Godlessness Spells Doom

        Candidates running for Presidency often ask people if they are better off now than four years ago. Of course, they mean economically. If you ask me if we are better off spiritually now than before, I would say that if not worse, we certainly have not improved since the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. In fact, as economy gets better, people would pay even less attention to God. A country that's economically strong but morally bankrupt will in time fall, but one that's spiritually strong will always survive. In other words, if we leave God out of the picture, then for sure we are doomed. I believe that many will agree with me, but how many will pay serious attention?

The Lord Feeding Us

         I believe that once you belong to the Lord, he pours grace on you continuously. You are connected to him, getting fed at all times. He knows what you need and what's best for you at any moment. He draws you closer and closer to him, strengthening the union. During prayer time after Mass, I now speak less words and think less thoughts. Instead I spend more time just remaining quietly in his holy presence. My mind is so peaceful that it no longer wanders. Sometimes I am so relaxed that I am not sure if I am still awake or asleep, yet somehow I know that the Lord still actively feeds me because I am a branch on his vine.         

God's Delightful Mercy

        At Communion time, I realize that if the Lord is going to dwell within me, it is my duty and mission to make the dwelling place as clean, pleasant, comfortable, and beautiful as possible for him. It turns out that I only need so wish and he is going to accomplish all this for me. The Lord cleaning the house for me ~ what delightful mercy! He is to be adored forever.    

Joy Meeting Joy

        Luke 15:1-10 was read at Mass this morning. Jesus taught that just as we have great joy in finding a lost sheep or lost coin of ours, there is great joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. Then I realized that we have equally great joy when we were lost and are found by God. We are now saved, safe, going home to the Father ~ it's joy meeting joy.

God Can Change Us!

        Today's early thoughts at Mass. The Lord can truly turn everything around or upside down. The best news for us is that he can fundamentally change or transform us no matter how poor a shape we're in, if we so desire. Therefore, he is our bright hope. Without him, we'll be in total darkness, so he is also our only hope.

Jesus Is Our Creator

        Today being Thursday, I prayed the Luminous Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. I love the second mystery, the Wedding at Cana. The wine ran out. The mother of Jesus told the servers to do whatever he tells them. It seems clear that Mary already knew the greatness of her Son. Jesus told the servers to fill six stone water jars with water, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. So we have a total of 120 to 180 gallons of water. The next thing was that what came out of the jars was wine which the headwaiter, not knowing where it came from, judged to be better than all the wine the guests had tasted so far. Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs and so revealed his glory.       

       As a miracle, this one is not particularly spectacular, but you don't have to be a scientist to know that water remains water and doesn't become something else without at the least adding something to it. Like all the miracles Jesus performed later on, this one is just as amazing. In my mind he had to be the creator of all things to easily accomplish a feat to us like that.

Having Life in Christ!

        Today one of the two Communion Songs offered at Mass was John 6.57: "Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me, says the Lord." After receiving Holy Communion, I remained completely passive, letting the Lord feed me, and I knew that I have life because of him. This means that I'll forever be living in him ~ what unspeakable joy!

The Rule to Live By

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Luke 14, Jesus said, "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Later, "Everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple." In other words, to become his disciple, we must make him No. 1 in our lives. This is the only rule we need to live by. If everyone follows it, the world will become a paradise.

Jesus Our Booster

        Corruption is a worldwide moral perversion. In our own country, there are high government officials who put savoring their high power position ahead of serving the people, the rich who have insatiable greed for money, and the poor who will vote for any government who supports them financially, other important issues notwithstanding. And there are numerous other types of corruption such as cheating on income reporting practiced by many. All these things make you mourn. Then I see Jesus our Lord standing alone before all others when he was arrested, questioned, sentenced to death, and underwent his Passion, being completely obedient to the Father ~ my courage and hope now restored, the big boost I need. 

Reacting to Election Outcome

       The election is over. I see an increasing polarized nation with more infringement upon religious freedom coming. In a secular society, such persecution is expected or even welcomed by those who are faithful to the Lord. Is there a lesson here for us? Rather than pointing the blaming finger at the enemy, I feel that the Lord wants us to examine ourselves first. It's the teaching on noticing the wooden beam in our own eye first before attempting to remove the splinter in our brother's eye (Matthew 7, Luke 6). Atheists and nonbelievers do not hear God speak, so any lesson is for us. 

         We need to ask ourselves many questions. How strong is our faith? How much do we really love the Lord? How faithful are we in following the teachings of our Church? How united are all the Christians? How united are we as Catholics? Did we just vote for our sake or for the glory of God? How bold are we in proclaiming the gospel? How much do we pray? Do we always obey the Holy Spirit? Do we play politics within the Church? These are all important questions and I am not just asking the laity, but the clergy as well. As in our personal spiritual life, it is us who are our worst enemy. The war against drugs will continue as long as the demand for it is present; similarly, the war against evil will continue as long as we do not give ourselves completely to God. We must be willing to carry our cross and be prepared to become martyrs if necessary. Don't put your hope in man or any government; put it in the Lord God alone, for you won't find true freedom anywhere except in him! 

Securing Your Future Now

        There is heaven and there is hell ~ Jesus made it clear and many saints and seers have been granted visions of one or the other or both. (It's worth watching the video A Judgment Experience on this blog.) For us, what we should "fear" are the things we don't see but are out there. Heaven and hell are the only two possible, very-near-future destinations for all of us. Time passes by quickly and the time left for each of us is unknown. Put your trust in Christ and start living a holy life right now and your future will have been secured. 

Accept God's Invitation?

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Luke 14, Jesus tells the story of the man giving a great dinner. He invited many, but one by one they all began to excuse themselves. Each could not come, claiming that he had some business to attend to or something that tied him up. The master of the house in a rage ordered his servant to go out and bring in everyone else to fill his home and said to the servant, "I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner." 

        Clearly, the invitation was to dine in the Kingdom of God. I can't help thinking that Catholics who do not follow all the teachings of the Church are rather like those guests who found excuses not to accept the invitation. The danger here is that they could miss out on entering the Kingdom of God altogether.

Holy Sorrow

        Today is the big day of voting when the American people choose their next president. As a Catholic, I feel great sorrow because many Catholics vote in contradiction to the teachings of the Church. This is holy sorrow because it is a sorrow that the Lord feels. Ordinary sorrows are self-centered and can rob us of peace, but holy sorrows do not. Jesus suffered agony, scourging, insults, and excruciating physical pain, yet he remained peaceful and loving. Therefore, holy sorrows (and holy joys) are Jesus' sorrows (and joys).

What Heart Is Made for

        It became clear to me during prayer after Mass that God had given us the heart for communicating with him. We don't need to say words and our brain can only think, not speak. With our heart, we link ourselves directly to the Lord's heart and prayer becomes heart-to-heart communication with him ~ it's now communion at the exalted level.

God Repays

         The Gospel reading from Luke 14 at Mass: On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." 

      The lesson is clear. Love but do not expect repayment and you will be repaid by God. Again, it's the selfless way of building up treasures in heaven. Basically, the more we empty ourselves, the more God replenishes us.

Selfless Way to Freedom

        Today's first reading at Mass came from Philippians 2. The verse that stood out for me is 3a: "Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory." In other words, we must be selfless. Jesus is totally selfless and he is free. Hence the secret of becoming free is to abandon ourselves in God. We cannot fly in space like the birds, but we can soar in Christ with total freedom. What a contrast to living selfishly with all our heavy burdens!

God Most Considerate

        I first read St. Teresa's Interior Castle some decades ago. Now I am about to reread it. The Introduction tells me that it took her only two months of writing time to complete the book, her last work. To quote from the Introduction: Interior Castle presents the saint's spiritual doctrine through the unifying outline of seven dwelling places among which there is a division into two sections. The first three groups of dwelling places speak of what is achievable through human efforts and the ordinary help of grace. The remaining four groups deal with the passive, or mystical, elements of the spiritual life.

        It is gratifying to learn that what I've learned from the Lord is a simplified version of her synthesis. I have posted that the two parts of the spiritual journey are marked by the point of self-surrender. In the first part, we struggle on our own most of the way and in the second, we remain passive with God doing the work for us. The Lord simplifies things for me so that with a simple mind, I can understand. The Lord is always most considerate.  

Safe in Savior

        If you live in a more affluent society today, you face the onslaught of temptations daily. One his own, no mortal being can remain secure and be unaffected. But there is Jesus, our Savior. In him, we are safe from all evil. In him, temptation cannot exist. In him, we find true peace.

Going All Out

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Mark 12, we heard Jesus giving the first of all the commandments: The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The Lord God has already given his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life ~ this is going all out to show his greatest love for us. The fitting thing for us to do is indeed to love him with all we've got ~ this is the exact direction and purpose we need for our life. Going all out for God assures that we are on the right path to dwelling in our heavenly home for all eternity.  

Taking the Lord Seriously

        We must take the Lord seriously over all other worldly concerns. I see so many calling themselves Christians, yet remaining far away from him. Coming back to the Lord can be so easy, yet they make it so hard. One day it'll be too late for them to get back in, for the door will be shut. This has happened to many before ~ are we to follow in their footsteps? Not taking the Lord seriously is not caring for yourself.   

Only the Truly Humble Can Love

        Today's Gospel reading at Mass was taken from Luke 14. Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. Noticing how those who had been invited were choosing the places of honor at the table, he told them a parable that was a lesson on humility. He ended the story with this saying: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." 

        In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul wrote, "Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." I can easily see that anyone who is truly humble can love as Paul had specified. Humility is inseparable from love. 

Maintaining Connections

        Once we are in Christ, we are no longer of the world. The challenge now is to remain connected with others who are still very much in the world and do not understand our position. We need to be anchored to the Christ within us and try to remain humble, patient, and tolerant. Then because we still reside in the world, there is also the challenge to remain closely connected with the Lord amid all the distractions. It's absolutely necessary to spend time in solitude frequently with him to maintain that connection. 

Union Purpose Restated

        The primary purpose of seeking union with God is to give him glory by being holy. It is not to find freedom, peace, and joy for ourselves although they are often the by-products of our search.        

Christian in Any Circumstances

        Just read in the news: "When the US presidential election is over, estimates say it will end up costing $2.5 billion." Spending this much money just to get one man who is basically a politician and may not even be totally honest elected, it is insane if you see it this way. Why can't we dispense with all ads, including those dirty, attack TV ones, and just allow the two candidates to debate and/or give separate presentations over the media, talking about their respective visions, plans, and goals for the nation? They can travel around the country to campaign if they so choose. This way we get to see the candidates directly without being affected by the inaccurate and distorted depictions of them in ads, saving much money. 

        The talk of money got me thinking about our capitalistic society. The system means free enterprise, but it comes at a great cost. Under capitalism, the goal is to make money. For corporations and companies, it's profit, profit, profit. For the individuals, it's making money to own a house, buy cars and other material things for comfort, be able to put children through college, etc. ~ it is the American dream! Most high school students already start thinking about making a lot of money before they graduate. The love of money definitely keeps us away from thinking about God. Jesus made it clear that we cannot serve both God and mammon. This is the big drawback of capitalism.  

       In Acts 4, we read that the community of believers was of one heart and mind and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own ~ they had everything in common. There was no needy person among them, for money and wealth were distributed to each according to need. This seems to be an ideal society, but it will only work if all participants are of one heart and mind in the Lord. Anyway, though the system under which we live may be far from perfect, it's always right to be the most perfect Christian we can possibly be.

Communion Joy

        During the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass, I saw the moment of consecration of the bread and the wine as one at which Jesus declared his love for us. After receiving him, joy, peace, and contentment filled my entire heart. They all came from within, proving that God dwells in the heart. I actually felt both the "heat" and the "weight" of the joy, perhaps caused by the sheer amount I experienced. 

God All-Knowing

        At Mass, the Lord made me see that for everything we do for his glory, we shall be rewarded, for nothing goes unnoticed by him. 

Reason for Rejoicing

        Today is the Solemnity of All Saints. The readings at Mass were so beautiful that they gave me extra joy. Reading 1 came from Revelation 7. In St. John's vision one of the elders revealed to him that those wearing white robes present were the ones who had survived the time of great stress, and had washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. This is a powerful image. Consider it a miracle that red blood can actually wash the robes and make them white. If you know that you are wearing such a white robe, rejoice!  

        Reading 2 came from 1 John 3. St. John wrote: "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Again, if you know that you are already one of God's children, rejoice!

        The Gospel was the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5. The Beatitudes are beautiful in both words and content. When I heard them, I heard the powerful, loving voice of the Lord in my ears. After the last Beatitude, Jesus said, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven." Anyway you look at it, you see reason for rejoicing.

Union Strengthened

        Joined 40 Days for Life this morning outside an abortion clinic for a couple of hours. As I thought about how much abortion pains the Lord, I experienced a tiny fraction of his sufferings on the cross and our union was strengthened. By the way, one car entered the clinic parking lot, turned around and came back out ~ due to the presence of eight of us holding signs and praying, the pregnant mother changed her mind. One life saved ~ praise God! 

On Loving Our Enemies

        God's love is pure love, uncluttered and detached from everything else. As I drove home after morning Mass, I suddenly understood why he could teach us to love even our enemies. Since he created all of us, he must then love all of us equally. Therefore, if we are to receive his love, we must promise to love everyone equally too.

God Speaks to Us

        With Hurricane Sandy, the largest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic, pummeling the U.S. East Coast causing unprecedented devastation and chaos, let's pray for all the victims who suffer great personal losses and property destruction. But let's also pray that we as a nation will realize that God has an important message for us in every single event, for nothing can happen without his permission. As the saying goes, there are no accidents. Catastrophic events are usually severe warnings. His intention is always to get us to return to him, to accept his love, to believe in him, and to love each other on earth ~ all these acts are long overdue!

To Know the Beauty of Christ

        I do not have any desire to travel to see new places anymore. I suppose that one of the reasons is because I have already "seen" the incomparable beauty of Christ. A friend of mine still tells me that one scenic place she had visited was so beautiful that I must go see it. I believe her, and I know that I'll never truly understand what she experienced if I don't go there myself. The same can be said about the beauty of Christ. You can hear me tell you about it ten thousand more times, but you still will not know it unless you enter him yourself. 

Letting God Live Your Life

        In life, there are just two choices: to walk with God and to walk away from God. To choose the latter is easy, but you are going to lead a tough life because you are now on your own in a world filled with all kinds of traps ready to snare you. To choose to walk with God is harder, but once you've made that choice, your life can become heaven. The best thing about it is that now the Lord does everything for you, for all you want to do is his will. I want him to draw me close to him and he does just that. I want him to heal my soul and he accomplishes that too. This is letting God live your life for you!    

On Submitting to God

        My last post talks about our unwillingness to submit ourselves to God. In today's first reading at Mass from Ephesians 5, St. Paul urges all to be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Then I realize that when Jesus became one of us and died on a cross, it was a clear case of submitting himself to us in order to save us. When he consecrated the bread at the Last Supper, saying: Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body which will be given up for you, he made his submission to us clear. So who are we who are not willing to submit ourselves to God?

Ranking Matters

        It becomes clear to me that people do not believe in God simply because they have ranked themselves No. 1, putting themselves ahead of their creator. This is, of course, a colossal mistake that can be fatal. Making yourself more important than the Lord is definitely a bad idea; just by changing your ranking from No. 1 to No. 2, your margin of safety will go way up. If you really want to play it safe, then be as humble as the saints, who don't even consider themselves worthy to be ranked before God. 

God Owns Us!

        This morning after Mass while I remained at church, I watched two faithful parishioners took great care of the flowers on the altar. The Lord made me see very clearly that we are merely agents here to use all things supplied by him to work for his glory. Even ourselves like everything else were made by him. Whether you agree or not, he owns us, but we do have the choice to rebel or obey. 

Jesus Alone Our Beacon

        In view of all the recent horrible acts of violence committed against the Christian minorities around the world, I am proud of the fact that our Lord, Jesus the Christ, has set the highest standard by his example and his teaching that we are to love even our enemies. Who can possibly measure up to him? He stands alone as the truth and our beacon. 

Going Home to God

        Today's Holy Communion experience. Before receiving him, I felt the need to be in his love so that my soul might be healed. After receiving him, I realized that my soul now belonged to him and was on its way home.

Promise of Union

        Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper, "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him" (John 14:23). Here the Lord promises that he will come to enter into union with us. If God is in us, then surely we are in him. This is the most desirable state for the soul.  

The Amazing Us (or God)

If you are pro-abortion and/or an atheist, you are invited to view this video:

 

Letting God's Plan Unfold

        Since God has a plan for each of us, we must be sure that it unfolds without our interference. Naturally, all things happenings around us can affect the unfolding, but the Lord will take care of that part. We can easily kill his plan if we just go our own way, so this is what we need to guard against. To be in union with God is an excellent way to ensure that his plan for us will work out for him to his glory.  

True or False Humility?

        If you tell yourself or others that you are such a poor sinner that you can never be good enough to become a saint, make sure that it's not false humility. If you really believe so, then it's almost like saying that you are so sinful that God cannot save you anymore ~ such belief then becomes a grave sin. The correct attitude to fully believe that the Lord can make you into a saint no matter how sinful you are now ~ this is putting all your trust in the Lord and not limiting him in the slightest, showing in fact, true humility.

Foundation of All Relationships

        When we pray to the Lord, we must mean it from the heart. When we want to hear from the Lord, we must mean it from the heart too. Patience is often required since he speaks to us at his chosen time. We must also be prepared to obey whatever he tells us to do. A sincere, trustful relationship between the Lord and us is the foundation upon which our relationships with all others are to be built. 

The Most Beautiful Way to Live Is...

to trust in God with reckless abandon. Either God is trustworthy or not trustworthy. If you believe that he is, then this is the way to go. When Mother Teresa wanted to serve the poorest of the poor in India, that was a first. She abandoned herself to the Lord and her missionary work became a worldwide success. We can do the same in what we are called to do.          

Humility Needed to Understand God

      I'd like to share something else I read in St. Teresa's Meditations of the Song of Songs. She gave the following. 

        In spite of all the wisdom of the Blessed Virgin, our Lady, she asked the angel: How can this be? But after he answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you; the power of the Most High will overshadow you, she engaged in no further discussion. With great faith and wisdom, she understood at once that if these two intervened, there was nothing more to know or doubt. She did not act as do some learned men, for they want to be so rational about things and so precise in their understanding that it doesn't seem anyone else but they with their learning can understand the grandeurs of God. If only they would learn something from the humility of the most Blessed Virgin! 

Tow-Part Journeys

        I have posted before that the journey of following Christ can be considered to be a two-part one, with the point of division being the point at which we surrender to God. The first part may be labeled "Struggling mostly on you own" and the second part "God doing all the work," leading to union with the Lord. As for the usually much shorter journey between hearing God's call and becoming a follower, it also has two parts ~ they are marked by the point at which we repent our sins before God.  

How God Calls

        Let's look at the spectrum of love. At one end, we have the love of God for us, a pure love as demonstrated by Christ, also known as agape. At the other end, we have love for sex, money, or other material things just to satisfy our selfish desires (it's unfortunate that the word "love" is used here to mean basically "craving"). Close to the love of God is the natural love of parents for their children. Of course, it's possible that the love is a mixture of the pure and the impure. For example, a man and a woman can love each other so much that they are willing to die for each other. What I want to concentrate upon is God's pure love. At the beginning, being human we are not really aware of the existence of such great love. One day we hear the gospel and discover that this love has always been there and that it has the power to change our lives ~ God is now calling.  

Consider Loving These Neighbors

        I believe that no matter how bad a person we are, most of us will unhesitatingly help someone in immediate danger ~ that's the good part in us. If you believe in God, do you realize that a vast numbers of people are in danger of losing their souls at any moment? Shouldn't we do something about it? The least we could do is to be holy ourselves and pray for them. It's easy to be unaware of this reality, but it's utterly urgent. Do something for them ~ it's loving your neighbor, which is the same as loving God.

God Made Me Somebody

        While watching Life on the Rock on EWTN, the Holy Spirit just brought to my mind vividly what I already knew, that I had been called by God to love him, that this was a special grace, that with all the angles and saints, I now belong to his family and have Jesus as my brother, and that there is nothing more I would ever need, and that I am not a nobody anymore in existence. The Lord surely ends my day on a joyful note.    

Suffering the Right Way

        Early all morning since I woke up before 5 a.m., I really felt the presence of the Lord within me. Then I should be happy ~ right? It turned out that I felt great sorrow because I sensed the coming of increasing persecution of our Church. Most of the world, including sadly, much of the Christian population, just does not care or care enough about the moral teachings the Church. I did ask the Lord why it's so. I saw that as disciples of Christ, suffering along with him is unavoidable. I must trust that the Lord knows what he is doing. Then I went to Mass and received him in the Holy Eucharist and he made me see that the joy he had given us outweighs all sorrows. Hence we are to suffer gladly, not in sadness. He restored me. 

Looking at Oneself

        We probably see ourselves daily in the mirror every morning after we get up and before we go to bed. Next time take a good look at your mirror image, but see it as another person. In the questions that follow, I assume that the subject is a male for simplicity, but feel free to change him to a female as the case may be. 

        "How does he look to you? How do you feel about him? What do you think of him? How is he living his life? How is he coping with it? Is he happy inside? If not, why not? Do you admire or feel sorry for him? Is he happy to continue the way he's been? Is anything missing in his life? Does he need changes in his life? How well does he know God? Should he love God even more? What would be your best advice for him?" I think that this is a good way to look at oneself. Hopefully, this examination will bring you closer to God.