World in Fast Motion

        I see the world in fast motion as in a film ~ I just hit the Fast Forward button and soon we'll come to the Second Coming of Christ, the Day of Judgment. In fast motion I could make out people eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, building (yesterday's Gospel reading from Luke 17), floods, hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes, fires, wars, killings, deaths, mass destruction, rebellion against God, sacrilegious acts, blasphemies, persecution of the Church ~ chaos all the way through, and then everything comes to a standstill and the Lord is here.    

Ready to Go in Peace

       Today is the Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary and this had been my Communion experience.

           At the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple Simeon, to whom the Holy Spirit had revealed that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord, took the child in his arms and blessed God, saying: "Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation." When I received the Holy Eucharist, I had exactly the same feeling that I am ready to go in peace. I was most grateful that the Lord had made me see, changing my whole life. Outside, the wet cold wind howled, but I felt totally secure. This last sentence paints a good spiritual portrait of me.  

Life Is Making Choices

        Jesus has made it clear that we cannot serve two masters ~ we must choose to serve either God or mammon. In everything we do, whether we are aware or not, we make the choice to glory God or ignore him. The world competes with God for our attention. Do we put God ahead of us or it it the other way around? Dying for Christ or living for ourselves? Do we choose the challenging, uphill climb toward heaven over the easy, downhill slide toward hades? We don't think about it, but it's also choosing whether we want to be rewarded now or later. Basically, it is all about choosing life or death.      

Christ Alone Worth Keeping

        I just found out that a book, which is valuable because it has something to do with my grandfather who was very close to me, was most likely lost forever due to someone's fault. Of course, I could stress about it. Then I looked within myself and saw that Jesus was still dwelling in me ~ he's not missing, and I was happy. As I believe, there are no accidents. The loss now seems to be more like a blessing. Some people have the right attitude ~ they see that the loss suffered wasn't worse. Think about the people who lost their entire homes recently in Hurricane Sandy. Nevertheless, when you have Christ, the everlasting loving truth, everything else is already "worse" relative to him. Paul could have said, "Once you know Christ, everything besides him is rubbish and not worth keeping."   

Quiet Way of Increasing Faith

        Today's Gospel reading at Mass came from Luke 17, the beautiful story how Jesus cleansed ten lepers. As Jesus traveled through Samaria and Galilee toward Jerusalem, he was entering a village and ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."     

        The obvious lesson is that we should not forget to thank God for being good to us, but what I want to focus upon is that last sentence "your faith has saved  you." The faith as demonstrated by the grateful leper is simply believing in God and obeying his word. I recently posted that I felt helpless in increasing my own faith ~ I was right because I was barking up the wrong tree. Now it's clear to me that to increase my faith, I only need to believe and obey the Lord in all that he tells me to do ~ it is the quiet way. Yes, be like the leper.   

Union of Hearts

        Today during Mass I realized that when we are in union with God, our heart and God's are in union too. Therefore, what we wish to pray for, the Lord instantly knows. Likewise, whatever he wishes, we know too.

A Greater Feeling

        I have mentioned in the past that knowing that we are on good terms with God in this life is a great feeling. But if we love and serve God as much as we possibly can, knowing that we'll hear him say "well done" when we see him later, we can make that great feeling now even greater!

On Longevity

         People appreciate long lives. Most people want to live longer, admitting that they are not ready to meet the Lord yet. Someone I knew well passed away at 101 and right now I have quite a few friends whose parents are all in their 90s. Is longevity a blessing? Many martyrs and saints die young, then we have St John the Apostle living to a ripe, old age. When one lives long, it could be that God has more work for him to do. If the person has not come to God yet, it could be that out of his mercy, the Lord is keeping the door open a little bit longer. Then there are oldsters who suffered ill health in their old age ~ if the Lord is making that part of their purgatory, then it's something to rejoice about. What I am most concerned about are those nonbelievers who are basically not good persons and seem to have everything they need in this life. Recalling how Jesus taught to the disciples that hypocrites who perform good deeds in public to be seen and noticed have already received their reward, so it's possible that these nonbelievers are receiving all their reward in their long lives now. 

        At any rate, we shouldn't be concerned about how long we live ~ any length God decides on for us is right and good.

Serious About the Holy Eucharist?

        If you take the two quotes from 1 Corinthians at the end of my last post seriously, then they should be brought to the attention of all parishioners from time to time, since the casual reception of the Holy Eucharist seems to be widespread. If people don't realize the seriousness of receiving the Lord, then the fault lies more with the clergy. Looking at the flip side, we see that receiving this Most Holy Sacrament with great reverence, realizing fully that the Lord is physically present, will definitely bring great blessings upon the recipient.    

Holy Eucharist Our Greatest Treasure

        Communion experience. First, I felt that the Lord had made us so that he and each one of us can fit together like a hand slipping into a perfectly fitting glove. Then I saw that the Holy Eucharist is such a great, wonderful, significant, and truly earthshaking gift from heaven Christ had given us. Through receiving this Most Holy Sacrament, the Lord's true body and blood, we are able to enter full union with him. [Let us be reminded by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11: "Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. Anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself."] 

To Be Still in the Lord

        Today is the Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. At Mass, I felt that I still had not totally let the Lord do everything for me yet because I sensed some "struggling" on my part at times. I knew that he wants me to be still in him, in his love, to rest in peace starting now, not after I die. Complete trust is what he seeks from us. In today's Responsorial Psalm 37, we heard read: "Take your delight in the Lord, and he will grant you your heart's requests." I pray that he will grant me even more delight in him.

Do's & Don'ts of Converting Others

        "Be loving and humble" covers it all. This means that any holier-than-thou attitude is out. Feeling self-righteous is out. Look up to rather than down on the person you wish to convert. The great saints always consider themselves to be the worst sinners before God. Never think that you are doing some great work or will receive recognition from God; it's the Lord doing the work through you. You do it for the glory of God alone. Be patient to avoid rushing ahead of the Holy Spirit. Leave all outcome to the Lord ~ trust is requisite. And by the way, example is better than talk. Last but not least, pray hard from the heart for the other person (as well as for yourself). St. Monica prayed and fasted for 17 years before her son St. Augustine was converted.    

On Increasing Our Faith

        Today's Gospel reading came from Luke 17. The Apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith and he replied, "If you have the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." Of course, Jesus spoke figuratively, but I always wondered how I could have this super strong faith. I can try very hard to increase my faith, but it just doesn't work. I see that it's a gift from God. Like overcoming sin and achieving union with the Lord, it has to be his doing. My part would be then to remain open, and when the Lord sees my desire, he will fulfill it.

Holiness as a Choice

         Today is the Memorial of St. Josaphat. I am not too familiar with this saint, but from hearing the brief summary given by the priest at the beginning of Mass, the following thoughts came to my mind. 

      Saints are few worldwide. The history of any Christian church is filled with ugly pages. Therefore, the only clear conclusion I can draw is that every single one of us who truly wants to follow the Lord must aim for maximum holiness to make sure that the Body of Christ, his Church, on earth will remain as pure as possible.

New "Ave Maria"

Here's William Gomez' magnificent Ave Maria, rivaling Schubert's:

Jesus Is All We Need

        Life has its ups and downs; people succeed and fail. But once you possess Christ, you have everything. Ups and downs, success or failure ~ nothing counts anymore. This is what St. Paul meant when he wrote to the Philippians: "I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish..." In sum, relative to Jesus, everything else is rubbish.

What to Do with God

        Communion experience. I feel that God is so much that it's impossible for us to thank him enough, praise him enough, or adore him enough. It seems that the only logical choice we have left is to submit ourselves to his love contently.

Going All Out for God

        Gospel reading from Mark 12 at Mass ~ Jesus observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciple to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." This is a great example of loving God with all you've got, fulfilling the first commandment. It should inspire us to go all out every time we serve the Lord.

Jesus Extolled

        I already know all about Jesus. His greatness is overwhelming and his beauty most dazzling. My intense desire is to have him teach me his ways, for his teaching delights and perfects the soul. When you have him, you possess the truth, the secret of freedom, God dwelling within you on earth, complete fulfillment, and the pathway to eternal dwelling in heaven.

Maturation

        In today's BBC News - Viewpoint: Hoping for change, and coming up short, Kayla Ruble, a young liberal journalist in New York City writes how she enthusiastically voted for Obama as our first black president and gradually became disappointed in what he had failed to do and now found herself no longer inspired by him. But she still ended up voting for him this time because she believed that voting for the more conservative Romney would turn back the clock on many issues.

        BBC also posts a chart showing the voter turnout, as organized by age. Here are the (% for Obama)/(% for Romney) ratios. For age group 18-29, it is 60/37; age group 30-44, 52/45; age group 45-64, 47/52; age group 65 or over, 44/56. It's clear from these figures that as one ages, one becomes more conservative (wiser?). I mentioned that I was also somewhat liberal when I was young, so I understand Kayla. In time God made me see everything clearly. When you are young, you are full of hope and with good intentions; you want to change the world your way. Then after you grow older, you realize that you are not always right and only God can change things. 

        What I want to say to Kayla is that voting for a more conservative candidate may be turning back the clock on many issues, but voting for a liberal one is moving the clock forward and you may ultimately find yourself on the verge of falling off a cliff.

Rejection-of-God Indicators

        There are all kinds of indicators out there. For example, the health of the housing market and consumer confidence indicate the strength of an economic recovery. Increasing carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere and shrinkage of the total glacier volume are two indicators of global warming. Rejection of God in this country is also indicated by the following. Whom the people choose to be their president in an election indicates to a certain extent how much they reject God as a nation. How uncomfortable they feel when they hear God or some strong gospel message preached indicates how much they reject God as individuals.

Just like Walking with God

          Today the beautiful picture of walking with God hand in hand came into my mind. Then I realized that since God is not physically here in person, receiving him in the Holy Eucharist and having him dwelling in my heart is just as satisfying. 

Reliance upon God

        As we progress spiritually, we shift from self-reliance more and more to reliance upon God. When I wanted to bring someone to Christ back in the past, I expended my own considerable effort, but not always feeling relaxed. Now I let the Holy Spirit guide me and trust fully that the Lord will change the heart, thus retaining my peace. When it comes to overcoming my own sins, self-struggle has been replaced by full trust in the Lord and the results have been beyond my best possible expectations. Basically, reliance upon God makes everything easy.                

Holy Eucharist, Life-Giving, Life-Changing

        Communion Experience. I just felt that the Holy Eucharist is both a life-giving and life-changing gift, and I yearned to be changed. I felt alone in God and that he had totally fulfilled me. My heart was completely still, remaining in deep peace. 

Best Gift Exchange

        At the beginning of Eucharistic Prayer, the priest asked us to life up our hearts and we responded with "We life them up to the Lord." And I thought that the most pleasing gift for us to offer to the Lord would be our heart, and the best gift we could possibly receive back from him would be the union of our heart and his Most Sacred Heart.

What Attracts Me to Jesus

        Before Mass began this morning, I was asking myself why I was attracted to Jesus. It had to be his beautiful, pure, selfless love which touched my heart. It is something so unique and special that God had to reveal it to us for us to fathom. And this attraction has the power to make us love others selflessly too.  

On Following the Lord

        Jesus knew his specific mission in advance and followed the will of God the Father every step of the way. Since we only more or less see God's plan for us unfold as we proceed, the logical and sensible approach for us is to trust in him fully every step of the way. When you look back later, everything will be clear. 

Our Kingdom Belongs to God

        When Pilate asked Jesus if he were the King of the Jews, Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here" (John 18:36). For those of us who were disappointed at or even upset by the election outcome this time, let's mind what the Lord had said here. We are fighting a spiritual warfare, not against our government. Do not expect our triumph to materialize in this world, for the kingdom we have entered belongs to God. Let's continue to do his will in this world with even greater fervor.

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.