. I believe that time is a concept we get when we see things change. Imagine that everything in the universe, including all of us, become frozen in motion, remaining perfectly still, then time becomes meaningless because nothing happens. So you could say that we simply exist in space with just changes going on constantly. Forget that time exists to eliminate all the worries and anxieties. Instead, let's just concentrate upon making changes for good.

  

To Be About the Father's Work

        Communion time thoughts. In Luke 2, after Joseph and Mary found the 12-year-old Jesus in the temple after three days of searching with great anxiety, Jesus said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you know that I must be about my Father's work?" As followers of Jesus, we must also be about our Father's work. Obedience to God's will takes precedence over family ties (and all else).  

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.