Becoming Master of Our Life

        To straighten everything out in our life and become master of our new life, all we need to do is to go straight to the very highest top, our God, and hand ourselves over to him. Then he will help us become his faithful, truthful, and trusting children. In the process, we'll invariably fall in love with him, learn to love all others and have no more enemies. The Lord will handle our tendency to sin and our own struggle to overcome our own sins will be no more. Nothing will be able to deter us in any way. When we are OK with God, everything is OK with us. (In other words, the superior way is to seek union with God first.)   

Mutually Beneficial

        When God gives you a certain task to perform, it is a very beautiful thing because he gets to use you to accomplish his will and you get a chance to please and glorify him.

On Receiving Holy Communion

       Practically everybody receives Holy Communion nowadays at Mass. Do they receive the Lord merely out of habit? Do they seriously understand what they receive? Let me relate to you some of the things St. Teresa says about reception of the most Blessed Sacrament in Chapter 34 of her The Way of Perfection. 

          She advises that we don't lose so good an occasion for conversing with God as is the hour after having received Communion. We should strive to leave our soul with the Lord ~ he is within us. This is a good time for him to teach us and for us to listen to him. Since you have the Lord himself present, strive to close the eyes of the body and open those of the soul and look into our heart. And he will reveal himself to us. [I would like to vouch for the fact that I made the most spiritual gains during the time I shared my heart with the Lord after receiving him in the Holy Eucharist. On the average, I spent about 40 minutes each time.] 

         Teresa continues. His Majesty lets all those who love and desire him greatly know that it is he who is present in the most Blessed Sacrament; these are his true friends. Whoever is not his true friend will never trouble with requests that he reveal himself. Such a person will hardly have fulfilled what the Church requires when he will leave and quickly forget what took place. Thus, such a person hurries on as soon as he can to other business affairs, occupations, and worldly impediments so that the Lord of the house may not occupy it. [This is worse than not receiving the Lord.] 

Nothing to Be Bothered About

        If people say wrong things about me, I am not bothered simply because what's said is not true. Then there are people who falsely believe in some things about me, and I feel that I should explain things to them to clear up any misunderstanding. Now I see that these two cases really belong to the same category, so the second case no longer bothers me. It is God's understanding alone that matters. Since God always understands, there is not a thing to be bothered about. 

One Beautiful Act

        Submitting ourselves to God so that his will becomes our will. 

Sitting at the Lord's Feet

        The Gospel reading at Mass was taken from Luke 10, the well-known Martha-Mary story. Jesus was at their house and Martha was burdened with serving, while her sister Mary just sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha complained to the Lord that Mary had left her by herself to do the serving and wanted Jesus to get Mary to help her. The Lord replied that "Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." I see that Martha's work was necessary, but perhaps her attitude was not the best. One thing is clear ~ we must set spending time with the Lord as our first priority in life. Better yet, integrate the awareness of his holy presence into our lives, then we shall be sitting at his feet and listening to him speak at all times.  

We Are Apostles Too!

        In today's first reading from Galatians 1, Paul mentioned the Apostles before him, since he was called by the Lord most likely three years after the Apostles were. It dawns on me that the Lord can call anyone at any time. We who have been called are to be his apostles too! We can imitate the original Apostles by following the Lord everywhere, listening to him, learning from him, obeying him, and even dying for him. We are given the chance to continue spreading the glory of God today ~ what an honor and privilege!  

Achieving Sanctity Anywhere

        For those of us who do not belong to a monastery or convent, we can also live a life of prayer and obedience to God. For the religious, there are established rules to follow and personal guidance. The difference may be likened to that between working out at a gym under the supervision of a personal trainer or working out at home by yourself on your own machine. The same result can be achieved. You don't need to be a religious to achieve sanctity or union with God. The Lord's help is available anywhere.

God Calling

        Yesterday I mentioned that the Lord made me yearn for him. Today he made me see that it's his way of calling me to serve him even more and better. Then I would be more in union with him, fulfilling my desire.

Give God Freedom!

        St. Teresa of Avila in Chapter 28 of her The Ways of Perfection wrote: "The Lord doesn't give himself completely until we give ourselves completely. He never works in the soul as he does when it is totally his without any obstacle, nor do I see how he could." This is really saying that God does not have a freehand in shaping us if we have not surrendered to him totally. Wonders happen only when we let God do whatever he wants with us.

God and the World

        (1) Care only about what God thinks of you; never mind what the world says about you. When the world praises you, consider it a curse because it can snatch you away from God. When the world condemns you, consider it a blessing because you are now closer to Jesus. As for God, he'll never condemn you, and any praise coming from him will make all the praises you can get from the world look like dung. 

       (2) Following God and following the world are like two tracks running parallel to each other. Which one you travel on is a matter of great consequence. Many travel on the world track and occasionally get on the other track or get on it the last minute ~ this is not good enough. We should stay on the track to be with the Lord at all times lest we risk losing our life in the end. 

Sweet Words of the Lord

        Today's Communion experience. When I heard the priest repeating these words of the Lord at the Last Supper during consecration of the bread and wine: "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 and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins," these had to be the sweetest words I had ever heard. I was ready to be transported to anywhere he wants me to go.

Lost Divine Origin

        In today's 1st Reading at Mass from Galatians 1, Paul wrote: "...the Gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ." I can't help lamenting the fact that today we have so many Christian denominations following various human leaders whose teachings do not agree with each other's. They all have their own way of interpreting the Scriptures and own version of the gospel to preach. Chaos and confusion result when humans replace the divine.   

Into Jesus!

        Before Mass began this morning at church, I experienced a tremendous yearning for Jesus. I just wanted to be totally absorbed into him, to be "lost" in him, to be an integral part of him.... You don't just want to be drawn to him ~ you want to be drawn into him! What happened? The answer is that the powerful, sweet love of Jesus leaves an indelible imprint on your soul and you are transformed forever. He then sends you on an enthralling journey heading straight for heaven where your name is written. Do you think that you can wait?

Be Single-Minded in Serving God

        We are to give ourselves entirely to God and not be concerned about how much of himself he is going to give us. Our duty is to love and serve him irrespective of how much we are going to gain for ourselves. God will never shortchange us in the end. Jesus said to Thomas, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed" (John 20.29). I could also hear the Lord saying: "Blessed are those who have not received any consolation from me and have believed."

We Need God!

        This evening I sense just how much we need God. If there is no God and we are strictly left to ourselves, how can we possibly lift ourselves up any higher? We would be "buried" in our world all our life. We wouldn't know which way to turn for sure and where we are going to end up ~ in other words, we'd be groping in the dark, as it were. Then I think of God. Jesus has made the way absolutely clear. By his power and grace, he lifts me up high and one day I'll be as high as where he is and that day is coming fast, since life is so brief. It's as if the train is passing through and if you don't get on board, you are going to be left behind for ever. What a difference Christ can make ~ we do need him!  

After Entering Jesus

        In John 10.9, Jesus said, "I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved...." I did mention earlier how I discovered the inner spaciousness of the Lord, so the saying "I am the gate" now takes on a new meaning for me. Figuratively speaking, once I enter him, I see all kinds of treasures in this infinite space and I get very excited, eager to explore the immense riches there is. Complete freedom has been granted me to learn, absorb, and enjoy ~ this is truly dwelling in the house of the Lord!

Another Look at Abortion

        Today the first Sunday of October has been designated Respect Life Sunday by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. So it is the right time to take another look at abortion. 

         A person may choose to abort the unborn child, but please do not consider it to be your right. Does saying you have the right to terminate (I am not using the word "kill") another human life sound good to you? You can say pro-choice instead of anti-life, call it a fetus instead of an unborn child, argue that the unborn is not a person yet (even though the dictionary defines a person as a human being)...there is no getting around the fact that abortion ends another life ~ in this case, a totally innocent, defenseless life of your own child, a life whom God has created! The total number of victims that had been terminated by the Nazis during the Holocaust is estimated to be between 11 million and 17 million; the number of legalized abortions performed in the U.S. alone since 1973 has exceeded 50 million! If abortion is truly OK, then I suppose I could also say that there is no such thing as evil anymore.    

Helpless Before God

        Today's Communion experience. Because there's no Mass scheduled at the nearby seminary this morning, I went to a church almost seven miles away. I was impressed by the large turnout on a Saturday. 

        Before receiving the Holy Eucharist I asked the Lord to fully remove all my sins because I desired the closest possible union with him. After receiving the Holy Eucharist, he gave me more joy than usual, so much so that I could hardly contain it as it penetrated my soul. I became totally helpless before the Lord. When God wants to do you a favor, there's no use turning away or fighting it ~ he just accomplishes what he wishes to accomplish. See how he changed St. Paul from a persecutor of Christians to a faithful disciple! We can take advantage of this facet of the Lord. If we fail to change ourselves on our own, surrender to him and let him do the work, then it'll be done without our help. 

Jesus Challenges Us Again

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Luke 10, Jesus said to the seventy-two disciples who had just returned, "All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." These are truly earthshaking statements that we must take seriously ~ either they are completely true or completely false. I can vouch for their truthfulness because through Christ I now know the Father.

Jesus Is Everything to Me

        Today I feel that Jesus is the one who sustains me every moment; keeps me alive and will give me life after my death; is my bright hope, refuge, guide, inspiration, and much, much more; grants me freedom of the spirit, peace, and the sweetest joy; is all I need; and makes me want to live with zeal and die for him happily. You can totally destroy me by taking him away from me. But that is not going to happen because nothing in the world can possibly separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus the Lord (Romans 8.38-39). Therefore, I keep rejoicing.

Learning More from St. Teresa

       After finishing reading her Life, I am continuing with her The Way of Perfection which she wrote for her nuns under her charge. Here is a couple of important points that is good to know. 

        (1) Love:  The love we have for others is to be perfect. It must not be affected by how attractive or unattractive the person we love is, how much affection we have for the person, or whether he or she is going to appreciate us or love us back. In other words, the love must be the pure, unconditional love of God. In this way, we remain free. (By the way, the more St. Teresa was persecuted by others, the stronger her love for her persecutors grew.)

        (2) Detachment:  Not only are we to be detached from all things of the world, we are to do so from ourselves. Humility and detachment always go together. This way, we become fearless of anyone.

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.