God's Clear Intention

        At today's Mass, the Gospel acclamation came directly from the Gospel reading from John 3 that followed: "The Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." God's intention is crystal clear. If we hear it, understand it, but still ignore it, then why?

We Are Sinners!

        If we are not sinners, then hearing the good news of salvation would absolutely mean nothing to us. We would wonder why Jesus even came and died for us. What's he talking about, really? The fact that there are enough of us who were deeply moved by what he had undergone and what he had revealed to us ~ to the point of even willing to die for him ~ proves that we are indeed sinners and need salvation. 

The Constancy of God

        Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. Coming home after Mass, I enjoyed looking at the blue skies above and the blossoming trees along the roadsides. Then I remembered that yesterday was a different day ~ cloudy and gloomy. It's clear that everything in our universe changes except God. For security and stability, we need the constancy of the Lord. That's one reason union with him makes us feel good.

Smoothing the Path to Union

        We are our biggest obstacle in our way to union with God because we are our own biggest burden. The cure is complete detachment from the self so that we may become attached to God alone. 

Best Friend for Listening to Us

        When our heart is troubled, it always feels good to pour out all our troubles to a friend willing to listen, then we don't feel so helpless anymore. But let's not forget our most caring and understanding friend, the Lord. After I confess all my troubles to him, he not only removes the load, but also forgives and heals me. He even helps us in identifying and understanding our problems during the process.

The Lord's Interior Beauty

        Today's Communion experience. Even though I received the Lord in the Holy Eucharist yesterday, I already missed him. I felt extra joy because we got to drink the cup also. After receiving Communion, I immersed myself in Jesus and experienced the heavenly beauty of his interior where no evil exists. How wonderful the world would be without evil! I was in heaven for a brief moment. 

Sent by God

        Today is Sunday of Divine Mercy. A Gospel reading from John 20 was read at Mass. After his Resurrection, Jesus came and stood among his disciples behind locked doors. He showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced and Jesus said to them, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." At his point, I realized that we who follow the Lord had been sent by him too. We are on an important mission, a mission to save the world for God's glory. What a privilege and honor to be so chosen! 

Bliss Is...

surrendering to the Father, surrendering to the Son, and surrendering to the Holy Spirit.  

God Speaks to All Who Listen

        At the beginning of Mass this morning, I yearned to hear whatever the Lord wished me to know; I was ready. Reading 1 came from Acts 4. After observing the boldness of Peter and John, the leaders, elders, and scribes ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John relied, "Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard." Father M in his homily commented that Peter and John were uneducated, ordinary men, but when they had the good news, they had to proclaim it without fear.

       Well, the Lord spoke to me, for I'd been scheduled to give a talk before a group next Saturday on how God wants to draw all to union with him through the Holy Eucharist, the central message of this blog. Thanks be to God.   

Another Look at God's Mercy

        It is difficult for people to know God, to find God, nowadays, because they were born into a world that had strayed far from God. Then the Prodigal Son parable should give us great hope and courage. In reality, no matter how much we've forgotten about God, we can still get back to him instantly if our hearts so incline ~ this is the beauty of the mercy of our heavenly Father. This good news we should let all know that God never closes the door on us, but we must at least get partway inside that door.

No More Questions

        It is time for us to trust in God and not ask him any more questions. There will always be things we do not understand even if we live a million years on earth. Therefore, be content with the knowledge of salvation from God and follow Christ faithfully through this short life, for one day we'll have the answers to all our questions.

The Ever-Present, All-Knowing Lord

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from John 21, we heard how the resurrected Lord revealed himself to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. The disciples went fishing, but all night caught nothing. At dawn Jesus was standing on the shore, but they did not recognize him. Then Jesus asked them to cast the net over the right side of the boat; they cast it and could not pull the net in because of the number of fish. So they realized that it was the Lord.

        Two lessons I learned from this reading: (1) Jesus knows everything, so we can trust in him. He will always lead us in the right direction if we listen to him. (2) Even though we do not see or recognize him, he is present. 

God's Personal Giving

        During consecration of the bread and wine at Mass this morning, again I heard through the priest the words of Jesus at the Last Supper: "...this is my body which will be given up for you....this is the chalice of my blood...which will be poured out for you..." The words struck me ~ how personal the Lord was! And such giving! I can't possibly imagine myself giving as such. 

Sign of Ego Presence

        Impatience.        

How Holy Eucharist Assists Union

        Seeking union with Jesus is to make him No. 1 in our lives. The Holy Eucharist assists union in the following ways:

        (1) Receiving it initiates a physical union with the Lord, and this union can grow into a spiritual one.

        (2) Since the Lord is present in this Sacrament, it is a power source from which we receive the grace needed for attaining union.

        (3) The Holy Eucharist ensures the attainment of ultimate union.
        (4) Receiving the Sacrament strengthens our union with God. 

Surefire Prayer

        If you ask for what God wills, how can he resist you? That's why when you ask the Lord to transform you spiritually, he does just that without delay ~  showing that he's well pleased.

Most Amazing Accomplishment

        Human accomplishment has been amazing in numerous areas; but human capabilities are limited. God's power being infinite, no human can possibly match him. The most amazing accomplishment comes from God ~ the spiritual transformation of a soul. Without God, that would be impossible. Spiritual transformation is satisfying precisely because God accomplishes it.  

A Blessed State for Us

        Romans 8.38-39: "...neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus..." God's love is ready and waiting. If we completely accept this love, we become inseparable from God. What a blessed state for us to be in!

We Are Loved!

        Entrance antiphon at morning Mass, Matthew 25.34: Come, you blessed of my Father; receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. This is what Jesus will say to his sheep on Judgment Day. Another saying that should make us jump for joy. God always does his utmost to make us happy!  

Freeing the Heart

        John 12.24: Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit, says the Lord. Similarly, unless our enslaved heart turns to God and surrenders, it remains enslaved; but if it surrenders, it gains great freedom. 

Joyful Tidings

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from John 20, Mary Magdalene was weeping outside the empty tomb, thinking that someone had taken her Lord away. Then Jesus appeared and asked her why she was weeping. She first thought he was the gardener, but recognized him after he called her by name. Then Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Jesus' Father is our Father and his God is our God! ~ surely our hearts should jump with joy upon hearing this.

Our Only Good News

        All news get old except the Good News of salvation from God. It is as fresh as it was two thousand years ago and is needed as long as one unrepentant sinner still lives. In today's dark world, the Good News, our only good news, is our last and only hope! Whoever rejects this Good News rejects the love and mercy of God, in effect believing that Christ has died for nothing! And they'll have to answer for that before the Lord. 

Know Your Eternal Destination

        I got up this morning before 6 and saw dawn breaking over the eastern sky. As surely as the sun would appear next, Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead. Chances are I shall meet him before the Second Coming. Either way, I'll be ready. Once my eternity destination was clear, peace settled in my heart. Anyone who does not know where they are heading is like sailing on the Titanic, for disaster can strike unexpectedly. 

In God We're Free

        Quoting St. Augustine once again: "O God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you." I felt this morning at Mass that I wouldn't be happy until God took full control of me. One taste of freedom in him and you desire more of it. 

To Lapsed Catholics

        As always, the churches were packed yesterday because so many lapsed Catholics attended Easter Mass to ease their guilty conscience. Some never had much faith, but others stayed away because they didn't like something about the priest or a fellow Catholic. To the latter, I pose the question: "Were you, as a Catholic, attracting others to the Church or turning them away from her?" Since the Church is the Body of Church, to leave her is to not want to belong to Christ.

Easter Hope in Christ

        Happy Easter to all my readers! May Jesus draw each one of you deep into him where you'll find peace and freedom. "Deep" is the word here. Pray deep too ~ pray with all your heart and you words will go deep into the heart of God. Take full advantage of the Lord's mercy and love! 

        I'd like to end with what Pope Francis said in his Easter message: "We ask the risen Jesus, who turns death into life, to change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, and war into peace." Amen.

Secret of Gaining Eternal Life

        Water tends to run downhill by itself. And it's always easier to tear something down than to build it up. Similarly, to lose eternal life is practically effortless and to gain it is not so. It's been said that the road to heaven is both narrow and steep. So how can we make it? Answer: We need to hook up with God first. Once he is with us, he will do all the work, making the impossible possible for us. It's both simple and logical. (Union with God hooks us up with God in the most secure way.) 

God Has Shown His Love

        If you truly love someone, you wouldn't mind dying for that person should the occasion compelling you to make such a choice arises. Of course, God lives forever and cannot die. Therefore, to show that he truly loves us, he sent his Son to become one of us so that he might experience death in this life. Naturally, Jesus had to rise from death, for he is eternal like the Father. This all makes perfect sense to me now.   

Pre-Easter Thoughts

        I've been doing Way of the Cross, using Pope Benedict XVI's meditations and prayers. I would like to borrow some of the his thoughts from the meditations he wrote for the Seventh and Ninth Stations, which are "Jesus falls for the second time" and "Jesus falls for the third time," respectively. 

        We have fallen too, fallen miserably short of loving the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind. People of today in general no longer believe in anything; they simply drift through life, having built a new kind of paganism. In attempting to do away with God, they have ended up with doing away with man. Christians have also fallen away from Christ into a godless secularism. Do we ever think of how much Christ suffers in his own Church? How often is the Holy Sacrament of his Presence abused when he must enter empty and evil hearts! How often is his Word twisted and misused! What little faith is present behind so many theories, so many words! How much filth there is in the Church, even among those in priesthood who ought to belong entirely to him! How much pride, how much self-complacency! What little respect we pay to the sacrament of Reconciliation, where he waits for us, ready to raise up whenever we fall! Jesus is enduring his greatest suffering right now! Let's call to him from the depths of our hearts: Lord, save us.    

Changed Outlook

        Father M who gave the homily at today's Liturgy told that when he and a Jewish college friend attended a Catholic wedding of a mutual friend together (this was before he became a priest), his friend was "horrified" to see the ceremony held in the presence of the big crucifix in the church. Whereas we Catholics see in the crucifix the love of God for us, suffering made meaningful, the obedience of Christ, our liberation by him; and we adore the Lord on the cross! It just shows how God can completely change our outlook. 

Reason for Not Believing

        The love of Jesus is so great that the only reason some people do not believe in him has to be that they do not see the goodness of him yet.

"Good Friday" Thoughts

        At the Liturgy of the Lord's Passion at noon today, I heard John 18:1 ~ 19:42 read. The long reading started with Jesus Arrested, followed by Peter's First Denial, The Inquiry before Annas, Peter Denied Jesus Again, The Trial before Pilate, The Crucifixion of Jesus, The Blood and Water, and ended with The Burial of Jesus. Against Jesus, the sinless one, the words spoken and actions taken by all the characters and the people involved clearly showed that they committed sins of various gravities. The Lord's Passion was a sad story to hear, but since I already knew why Jesus went through all that, I also felt the underlying joy. We have hope of eternal life all because of him! Calling this Friday "Good Friday" seems to make good sense to me today.

Ego and Trust

        These two are mutually exclusive. As long as I have some ego in me, I am still playing god against God, so this rules out placing my complete trust in God. Even with ego absent, I must still take the step to trust in God. Then I shall be liberated. Anyway, by seeking union with God, both ego and trust will be taken care of. 

Perfect Way for Us

        I attended the 7 p.m. Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper. During Eucharistic Prayer, a string of names of various saints with whom we are in communion was read. When I heard it, I realized how each of the saints fittingly glorified God. The Lord made me see then that the perfect and only way for us to live is to also glorify him and that we are to follow in the footsteps of these saints.

Learning to Love

        It is easy to rest in and enjoy the love of God, but it's not always easy to apply this love in engaging with others. Yes, God's love invigorates and purifies me; but what I still need is for the Holy Spirit to teach me how to love others, especially those closest to me within the family, with understanding and patience. Losing my cool shows that I haven't trusted in God all the way yet. 

Know Jesus First

        Know Jesus first, then you'll know what to say and how to act, and you'll feel natural in any circumstances. 

On Living Our Life

        We must live an interior life with humility for God and never live an exterior life to impress others. Let this interior life take care of how we are going to live exteriorly. In short, live for God alone. 

Rejecting Sin

        After receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist at Mass this morning, I asked him to keep me safe by granting me a strong aversion to all sins.   

Pursuit Within Reach of All

        Athletes train hard to break records and win medals. Bodybuilders exercise hard to look good and win contests. Musicians practice hard to master their instruments and win competitions. Intellectuals study hard to earn advanced degrees and win honors. Scientists think hard to make new discoveries and achieve breakthroughs in their fields. All of us can love God "hard" to enjoy peace and freedom in this life and eternal bliss in the next.

Learning from God

        As one yearns for God, he is eager to learn from him. All knowledge learned from the world tends to puff one's ego, while knowledge the Lord imparts refreshes the soul.

Lost and Found Souls

        A lost soul does not know the truth, so he does not even know that he is lost, while a soul who has been found by God is a saved soul and the soul knows it.

Sign of Ego Presence

        Disliking yourself is being unhappy with the work of God who made you. It is not loving God enough yet. It shows you have not fully reconciled with the Lord, and it definitely shows the presence of ego (pride). 

No Fear in Love

        1 John 4.18: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love." Accepting God's love fully dispels the fear of carrying any cross that might come our way, thus making us comfortable in any situation.

A Peace Plan

        As long as you feed your ego, you won't have peace. Therefore, starve it by living alone in Jesus to become "isolated" from all others. Remember what Jesus said, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Transformation Slow but Sure

        In one's spiritual journey, there are moments of experiencing a sudden or relatively rapid transformation. For example, I call recall the moment of accepting Jesus into my life, entering the Church and receiving the Holy Eucharist for the first time, or asking the Holy Spirit to baptize me. Most of the time though, the desired change takes place gradually. It becomes palpable when you notice that you react more calmly in a certain test situation. You then feel gratitude and joy that God has fulfilled your desire. And an imperturbable interior peace follows.          

Jesus' Loveliness

        Communion experience. Jesus' loveliness was so compelling that it made me want to be more like him.

Loving God Naturally

        When you go to a tailor to get your garment altered and he does a good job, you are pleased and want to go back to him again because you now trust him. It's the same with letting God change you. You ask for it and he does just that. You are now deeply satisfied and you love him even more.    

Only One Truth

        Judeo-Christianity alone holds the belief that there is only one God from the very beginning. Then Jesus, the Son of God, came among us to reveal God's love for us, and the Church he established safeguards his revelations from the time of Peter, the first pope, to that of Francis, our current pope. Any additional "revelation" about God coming from any source outside the Church is not needed, and in fact, should be rejected. This is what I believe.  

Work of Ego

        Judging others in order to exalt yourself. 

Be Dead to Sin

        Didn't get to blog yesterday due to visiting guests. The Communion Antiphon yesterday was 1 Peter 2.24: "Jesus bore our sins in his own body on the cross, so that, dead to sin, we might love for righteousness. By his wounds we have been healed. What caught my attention were the words "dead to sin." We ought to be dead to sin, but there are minor sins that can easily escape our notice because of the presence of ego. The loss of interior peace should indicate that we have slipped in some way. Then a quick examination of conscience is in order. The more you of aware of your sins, the more you'd appreciate God's perfection.