Staying Out of Confusion

         There is a vast amount of information on any subject available to us nowadays. The last two times I got really sick, based upon the symptoms my wife was able to search online and arrive at the right diagnosis each time before my doctors thought of it. YouTube is a popular site that shows just about anything you want to see or hear, but here's the problem of having too much information available to us. Let's just look at the many Catholic videos posted alone. A speaker would present a strong point of view with conviction, then another video will attack him by pointing out all his errors. Or a speaker sounding very Catholic starting out, then gradually he tells us that the Pope is wrong, EWTN has been deceived by Satan, etc. Overall, it's no longer two sides disagreeing; it's everyone thinking that only he knows the truth and everyone else is wrong. Of course, this can definitely cause mass confusion (guess who's happy about all this).

        So, what are we to do? Simple ~ ignore all of them. Keep your eyes on Jesus alone and shut out all noises that are distracting and confusing. Be fully occupied with the Lord and let all else go.

Our Last Wishes

        As people grow older, they wish to do certain things before they die. One common desire is to travel while they are still physically able to. Recently, the fine Hollywood screenwriter Nora Ephron passed away and I caught the end of an old interview with her on PBS. She expressed exactly what I just said and she's all for it. She mentioned a friend who always wanted to taste a certain food item, then she got throat cancer and couldn't do it anymore. So we quite naturally conceive the desire to do more things as we age. However, it's basically self-centered. If we believe in the Lord seriously, in the limited time we have left we really should first ask what we must do to please him even more before meeting him? Who knows? ~ maybe the answer is to take that vacation we dreamed about.

God Getting Personal

        Jesus died for us all so that we may be saved ~ this is old good news. You most likely have also heard said that Jesus would have died for you alone even if you were the only person around ~ this is true too. Think about it ~ how more personal can you possibly get? And how more important can you possibly get to be?

Living for Eternity

        To me, only eternity is meaningful. I want to spend all eternity with my beloved Lord. If I live ten thousand or even a million years and don't make heaven at the end, all that living would be meaningless. If the problem with eternity is all resolved, then everything I go through now becomes meaningful. You could say that I live for eternity only. 

Jesus the True God

        I have posted in the past more than once that Jesus compels us to accept him as true God or reject him as a lunatic or a consistent liar ~ there's no middle ground here. We can rule him out as being a lunatic, since there's not the slightest sign of insanity shown in all the Gospels. It would be hard to find out where he lied in the Gospels either. Perhaps he's being delusional all his life? Then how could he have performed all those miracles? Besides, he was consistent and clear-minded from beginning to end. What impresses me the most was his meekness and humility. On his way to death, he never complained and even forgave all those who put him to death. My conclusion and belief: Jesus has to be the true God as he claimed to be.  

God Does It All

        When we repent properly, the Lord takes away our sins. The next step is to ask him to take away our tendencies to sin also ~ this is healing of the soul. Then we still have certain undesirable traits and weaknesses to overcome, such as being too self-conscious, the desire to overeat, etc. Union with God is the solution to taking care of all the above. In other words, God can forgive, heal, and perfect us. 

For a Straight Spiritual Journey

        Focus your entire attention upon the perfect Lord and ignore completely the imperfections of people (believers included), then your spiritual journey will be safe and straight. 

How Secure Is Life?

        Today a Mass was said for the deceased friend whom I mentioned most recently and burial took place afterwards. I thought about the security of life. Obviously, even if I have billions of dollars in my bank and the power to influence the world, it's still here today and gone tomorrow for me. I see life as insecure as the flame of a lit candle in the wind. The only security is in the living God, who promises eternal life for those who believe in him. 

The World or Jesus

        The world loves to enslave you and put your heart in turmoil, but Jesus wants you to experience freedom and have peace in him. Make the shift from either one to the other and you'll feel the difference right away. The two are mutually exclusive. It's a choice you must make in your lifetime.

Freedom & Peace

        Not the name of a political party; just the two happy states of the human soul. Freedom comes to the one who seeks only to do God's will. Peace comes to the one who puts all his or her trust in God.

Two Epiphanic Moments

      The first such moment is when you realize that you had nothing to do with how, when, and where you came into the world, that you brought nothing with you, that you are going to leave this world as you came taking nothing with you, that everything you find in your life was already here all along, that you cannot stay alive without God sustaining you, that whatever powers you think you have are given by God, and that you are truly nothing next to the infinite God ~ you owe everything to him. The next epiphanic moment is realizing that through Christ, despite your nothingness, you are actually greatly treasured by God. The best ending is that these revelations get you on the right track to returning to God forever. This makes life a great fulfilling journey!

Life Is a Battle

        Human life on earth is no heaven. No matter who we are, where we live, and what we do, we face problems. Basically, we all fight for our own survival, but those who have little or no faith in God and those who believe in God have different objectives. The former is only concerned about surviving the present life and their help comes from what they've learned from the ways of the world. By contrast, the latter is more concerned about the survival of the human soul, for themselves and others too, and their help derives directly from their faith in God. In the end, those on their own will lose the battle and those with God, not.                 

Walking in Step with God

        Lesson of the day for me. Anytime I feel strongly about something, I should watch out! Is it from the Lord? Am I rushing ahead on my own? The voice of the Lord is always gentle, so a strong feeling may be more from me than from him. On the other hand, if I lag behind when he wants me to do something, I would lose peace too. It's walking in step with God that brings about the best results.

God Loves Our Trust

        Thoughts from the Lord this morning. We must "forget" all our troubles in him and let nothing bother us. The Lord deserves and loves our trust ~ it's his desire that we maintain his peace in us.

God as Light

         In an old post, I mentioned that "God is light" makes extra sense because Einstein showed that anything traveling at the speed of light would be all over the universe at the same time and God is just that! Then we have Jesus proclaiming that he is the light. Now I see even more analogies between light and God. 

        Light makes it possible to see our path as we walk; Jesus lights up our spiritual path as we walk with him. Light exposes the dark areas and shows the dirt; Jesus exposes what's hidden in the soul and reveals our sins. Darkness vanishes whenever there is light ~ true both physically and spiritually. Light is colorless; God is totally pure. Light itself is invisible and its presence is known by the objects it lights up; God is also invisible and his presence is made known by the beauty of nature, the love shown by his people, the holiness of the great saints, etc. Through light that reaches us, we see the source, for example, a star; through Jesus, we are lead to know God the Father. Light shows the true color of things we see; the Lord reveals the true color (the degree of purity) of each human heart.    

God Awaits Us

        Two days ago, I mentioned the passing away of a church friend. This morning a group of her friends gathered after morning Mass to recite the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for her. The reading of John 14:1-6, part of the Last Supper discourses, after the recitation of the third decade of the Chaplet was in particular fitting for the occasion. Here are these six verses beautiful at all times.

        "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way." Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." 

        Old folks are just waiting for God to take them. It's a great comfort to know that God is waiting for us at the other end too, ready with our new dwelling places he has prepared for us. 

Obedience to God Is...

not bending our own will forcibly to do God's will. In fact, if you are reluctant, you won't even hear his voice. On the contrary, obedience to God is to go passive, to relax in him, to listen and be ready to go along with whatever he sends your way.        

God Knows Everything

        This morning the first part of what Peter said to Jesus when he was asked by the Lord for the third time if he loved him came to my mind (John 21.17). Peter was slightly annoyed and responded, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Peter already knew that Jesus knows everything, and I believe that Peter truly knew. This is of great consolation to me, for it means that Jesus is God, that I can trust in him who's all-knowing, that finally I have someone (no other than God) who totally understands me, and that he certainly would know how to lead me.

Healing of the Soul

        If you expect God to heal your soul, you must bare your soul before him and be completely honest with him. If it shows that you are in the wrong, you must accept it and do whatever is necessary to correct the situation. This is obedience and amounts to surrendering to God. Then you'll be rewarded with healing and freedom of the heart.

Exciting Following the Lord

        What's exciting about following the Lord is that you don't know what's going to happen and you don't want to know it either. Then he delightfully surprises you.

Union Takes Care of Sinning

        In union we become basically Christlike ~ we see and hear as he does; we think as he thinks; and we feel what he feels. Then sin automatically becomes repulsive to us as it is to him. In union, as we are intoxicated by the beauty, the purity, the loveliness, and the sweetness of the Lord more and more, sin becomes uglier, more intolerable, and distasteful to the point that even committing a slight sin would make us want to throw up, so to speak. Naturally, you don't even think about sinning anymore.    

What to Live For

        Yesterday I learned of the death of a church friend ~ she and I were born on the exact same day. I still remember attending her husband's funeral service just a coupled of years ago. Such is the brevity of life, so what should we live for? I know some music lovers who live only for music. I've seen dedicated artists who work daily in a studio, often with background music playing, doing what they are good at and enjoying it too ~ it's easy to envy such an occupation. And there are others who live for the day they'll be able to buy their dream car. All these things or goals can keep us going for a while in our brief lifetime, but they are not really worth living for. What's worth living for has to be something that's also worth dying for! And that leaves only God left. To live for God is to live a meaningful life now on earth and a blissful life later in heaven. To live for God is to live forever!          

Justifying Turning the Other Cheek

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5 at morning Mass, we heard the Lord's hard teaching on turning the other cheek. Can we really accept that? We can if we see it from God's point of view. First of all, God loves everyone. And he has shown his greatest love by dying for us sinners. Secondly, judging is God's role, not our business. Turning the other cheek is not to strike back, to retaliate or revenge. It offers the only hope to peace. The world still follows An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth ~ look what kind of condition it's in now. If we trust in God and leave everything up to him, turning the other cheek becomes our only logical choice. Another way of looking at it ~ if everyone practices it, we'll have a peaceful world. (Admittedly, practicing this teaching before the world is perfect is risking sacrifice on our part, but we must see that it's the right thing to do, for God cannot tell us otherwise.)   

Healthiest Outlook on Life

        I watched the 1988 Italian film Cinema Paradiso. The story was interesting, but the characters like most of us dwelt a little too much on the past. The past, whether happy or sad, is gone forever. Dwelling upon it can really impede one's spiritual progress. When I am enjoying the joy of knowing Jesus, the past becomes irrelevant. Jesus said it right: "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." With Jesus, it's plowing ahead (following the Master) joyfully all the way. It's the healthiest outlook on life we can ever have. 

Catholicism under Attack

        Catholicism is being attacked more than any other religion in the world. (Does anyone dare to say anything negative about the other religions?) Our government, the media, the press, the liberals, the atheists, some Protestant churches, and even certain rebellious elements within are all unfriendly to the mother church. To me, this is the sign that the Catholic Church is the true church of Christ. This is the church that's practicing "love your enemies." It has survived two thousand years and will survive till the end of the world, as Christ had assured us. By contrast, no one attacks a church that does not hold onto any rigid standards, lets everybody in, and tries to keep all members happy by not looking deeply into any of the Christian truths that might stir up controversy.

God Initiates All Good Things

        God is the source of all good things. He first loved me and I accepted his love and was able to love him back. Then he entered me through the Holy Eucharist and made me feel his presence, and I in turn was able to enter him so that we are now in each other.

Lovely Mary

        Today is the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What comes to my mind first when I think of the Blessed Mother is her loveliness. She is lovely because she is pure (immaculate) and is obedient to the Lord. She is the perfect model for us to imitate.  

Serious Business

        Loving God is serious business. Take the people who play the stock market. They attend workshops, subscribe to newsletters, read the bulletin boards, keep up with market analyses, make sure that they have the latest technical tools, and watch the market like a hawk. West Coast players even get up extra early in the morning just to wait for the market to open. Isn't loving and serving God at the least just as important? Seriously, we really should love God as if our life is at stake. As a matter of fact, our eternal life does depend upon our effort! The stock traders or investors lose most of the time despite their diligence and acumen, but those who love God seriously is assured of great rewards in the end.  

Jesus Is the One

        Today's Gospel reading comes from John 19. We learn that after the Crucifixion of Jesus, the Jews wanted the bodies of Jesus and the two who were crucified with him to be taken down before the sabbath day arrived. The Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. The soldiers came and broke the legs of the two crucified with Jesus. When they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side and immediately blood and water flowed out. All this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled: Not a bone of it will be broken. And again another passage says: They will look upon him whom they have pierced. (Earlier, the soldiers took and divided Jesus' clothes among them. But since his tunic was woven in one piece, they cast lots for it. Again, all this happened to fulfill the Scripture passage: They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots.) Of course, there are numerous other Scripture passages which Jesus had fulfilled. To me, this is solid basis for believing him to be the Messiah, our Savior, the Son of God.

Learning from the Meek & Humble

        Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Gospel Acclamation read was Matthew 11.29ab: "Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord; and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart." Would you learn from someone who is meek and humble? The world is full of teachers who are impertinent and proud. They are good at teaching you the ways of the world. But if you're interested in the ways of God, then learn from teachers who are meek and humble.

The Freest Existence Is...

to live as a mere instrument of God.         

Invitation to Union with God

        Is union with God beyond reach for most of us? Is it for saints only? The basic question now boils down to whether we can become saints. The answer is definitely yes, since God can accomplish anything. Therefore, union with God is definitely within our reach. In fact, I believe that the Lord wants all of us to reach that state when he asked his disciples to be perfect, as the heavenly Father is perfect. When you are in perfect union with God, he does not ask for anything more because that's the most we could do for him. The fact that he's letting you receive the Holy Eucharist, his true body and blood, is already telling you that the road to full union is now open. My brothers and sisters, take advantage of this privilege so that you may speed fully ahead to enter the most beautiful state of human existence ~ to be Christlike and one with God!     

The Rebellious Ego

        Right now there is dissent within the Church. Not that long ago, the Church of Ireland made news; right now the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an organization of American nuns, is in the headlines. All I can say is that a true Catholic must always follow the teachings of the Church. Unfortunately, the religious are no different from the laity ~ they also have egos. If you have an ego, then Jesus can not truly be your Lord ~ it's that simple. Again, seek union with God and your ego will be replaced with humility.   

God Is All-Knowing

        For one period of my life, I enjoyed woodworking and built quite a few pieces of furniture. I would work out the design, purchase the materials, cut and shape them, and finally assemble all the parts together. Then I would paint or stain the piece. Since I made the whole thing, I knew all about each finished piece. Once I cut the material too short and the width of the intended storage cabinet had to be scaled back. Another time a cutting mistake caused the grains of two parts of a tabletop not to match up. In other words, the defects, covered-up or not of each piece, I knew.

        Since God made each one of us, likewise he knows everything about us. In fact, since his mind is infinitely superior to ours, he knows us through and through, and sees all out defects, our sins. So, living as if God exists is not good enough ~ we must live, being aware that he knows everything about us.

No Excuse for Sinning

        I remember that once I sinned and after I overcame it, I became much stronger spiritually. At the time I thought erroneously that God must have permitted me to sin for the good to come out at the end. Now I see that God can draw good out of anything! He'd much prefer to see that I do not sin than to see me sin and have to rescue me.

God of Choice

        Today's Reading 1 on the Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua comes from 1 Kings 18. Although the people of Israel were required to worship exclusively the one Lord, they also got comfortable worshiping Baal, the god of rain and storm. Then Elijah showed them the true power of the Lord. Worship of many gods was virtually universal in the ancient world. Today, looking at all the major religions, I see that only the God of Israel, as revealed through Christ, comes across clear and precise and most of all, personal. That's why I am a Christian. 

Complete Trust in God

        I don't dwell on the past anymore, but sometimes I still wonder about the future like how something is going to turn out. To me, this is also a sign of my lack of complete trust in God. I am looking at Jesus as my example. You might say that not to wonder about the future is inhuman, but I say that we must be superhuman to trust in God and not question him about anything.  

Christ Simplifies Lives

        I've been observing people. These are in general good, decent people, but they all live such "complicated" lives and feel weighed-down. I've come to the conclusion that it's because they are attached to the world, to the past, and are involved with others who lead equally complicated lives. On the other hand, those who know Christ well lead uncluttered, liberated lives because they are not attached to the world or the past and are involved with the Lord only. They love others, but in a detached way.    

Praying to Be Perfect

        When we are not perfect, people cannot see the Lord in us. When we are, then they see him. So my prayer today is asking the Lord to bare my soul and expose all my faults so that I can become more perfect. 

Don't Speak for God

        Yesterday I had the chance to talk to someone about the Catholic faith. As often happens, you can let enthusiasm get in the way. Afterwards, I realized that I should have said some of the things in a different way. Thinking about what had transpired, I learned another lesson.

        When we try to convert someone, the best approach is to listen first. You must not be anxious to lay what we have to say on the other person. Of course, argument must never happen. In other words, we should remain calm and loving, and not get emotional. After all, it's God who does the converting, not us; so we should not speak for him! You could say that we must not meddle in God's business ~ we are merely instruments in his hands. In all things, let only the Spirit prompt us to say what he wants us to say. 

The Inescapable Moment

        This is the moment when we leave this world. You may not think about it now, but it will surely arrive. It could be a painful moment because you must leave all your possessions and loved ones behind. You may have already resigned to the fact that you cannot take anything with you, but leaving the loved ones is harder to deal with. For those who have no faith in God, they are heading into the unknown and I believe that they would feel a mixture of fear and sorrow. How about those who had faith once? They may have even more fear now, but may turn back to God in the last moment. As for those who believe in the Lord with all their heart, the overwhelming joy of meeting their Savior will overwhelm any sorrow they might feel. They want to witness to others to the very end that God is love and that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.   

No Pain, No Gain

        In the bodybuilding world, the idiom "No pain, no gain" is proven to be true. In the spiritual world, it applies also. If we live an easy, comfortable life with no money or health problems whatsoever and with everything going our way, I doubt that we'll ever make any progress spiritually. On the other hand, as is made clear in today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount: God blesses the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and those who are insulted and persecuted and against whom every kind of evil is uttered falsely because of Christ. Their reward will be great in heaven.           

God's Joy vs. World's

        God's joy surpasses any joy of the world. This is because God plants the joy in the heart, rewarding the soul, while the joys of the world remain at the physical or cerebral level, feeding mostly the ego.

God, Good to Us

        At the beginning of Mass this morning, a great calm came over me and the Lord made me see that everything he gives us is good. I accepted that with my whole heart. Matthew 6.26 comes to mind: "Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?"

Serving God Is Beautiful

        I joined the Walk for Religious Freedom today. It started with the Vigil Mass at the Cathedral of Blessed Sacrament. How appropriate since tomorrow Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ. The celebrating priests, altar servers, musicians...all made the Mass so beautiful that I clearly saw that serving the Lord is indeed a beautiful thing.

To Make a Long Story Short

        Somehow I came into the world. I didn't know what life was all about. Then Christ called me ~ he turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. I found out that I was not even worthy to touch his sandal, yet he loves me. His love made me cry with joy. He promised me that the best is still to come. I am so happy that I came into this world.

Practice What You Believe

        If you believe that God is our Lord, that he created us and the universe, that he provides for all our needs, and that he loves us, then so live that what you believe is made clear to both God and all others. 

Wonderful Eucharist

        During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, upon hearing that the consecrated bread and wine were referred to as "the bread of life" and "the chalice of salvation," I just knew that what I was about to receive is going to make me well spiritually.

Gospel Examples for Us

        Today's Gospel reading at Mass comes from Mark 12. First, Jesus pointed out how the scribes liked to go around in long robes, accepting greetings in the marketplaces and seats of honor at banquets, devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers ~ they would receive a very severe condemnation. We are not scribes, but in our own way we might have acted like them too ~ we'd better watch out.

        In the second part of the reading, Jesus gave us an example in contrast to the scribes above. He observed that a poor widow, from her poverty, put two small coins worth a few cents into the temple treasury ~ she contributed all she had, her whole livelihood! Jesus pointed out that this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury, who had contributed from their surplus. It's true that the wealthier we are, the harder it is to let go. Such attachment to wealth prevents us from becoming selfless.  

Union with God Is for All

        Now that I realize that seeking union with God is the best way for all Catholics to become holy, I am wondering why we didn't and don't hear much about it. Thinking back, I see that in my early days, I didn't even know what union exactly was. Later I read about saints in union with God and automatically assumed that it's a state only saints enter into. So I believe that we don't consider union as a goal because (1) not everyone aspires after holiness and (2) we assume that it's beyond our reach. Of course, the fact is that union is for everyone. Christ asks us to be perfect, and to be in union with God is to be as perfect as we can be, like the saints. Therefore, have courage and break out any box that might be confining you. Speed toward peace and freedom in God!