Let God's Will Prevail

         Today is the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, who actually lived the gospel. After receiving Holy Communion, I saw in my mind the following. 

        To be transformed by God is to be drawn into Christ. Once we have completely entered the Lord, transformation takes place "automatically" ~ we can't help it because the consuming love of God simply melts our heart and we are completely his. Let God's will prevail and miracles happen.

Awesome Holiness of God

        God's holiness is awesome, the most awesome spiritual state I can think of! Relative this holiness, every other single spiritual state is to be evaluated. The extreme opposite to God's holiness, wickedness or impurity, is exposed as the ugliest state. Without God, there would be no absolute concept of holiness. The fact that we can conceive both holiness and wickedness proves that God must exist.

Eternity Matters

        Today's Communion experience. Before receiving the Lord, I saw his goodness and great mercy. After receiving him, I saw that this heavenly bread was preparing me for eternity. I then realized that everything God does has to do with eternity. He just does not solve our problem for a day ~ he plans everything for eternity, since he himself lives forever. Jesus did everything with the goal of saving us for eternity. If we do everything with eternity in mind, we shall be with our infinite God for all eternity.    

Head over Heart This Time

        The heart matters the most to the Lord. Today I see that the head can be helpful too. Once we are convinced that God exists and loves us, we can tuck that information away in our head. Then if we experience dark nights of the soul, encounter strong temptations, or when our faith is being severely tested, we can retrieve that information, hold onto it, knowing that it is certain and that feelings and emotions are not to trusted, and ride through the trying times.  

Going All Out After God

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9 at Mass, Jesus said to some would-be followers, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God." For us, it means that we must go all out in following God. This is as it should be. It's very much like competing in a race. One should run as fast as he can without looking back if he wants to be rewarded with eternal happiness in heaven at the end.        

How to Gain More Humility

        A saintly person regards all others to be holier than him or her. In reality, this cannot be true, but it's a great way to practice humility. You could say that going overboard provides the cushion you need. It's like an arched bridge or one of those long truck beds ~ the slight upward curve provides a lot extra strength for carrying the load, hence a greater safety factor. Similarly, being "over-humble" is a good way to become more humble. 

An Ideal Relationship

        When you are in deep love with God (a common occurrence in Christianity), you are aware of your loved one's presence at all times. So your receive strength, courage, consolation...whatever you need to accomplish his will, right then and there. It's an ideal relationship!

Praying without Effort

        After Mass ended, I tried to pray without saying any words nor thinking any thoughts since the Lord already knew what's in both my heart and mind. So I just rested in him and enjoyed his presence. Sometimes trying hard is achieving less. I don't need words or thoughts to reach the Lord ~ he and I are already in each other!  

Jesus to "Detoxify" Us

        The sad reality today is that as we grow up in our secular, materialistic, egocentric world, our thoughts, speech, actions...all become rather unholy, if not downright evil. Younger people are looking up to the wrong persons as role models. Our only hope of becoming pleasing to God is to let Jesus "detoxify" us by ridding us of the effects of all the "poisonous" influences of the world. Fight evil with God's love and we can become holy and wholesome again.

On Entering the Kingdom of Heaven

        Today is the Memorial of the Guardian Angels. In the Gospel reading taken from Matthew 18, Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven." Here is the key to entering the Kingdom of heaven: we are to believe in the Lord with no pride whatsoever and with complete trust. Any resistance can come only from us, not God.

Happy to Be Getting Older?

        Yes! The reasons are simple. First of all, knowing Jesus everyday is a joy and now I am getting even closer to seeing him, the one I love, in person. Secondly, for each day I live on, it's more time for me to be drawn closer to him ~ after this life, I won't have this chance anymore because I'll be either with him or not. The Lord knows exactly how much longer I shall live and I know that the time I have left will be exactly right for me. 

The Only Guideline We Need

        Today is the Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, my beloved saint and spiritual director. The Entrance Song, adopted from Deuteronomy 32.10-12, reads: "The Lord led her and taught her, and kept her as the apple of his eye. Like an eagle spreading his wings he took her up and bore her on his shoulders. The Lord alone was her guide." This last sentence I italicized impresses me the most. This should be our guideline: "The Lord alone is to be our guide." 

Better to Be like God

        It crossed my mind this morning that God is a quiet gentleman. He waits for me most of the time and gently nudges us once in a while, never hitting us on the head or doing anything like that. He is always genuine and sincere. On the other hand, we are often loud and get violent, emotionally anyway. We inflate ourselves or try to be a different person when we want to impress others or achieve our self-centered goals. In other words, we are not what we really are. With God's help, we can become true to ourselves at all times. There'll be nothing for us to pretend or hide anymore; the true person reflecting the light and love of God comes through. And we'll be as quiet, gentle, genuine, and sincere as the Lord. After all, we are created in his image.  

Inspired by the Dominican Sisters

         I thought I had done posting this month, today being September 30. Than I saw the film Beloved ~ The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia on EWTN TV featuring the sisters in Nashville, Tennessee. They showed so much joy in Christ that I had to cry a little bit. So now I have a few more thoughts to share, inspired by what I saw and heard in the film. 

        (1) Whatever we do, do it for God and doing becomes a joy. 

      (2) Life is short ~ there are just so many years, so much good health and energy and we are old and then die. So how are we going to spend our life?

        (3) One sister said, "Only truth can satisfy you" ~ absolutely true!

       (4) One of the greatest joys is to bring others to Christ. Bringing them to other good things of the world is just not the same, unless it's so directed by God.

      (5) There are millions of attractions in our world and the Most Beautiful One is Christ, so pick him out and let him alone draw you. Then he will make both you and your life beautiful!

Why Go to Mass?

      Jesus died for us out of love so that we may be free. We are deeply touched and moved by this great act of mercy. Then we rejoice in our freedom. Going to Mass is to celebrate that freedom!

Jesus, a Sinner's Paradise

        Before I received Holy Communion this morning, I knew that if I were to see all the glory in that elevated host, I would be blinded. I then felt the acute need for Christ, for I was such a great sinner before him.

       After I received Holy Communion, I sensed the breadth, height, and depth of the Lord, as immense as the universe. In this tremendous space, I have complete freedom!

Sinner's Routes

        The Gospel reading came from Mark 9. Read verses 42-48 and you'll see how horrible sin is to God. Jesus also made it clear that with sin we cannot enter the kingdom of God and that there is punishment for sinners.
        There are only two routes for us to take: (1) Repent, be forgiven, and enter the kingdom of God. (2) Remain unrepentant and receive due punishment. (One of these is unthinkable.)

The Foolish Rich

        Reading 2 at today's Sunday Mass was taken from James 5. In this epistle, James warned the unjust rich. The last sentence of verse 3 had a chilling effect on me when I heard it read: "You have stored up treasure for the last days." Storing up treasure sounds like a good idea, but if "the last days" are the last days of this life, then all efforts were just plain wasted. A very sad story, indeed. 

Sweetest Spot in Existence

        The core (or heart) of Christ is the sweetest spot in the whole universe and beyond. The deeper you enter it, the sweeter the taste you experience.

Desire for Change

        If you ask most people who already have some faith in God if they should become holier and love God more, I believe that they would answer yes and yes. Yet it's so difficult for them to spring into action to make the necessary changes in their lives. I believe that when we are comfortable, we tend to remain stagnant without any strong incentives to get us moving. It all comes down to how strong our faith is and how much we really know God. Do not forget that being lukewarm is nauseating to Christ (Revelation 3.16).

Time Stood Still

        Today is the Feast of St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael, archangels. After I received Holy Communion this morning, I knew that I was with the eternal God and time stood still in those few moments. 

Drawing Powers

        The drawing powers of the world attract us because they can give us pleasures or fulfill our desires. Why do we attend a pop concert, a ball game, a political rally...?  Note that these powers can hold us as slaves.

        The drawing power of God is attractive because God is sincere, genuine, unselfish, and pure love. He draws us to set us free!   

To Surrender to God Is...

to obey Love.

God the Life-Changer

        I have another name for our God ~ he is the life-changer. In fact, this is the purpose of his coming into the world, to change our wretched ways of life so that we may be saved. With our cooperation, he can turn our lives completely around ~ all the saints are living proofs. And his work is always lovingly performed with us reaping joy and satisfaction at the end. 

Keeping God's Love Pure

        When we show God's love for others, we must not contaminate this love with any of our impure intentions. This means being detached from those we love. This is not a contradiction ~ it just ensures that the love we feel and show is kept pure.  

Our Highest "Achievement"

        This has to be that we reach union with God. I placed quotes around the word "achievement" in the title because it's God's doing, not really our achievement. Union with the Lord is embracing all of him willingly! God became man in Jesus, now by his power we become like him. This is the achievement!        

Best World to Live In

        At Communion time, I felt that only Jesus could satisfy my soul and I do have him! In fact, I was ready to let his engulfing love annihilate me. After Communion, the noises (people talking, walking...) around the church didn't bother me, for I just wanted to be with the Lord alone. People live in different worlds ~ the worlds of politics, sports, entertainment, music, arts, etc.). How I wish that we all live in the world of Christ, the most enjoyable of all the worlds!

Best Way to Get Results

        There are tons of advices out there to help you become a better person. What should you do? My recommendation is to ignore them all and proceed to seek union with Christ. Let him alone advise you and make your journey easy and joyful. To get results, follow the best guide.

Jesus Our Supreme Guide

        Today's Gospel Acclamation (Mark 10.45): "The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus is the supreme example! Without him, there is no reliable guide to follow. Among all the spiritual teachers and gurus, none can possibly compare with him. His great(est) love no one can possibly match. His authoritative teaching is simple, courageous, and challenging. He lived up to what he taught by example. And by the way, most of all he is God! 

God Is for Ever

        Today's Entrance Song at Mass: "I am the salvation of the people, says the Lord. Should they cry to me in any distress, I will hear them, and I will be their Lord for ever." What I love about our Lord is the "for ever" part ~ he lives and loves us for ever, his mercy endures for ever, he is with and waits for us for ever, and he forgives us, if we repent, for ever. This is the God we must spend our eternal life with for ever. 

Enjoying Now or Later

        I've been watching people I more or less know. Some are very much occupied with building a material empire of their own, you might say, and others want to take in as many worldly pleasures as possible ~ we all need recreation, but it's easy to go overboard. How much beneficial it will be to our souls if we all devote just, say 10% of our waking hours to prayer and doing charitable work for God. This probably would reduce at least 10% of the time we'll be spending in purgatory. Anyhow, it's either "enjoy now and worry later" or "'worry' now and enjoy later." I prefer the latter simply because whatever we enjoy later will be a lot more enjoyable than anything we enjoy now.

Grow the Easy Way

        Here is promoting the same message in a slightly different way. We are like helpless infants before God. We try to be good, to be more loving, to feel happy...on my own, but it is always a struggle with slow or no progress. The secret of success is let God do it for us. Then we must let him in first and put our trust in him and it will work like a miracle (I almost used the word "magic"). This is something God loves to do and it's right up his alley too. 

Vanity Is Illusory

        Today is the Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul. Reading 1 at Mass came from Ecclesiastes 1, which starts off with the familiar verse "Vanity of vanities! All things are vanities!" This got me thinking about our ego. If we are so concerned about ourselves that we want people to notice, praise, admire, or look up to us, does that actually make us a better person? Is humility not a virtue anymore? The good feeling we yearn to get, if you can call it good, is basically illusory, not true happiness, as deep down we all know. Only how we appear to God, definitely not vanity, matters. 

Sins Are Obvious

        St. Teresa also said that sins are not hidden because God is rightly aware of them since they take place squarely in the presence of the Majesty and we act so disrespectfully in front of him! 

        This is absolutely true and a great picture for us to keep in mind.

Where to Seek God

        I just finished reading St. Teresa's Life. For recollected persons, she learned from the Lord to consider him as very deep within the soul rather than thinking of him as outside oneself. She pointed out that St. Augustine also found God when he sought him within himself, so it is not necessary to go to heaven or further than our own selves. I already mentioned in past postings that when we are in union with the Lord, we become one with him and just know that he dwells within us. God cannot be any closer. 

Comparing Ourselves to God

        Being all sinners before God, we are not qualified to judge each other and there is no profit in comparing ourselves with others. The only one we should look up to is the Lord, who alone is perfect, sees our sins, knows what we lack spiritually, and can make us holy. Compare ourselves to him for great profit.

Desire for Union

        The Communion Song at today's Mass, Romans 8.38-39: "Neither death nor life nor any created thing will be able to separate us from the love of Christ." Believing that this is true, I received the Lord in Holy Communion, acknowledging and accepting his love and expressing my desire for union with him. I pictured two panes of wet glass stuck together, united as one and inseparable.

Receiving More than We Think

        St. Teresa also told that when she approached to receive Communion, the Lord let her behold the extraordinary majesty present in the Blessed Sacrament and her hair stood on end, the whole experience seeming to annihilate her. She marveled at God's wonderful wisdom to conceal such great majesty in something so small as the host. If he did not hide such grandeur, no one would have the courage and strength to approach this union. So let's realize that when we receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, we receive all of him, a lot, lot more than we think! 

Heaven Is Worth Awaiting

        St. Teresa in her Life described that the glory, delight, and consolation God gave her in a vision or rapture was go great that it seemed impossible that there could be anything more to desire here below. Imagine how we would feel in heaven! I have no doubt that anyone who can feel what heaven is like for just 5 seconds or less would want to be with God forever. So let's keep up the faith. Believe in Christ and you won't be disappointed ~ this is putting it very mildly.

Clear-Cut Choices

       (1) Do you believe that Jesus actually lived in this world once or that he is just a fictitious character?

        (2) If he actually did live among us in the past, then do you believe that he is divine, the Son of God, our Savior as he claimed he was or that he was totally crazy or false, lying or trying to trick people (in other words, the Gospel stories were mostly likely all made up)?

       (3) If he is indeed our Savior, then do you think that we should totally, partially, or not at all believe in him?  
        It's clear that with God, it must be all or nothing.

Jesus Forever Beautiful

        I did not make Mass yesterday, so today I was most happy going back to receive the Lord. I felt that Christ was truly my refuge. After Communion, I was overwhelmed by his beauty and wanted to give him my heart once more. 

Banishing Anxiety

        Anxiety is always caused by our own will. Once we follow God's will in all things, anxiety vanishes. It is that simple.

Take God Seriously, Please

        Yesterday, I experienced some dizziness while driving; I pulled my car to the roadside, parked, and waited until I recovered. In just those few moments, I saw how life can easily slip away from us. This was a good experience for me ~ it's the kind of wake-up call we all need. Various saints and mystics have been shown hell by God and they are never the same again after that. On this blog, you can check out the account by Fr. Steven Scheier in the video A Judgment Experience. People are dying right and left everyday. For Catholics, please go to confession regularly and often. The first order of business is to take care of your soul. Take God's love and justice seriously!

Common Downfalls

        (1) Our health fails. (2) Our mind fails and we become forgetful, demential, or even insane. (3) Last, the most detrimental of all ~ we sin and stain our soul.
        The precariousness of life calls for the saving power of God.   

Jesus Our Greatest Consolation

        We are always happy when we meet someone who shares the same interests or holds the same views as ours. With the right people, communication is a joy. On the other hand, two people who have suffered the same illness or gone through similar painful experiences find consolation when they find out that they are not alone. Kindred spirits, soul mates, whatever you want to call it, bond easily with each other. Well, Jesus can be all that to us! When we love him, he becomes our best friend and most intimate, constant companion. Our wills coincide and we see eye to eye on all things. In union with us, he becomes our greatest consolation and joy.

Holding Up & Basking in God's Light

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6 for Mass, Jesus said to the crowd, "No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or set it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light." The whole purpose of the light is for all to be able to see. Jesus is our bright light and our role is to show him so that all may see him through us. Therefore, let every move be as the Lord wants us to make.

      Jesus continued, "For there is nothing that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light." This is true because he knows everything about us already. Face this truth and lay ourselves completely open before him so that he may enter to transform us into the most desirable creature to him.  

Muddy Thinking Is Dangerous

        The German Catholic Church is in the news. Catholics make up about  30% of the population, but the number of congregants leaving the church rose to over 180,000 in 2010, with the increase blamed on revelations of sexual abuse by German priests. The question Jesus asked the Twelve after all his other disciples were shocked by his bread of life discourse and left him comes to my mind: "Do you also want to leave?" (John 6.67). To leave the Church because of the imperfections of her members is muddy thinking ~ mixing the perfect Lord up with all the sinners. If imperfection is that important to one, then shouldn't he look at his own imperfections first? For one who has true faith in Jesus, that faith will not be shaken the slightest bit, in fact, will even increase, even if every other Catholic in the world, including the Pope, becomes evil! The Church is the Body of Christ. Leaving her is cutting your own lifeline to Christ! Seek union with Christ so that you may always have clear thinking.

True Humility

        Yesterday I saw that if one has true humility, then he must be willing to accept any suffering the Lord sends his way. Jesus' Passion makes this clear, a point I really never looked at this way before. In any case, to be truly humble is willingly accepting anything the Lord sends you. 

Freedom of Speech

        Recently, an anti-Muslim film came out, causing worldwide protests and the loss of many lives. Is freedom of speech a good thing? It must not mean that you can say anything you want. For the average person, this freedom must be guided by good common sense. For disciples of Jesus, freedom of speech is a nonissue, for they follow the Holy Spirit in what they say; that is, they let love dictate what they say. (Read James 3 to learn how to tame our tongue.)  

Certainty About Jesus

         Early his morning the sky looked striking. It was filled with soft, fluffy, white clouds in hues of grey and pink, produced by the rays of the early sun. The sky was more cyan than blue. Anyhow, each color complemented the others perfectly ~ I knew that I was seeing a beautiful sight. If someone told me that what I saw was really ugly or that the scene was in black and white only or that it was really an illusion, I would instantly knew that he was wrong. 

        Then I thought of Jesus. I know that he is divine, he loves us, he is truly beautiful, and he is our Lord and God; but there are plenty people who do not believe in God or cast doubts upon him and discredit or even ridicule Jesus. We hear about the prehistoric man, our evolution from the monkeys, whether Jesus ever existed, the de Vinci code story, and just in the news the discovery announced by Karen King, a professor at Harvard Divinity School, that Jesus might be married, based upon what's written on a tiny scrap of papyrus she had (King is the author of The Gospel of Mary of Magdala, What is Gnosticism?, The Secret Revelation of John and other books on what's considered to be heretical literature). Just as I was certain about the beautiful sky I saw this morning, I am certain about what I believe about Jesus. Therefore, anything else said about him becomes totally inconsequential.