Heaven & Hell, Beyond Imagination

        There is a retail store, which I shall not name, in my area that sells things a lot of people like, but I am not one of them. It is filled with old-styled, mostly dark-colored, home-decorating items. There are also artificial and dead flowers galore. When I am in that store, I feel the gloom and even sense death. So if you were to sentenced me to live in that place, I would feel miserable. Then there is music equally hard to take, the kind that's loud, vulgar, animalistic, often with a lot of screaming. Should I be forced to listen to that day and night, I might go insane. And I thought of hell. The punishment you experience there would probably be unbearable beyond imagination. I can walk out a store or away from the source of any music, but what you experience in hell is forever! In driving, I learned to avoid head-on collisions at all costs. Common sense should tell us to avoid going to hell at all costs. On the other hand, with my finite mind I cannot possibly imagine how happy I'll be in heaven. But I know for certain that whatever I experience up there will exceed my wildest imagination.

On Serving God 2

        As Jesus has indicated, we should mind our own business. From Mother Teresa's prayer "Do It Anyway": In the final analysis, it is between you and God. Therefore, we should single-mindedly serve God, letting nothing distract or for that matter, disturb us. As Paul said, "Whatever you do, in words or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17). This is not as hard as it sounds ~ it's a matter of awareness and practice. You can start out with chores at home, doing such things as taking the garbage out and washing the dishes to please the Lord. When you watch some TV for recreation, do it for Jesus too ~ it'll keep you from watching anything unwholesome and from watching too much TV. Before I pick up the telephone, I am used to saying a quick prayer to make sure that I'll say the right thing over the phone. This really helps when you have a confrontational situation. I trust in God, never predicting the outcome, and things always work out. Bottom advice: Let God completely into your life.

On Serving God

        In serving God, I admire others who are visibly doing great work. But the Lord made me see that we are all made differently and I must not "imitate" anyone outwardly ~ it is pride that drives one to "compare performances." We are to bear fruit only as directed by the Holy Spirit and not even be concerned about seeing the fruit. The fruits are to be completely at God's disposal ~ no instant gratification for us here.  

Good Question

        Ultimately and soon, each of us will end up in heaven or outside of it ~ so why do we still worry about trivial stuff, bicker, get impatient or angry, hold onto material things and the past ... while the clock is ticking away?

No Longer Earthbound

        Communion experience. After receiving the Holy Eucharist, I feel that although my body is still here, my spirit is already attached to the Lord, no longer earthbound.

Great Feelings

        It's a great feeling to know that you are clean and on good terms with God. But don't stop here ~ the next even greater feeling is to be in union with God, you and the Lord now completely dwelling in each other.

Transcendental Union

         Today's Communion experience. Just before distribution of the Holy Eucharist, the priest held up the consecrated bread and the consecrated wine and said: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb. And we all responded: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. 

       I saw reception of the Lord in the sacrament transcending physical union. It's a calling for me to be healed spiritually so that we may be one. He showed his love through and through. What a beautiful "sight"!  

Call for Spiritual Growth

        When something bad happens to you, listen for God's call. You can choose to get upset, feel sorry for yourself, wish it never happened, want to go back to the way things were, be vengeful if someone else was the cause, or you can move forward and choose to trust and serve God more from now on. Believe me, the latter choice will give you healing and joy. It's letting God bring the good out of the bad.  

God's Mercy Reexamined

        In John 8, we read that Jesus did not condemn the woman caught in adultery; he just asked her not to sin any more. Elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus taught how we should always forgive others and love even our enemies. God's mercy is indeed infinite. I see that the Lord does not condemn us either because he continues to wait for us to repent so that he may forgive us. If we do not repent to the end, we simply get ourselves condemned. Seeing such great mercy, we must not mistreat anyone again. Taking revenge is even more out of the question. 

We Matter to God

        We are not nobodies; we are treasured by God! When we repent our sins and beg for God's mercy, the whole heaven rejoices. On the other hand, when we sin and die unrepentant, the whole heaven mourns. We can shake up heaven all right.

Why Obey God?

        If you do believe that God created us (that life just didn't pop into existence by accident or chance), these thoughts follow logically. Being creatures, we are not infinite as God is. We are given physical abilities and intelligence, but whatever we possess is finite, limited. What we know and can figure out are nothing compared to what God knows. Unequivocally, we can state that God is infinitely greater and superior than we are. Therefore, we should humbly obey him in all things. The good news on top of it all is that our God loves us.

Independence Day Sorrow

        Today is Independence Day, the 4th of July. We sang "America the Beautiful" at the end of Mass. But when I came to the line "God shed his grace on thee," I felt great sorrow. God has shed much grace on this nation, but the nation as a whole no longer welcomes him ~ he's been banished from the center to the periphery. Materialism has taken over and now religious freedom is at risk. The nation stands polarized. Will we ever be ready for Judgment Day?

Knowing My Destiny

        Communion thoughts. Since the Lord forgives sins, my destiny lies entirely in his hands. I felt good.  

Jesus Is God (Quick Proof)

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, people brought to Jesus a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven." Since only God can forgive sins, some of the scribes present thought that Jesus had blasphemed. Jesus knew what they're thinking. To show that he has authority on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." He rose and went home. Here Jesus backed up his words with deeds, showing that he is God indeed.

Let Love Rule

        As I was praying before Mass began this morning, The Lord made me see that it is his love that "rules," governs, or "manages" the whole universe. And this love is infinite. If not, who among us sinners can possibly make it to heaven? Each one of us is given an unlimited number of chances to repent and believe in Jesus. I was also made to see that we should let love manage our lives. Think of ourselves as channels of God's love. With this love, we can manage our worries, anxieties, fears, attachment to material things, egos, enemies, you name it, and do good in the world. Love is the solution!

No More Unfinished Business

        Communion experience today. After receiving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, I feel so attached to the Lord that I no longer see any unfinished business in the world for me to finish. This is becoming detached from all the unfinished businesses that are and will always be present in one's life.

On Believing in Jesus

        Today is the Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle. The Gospel reading at Mass comes from John 20. Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him that they had seen the Lord, but Thomas said, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." A week later Thomas was with the disciples and Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

         Many of us today are very much like Thomas ~ we would not believe unless we see hard evidence. John simply recorded what he had witnessed ~ Thomas' about-face should turn us into believers too. Jesus last saying above, Blesses are those who have not seen and have believed, should further encourage us to believe that Jesus is our Lord and our God.

To Know Jesus Is To Know God

        Jesus made it clear to his disciples that whoever has seen him has seen the Father and that he is in the Father and the Father in him. There is only on true God, so he must be the one as revealed through Jesus the Son. Any additional revelations about God through any man that came after Jesus may be safely ignored.  

Never the Same Again

        I have a crape myrtle tree in my yard. The whole tree was blooming beautiful lavender flowers, when a storm arrived. Afterwards the symmetric shape of the tree was gone, now with many branches drooping and many flowers damaged. The tree was just not the same anymore. I thought of my encounter with Christ. After he touched me, I too was no longer the same. But in my case, I embraced the change and don't ever want to revert to my former state. Unlike the storm, God changes us with love, making us even more beautiful.   

Zeroing In on God

        Quite some years ago, I saw an icon at a supposedly monastery. The image seemingly had teardrops streaming from the eyes of Virgin Mary holding Infant Jesus. I left the place with a cotton ball soaked with the tear. On my way out, I, along with two other visitors, all saw the blazing afternoon sun looking like a large moon with no glare at all ~ a miracle! A couple of years later, my son suffered a virus attack and his heart almost stopped beating. The doctor diagnosed that he would need a heart transplant if he did survive. I went to him in ICU, blessed him with the cotton ball I still had, and asked God to heal him. Four days later he was sent home ~ another miracle! Then much later, I learned on the internet that the crying icon was a hoax and the perpetrator was jailed and committed suicide. For quite a while, I was confused: how could miracles follow if the tear was not genuine? Here's what I have finally learned.

        It is our faith that makes God work miracles. Look at the woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years in the Gospels. She came up behind Jesus in the crowd and touched his cloak, saying to herself, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured," and she was cured. The cotton ball just happened to be what I used to convey my faith. The Lord looks at our faith and not at the means by which we express that faith. The sun miracle teaches a separate but similar lesson: Put our faith in God and not in miracles. God makes miracles happen to increase our faith in him and not the miracle. St. John of the Cross, who had many supernatural experiences, made it very clear that in our journey to union with God, paying too much attention to any supernatural experience along the way would definitely impede our progress. Conclusion: Put all your faith in the Lord alone and let nothing along the way distract you.

Goal for Living

        In the days when I didn't know Christ or later when I didn't know him well yet, I, as is common among most young adults, often found myself looking for things to do to kill time, to amuse myself. Should I go visit some friends, go see a movie, or just take a nap? That was drifting. Today I can't do that anymore ~ I must have a goal to motivate me to live on. That goal I've found to be meaningful and most satisfying is to serve God. Life driven by any self-centered goal will invariably turn out to be disappointing or even destructive.  

Is God Being Unfair?

        In the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20), Jesus told that the landowner paid each laborer at the end of the day with the same wage, regardless of how early or late during the day he was hired. Naturally, the ones who worked the longest grumbled against the owner. But he said to them, "Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?" We often complain about unfairness in this world. So what is fair? God is always just ~ this we can be certain of. We must look at the whole picture. If you end up in heaven, are you still going to grumble about the time someone got the job you also applied for or someone didn't catch the flu and you did? Or should you end up in hell, you still wish you had suffered less in this life? The bottom line is that what happens now doesn't matter much. What matters is what happens in the end: If you believe in Christ and do good, you get to heaven; if you reject him and do evil, you end up in hell ~ this sounds perfectly fair to me. 

Pathetic Pelosi

http://www.lifenews.com/2013/06/26/priest-says-pelosi-has-admitted-her-abortion-position-is-not-catholic/

Perfect Surrendering Moment

         Communion experience. After I received the Eucharist, I realized that the Lord is pure, spotless, and most holy, and has the power to transform me. It was the perfect moment to say "I am all yours" and union is achieved.

Counting on God

        Today is the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 16, after Peter realized that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus said to Peter that he would build his Church upon him the rock and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." Despite internal problems and external persecutions to this day, the Church still stands ~ whatever Jesus has said you can count on. Here's another one: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day" (John 6.54). With so many other promises he has given us, our future is set.

On Knowing God

        I have never visibly seen nor audibly heard God, but I know him better than anyone else. Of course, I know my family members and some friends well, but I'll never know all about them because they change and communication with another human being is never candid at all times. Whereas God is love forever, the only one you can fully trust and rely upon, so there's nothing more I need to know. In a way, he is the easiest person to know.

How to Live Satisfied

        The measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you (Luke 6: 38). Live to satisfy God and he will make you satisfied in life.

Jesus, a Great Joy

        Communion experience. Jesus was such a joy today, a refreshing joy, a liberating joy ~ he's to be greatly enjoyed. Just thinking that I have him was a joy.

Consolation for Sorrow

        In this present age, my experience has been that after experiencing sorrow for the sake of Jesus, I always receive consolation from the Lord in some special way, not to mention eternal life in the age to come.

God Will Never Reject Us

        Today's Gospel at Mass came from Matthew 8. A leper approached Jesus and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I will do it. Be made clean." When I heard the reading, I knew that the Lord will never reject us in his heart. We may not get what we ask for, but that's no rejection for he always knows what's best for us. 

The Union Difference

        If you really want God in your life, the best approach is to seek union with him. Why? Because if you are not in him, you'll always have questions, doubts; you could struggle your whole lifetime and not get much closer to him. While if you are in union with God, he teaches you personally and everything in your life falls into place, making perfect sense ~ no more questions or doubts; just communion in peace with the Lord. 

Grateful to God

        Nova has produced an excellent episode titled "Earth From Space." A spectacular space-based vision of our planet is revealed. Nova transforms the data from earth-observing satellites into visual sequences, each one exposing the intricate web of forces that sustains life on earth. We see how dust from the Sahara fertilizes the Amazon; how a vast submarine "waterfall" off Antarctica helps drive ocean currents around the world; and how the sun's heating up of the southern Atlantic gives birth to a powerful hurricane. All this knowledge makes me realize that God has hand-created this planet in the vast universe with the right atmosphere, temperature, environment, natural resources, etc., so that we may survive. For this I am grateful. But most of all, I am grateful that he has revealed his love for me through his own Son in my short lifetime here.

Making a Pact with God

        Today's Communion experience. When I received the Body of Christ, I was making a pact with the Lord for him to be my Lord and my God and for me to love and serve him forever.

The Approval of Gay Marriage

       The big newspaper in my area headlined "Gay marriage is on a roll" after the latest Supreme Court rulings. It's interesting that a June 10 article in BBC Magazine reports that some gay people are against gay marriage. Here are some of the reasons given by them. "It's demonstrably not the same as heterosexual marriage ~ the religious and social significance of a gay wedding ceremony simply isn't the same." "We're not going to procreate as a couple and while the desire to demonstrate commitment might be laudable, the religious traditions that have accommodated same-sex couples have had to do some fairly major contortions." "Until the federal government recognizes and codifies the same rights for same-sex couples as straight ones, equality is the goal so why get hung up on a word?" Another gay person strongly believes that civil partnerships to give same-sex couples equal legal rights are enough. 

        I suppose the approval of gay marriage is expected after legalization of abortion and the acceptance of unmarried couples living together. We live in a basically secular society and judges are so legalistic that they no longer have any moral concerns. (It is interesting that so far gay marriage has been allowed mostly in the more affluent countries of the West.) What next? 

       The scene from Luke 23 comes to my mind. As Jesus was led away, carrying his own cross, a large crowd of people followed him, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' At that time people will say to the mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!'" 

God Makes Us Holy!

        During consecration of the bread and the wine at Mass, I realized that receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist is no casual affair, for the Lord God enters me and I become holy because he dwells within me. How awesome the holiness of God! How exciting for us to be holy too! Yes, our bodies are truly temples of the Holy Spirit.

On Being Thrown into Fire

        In the Gospel reading from Matthew 7 at Mass, Jesus wanted his disciples to bear good fruit, for he said, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." I got thinking: what if the fruit we bear is not that good, but not bad either? The answer that came to me was that the fire would then be the fire of purgatory.

God to Be Experienced

        God does not wish us to just study and read about him ~ he wants to be one with us so that we may experience his love and mercy. This calls for surrendering ourselves completely to him. Once we have experienced him, we'll never want to leave again, for he fulfills all our needs and then some.

"Pray for Me"

        When I made the penitential act at morning Mass, acknowledging having greatly sinned and asking all the angles and saints and my brothers and sisters to pray for me, I sensed that the request "Pray for me" is a beautiful one. Praying to God, if you truly believe in him, is already a beautiful expression of your faith. When you say "Pray for me," it shows your need for the Lord's mercy and the prayer is now made even more personal and beautiful.

Holding onto Yourself or God

        Here's another mental picture. Imagine that you are a pole. If you have not surrendered to God yet, you naturally hold onto that pole, which is yourself. But there is no true security ~ when you sink, you sink. Once you have surrendered to God, he is now the pole you hold onto and you become absolutely secure, for he is the pillar that never sinks. You actually experience this when you made the switch.

How We Should Love

        Since Jesus loves all of us, we are to love all equally too, regardless of whether the person is attractive or not, interesting or boring, rich or poor, young or old, healthy or handicapped, friend or foe... In other words, we are to love unconditionally like Jesus. This is a tall order, but nothing is impossible with God.    

Dual Aspect of God

        God as revealed through Jesus the Son is not only to be worshiped, adored, and praised, but is amazingly also our friend, brother, and servant. This dual aspect is possible only because our God is truly love. 

Christ Cannot Be Ignored

        Jesus said that he himself would be a cause of division on earth. See how John the Baptist got beheaded, followed by so many Christians being martyred to this day. To me, the existence of division, which even sets members of the same household against each other as Jesus had foretold, only proves that he cannot be ignored, that there is good vs. evil. And the fact that he cannot be ignored only proves that he is the true God. Ignoring Christ is being as ignorant as believing that you do not exist.

Our Present Mission

        Today is the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The Gospel Acclamation, Luke 1:76, quotes what John's father Zachariah prophesied: "You, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way." It was of John that the prophet Isaiah had also spoken when he said: "A voice of one crying out in the desert, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'" I see that we are now the prophets to prepare the way for the Lord's Second Coming by making straight his paths. Our specific mission will be to make this world as pleasing to Christ as possible before he comes again by becoming as holy as possible ourselves and bringing as many others to him as possible.

Recipe for Life

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 9 concluded with these two verses: "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." 

          Listen up! Here's Jesus speaking as the true God, giving us the recipe for life.

Who Is Jesus to You?

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9 at Mass, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" After he got some answers, he asked the disciples this time, "Who do you say that I am?" It matters who you say that he is! Obviously, my reply would be "God" since I know a lot more about Jesus than the disciples at the time when Jesus had not yet gone through his Passion and Resurrection. May I add that my less specific but more descriptive answer would be "The one who satisfies all my needs."

Thirst for Learning

        Coupled with the yearning for Christ the Lord is the thirst for learning from him. I want the Lord to teach me, teach me, and teach me. I want to know all about him, to get inside of him, to become part of him. I believe he had given me these desires because I heard him say to his disciples at the Last Supper: "Remain in me, as I remain in you.... I am the vine, you are the branches...without me you can do nothing" (John 15).

What I Seek

       As I was watching Rick Steve's travel video Croatia: Adriatic Delights on PBS, showing the mountains, the forests, the sea, and other scenic sights, I got this new feeling that this finite earth was not big enough for me. The earth's gravitational pull on me was another restraint. I know now that I seek not only what lasts forever, but also what is infinite and can make me feel free. The Lord is then my answer. Maybe it's because I have tasted him that I feel this way. 

More on Our Spiritual State

        Here's another observation. We came into the world, grew up learning how to survive and get ahead. We were encouraged to go for whatever we want to do. We became convinced that if we don't give up, we shall succeed. The end result is that we take charge and follow our own wishes, good or bad. Especially in a country like the United States here where there is freedom of speech, no one likes to be told what to do. Humility can easily be perceived as being weak. All these things make it difficult for us to surrender to God and obey him, and we remain rebels. 

The Current Spiritual State

        In general, people living in our disordered secular world know deep down that they need God. Finding it hard to face God, they enter the escape mode by ignoring him, despite their continuing lack of inner peace. I am speaking of true inner peace, not merely feeling OK. We need to wake up to the reality of God, who alone can bring order to the world, peace to our hearts, and save us. 

Best Investment!

        Storing up treasures in heaven was what Jesus taught in today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6. I see this as the best investment we can possibly make in this life, for it is absolutely safe and the return is truly out of this world (pun intended) ~ gaining entry into heaven. Begin investing by seeking union with God.