Ultimate Reconciliation

        During Communion yesterday, I felt it's the perfect time to submit all my wishes, goals, and plans to the will of God to be in perfect harmony with God, thus letting peace continue to reign in my heart.

The Drawing Process

        "To everyone who has more, more will be given" (from Matthew 25.29). The process of being drawn into Christ is like that. As one grows closer to Christ, he experiences the same joys and sorrows as the Lord more. The joys naturally draw him even closer to Christ and the sorrows impel him to seek refuge and consolation in him ~ both leading the one to deeper union with God.

To Be Transformed by Christ

        Reading and learning about Christ, even from the Gospels, will not transform you. Only a direct encounter with him can make it happen. Therefore, meet him head-on with an open heart and let him influence and shape you. 

Peace and Purity

        If we do not sin, we shall have inner peace. Conversely, if we have inner peace, we do not wish to sin anymore in order to preserve that peace. Therefore, peace and purity are virtually synonymous. When we achieve unity with God, we gain both. 

Zeal for God

        To be an effective Christian, one must have zeal for God. This zeal is the fire lit by the love of God in our heart. Two days ago, the entrance antiphon at Mass from Psalm 105 read: Let the heart that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face. This is also the zeal that impels us to constantly seek the Lord.  

Be Prepared for Life

        The last two days I couldn't blog because I lost my internet connection. At the same time, the house phone went dead and the TV reception was gone. We cannot always be certain about what can happen in this life, but we can be certain about our life eternal with God. 

Most Beautiful Title

       At Mass this morning, "Lamb of God" struck me as a most beautiful title for Jesus who takes away the sin of the world by becoming the sacrificial lamb. The title speaks the love of God for us loud and clear. Praise be to God!

On Being Self-Conscious

        Another reason people don't feel free is that they are too self-conscious, too aware of what others think of them. Whereas if we are concerned only about pleasing God and not anyone else, we lose our self-consciousness and become free. Remember that God's whole aim is to free us from all bondage so that we may be saved.   

To Be like Jesus

        When Jesus taught us how to live and behave, he was revealing what he is like to us: how he deals with anger, how he forgives others, how he trusts in the Father, and so on. Therefore, if we obey him in all his teaching, we shall be like him.   

Eager to Learn

        Once when I was still a young man, I dreamed of becoming a great pianist. So I thought how great it would be if I possessed the talents of all the great pianists of the world. Of course, that was pure foolish and self-centered fantasizing. During Communion today, I had the great desire to learn from the Lord. Then I thought why not ask all the great saints in heaven to teach me too. This time, I was sincere, with no ego involved, and definitely not fantasizing. 

Endearing God

        Today at morning Mass, I realized that it's the Incarnation of Jesus that had made God truly endearing to us. God is not just Lord and God, he became our most beloved, our friend, our brother, and even our servant; even his mother became our mother ~ all made possible by love.   

Glorious Living

        Believe and trust in God with all your heart and God will fill you with his love to overflowing and perform wondrous deeds through you. This is glorious living when you live for God's great glory!

A Beautiful Way to Go Home

        Here's a beautiful Ave Maria supposedly to have been written by the Polish film-score composer Michal Lorenc and sung by the Polish soprano Olga Szyrowa, although I could not find any information on Google to substantiate these claims. The clip, very moving, came from the movie The Passion of the Christ. Christ died for us out of love for us ~ it's our turn to die for him for loving us. What a beautiful way to go home to our heavenly Father!

The Perception of Distance

        As human beings with physical senses living in a physical world, we sense how far anything is from us by its actual location in terms of measured distance or whether we can hear or see it. Wrongly, we tend to perceive God and heaven the same way. The spiritual world is not a physical world ~ the moment we die, we are there! And we don't need to travel any distance to go to God either ~ he is ever present and already dwells in those who love him.

A Wonderful Gift

        The big bang theory describes how the universe began in a rapid expansion about 14 billion years ago, but some major problems still remained. Now the big bang theory modified by the inflation theory seems to have solved these problems. Inflation refers to the expansion of space lasting just an instant right after the big bang. Afterwards the universe continues to expand at a slower rate. All this is rather mind-boggling, and I become aware that God has given us this wonderful sense of wonderment. With this unique gift, we are able to enjoy these amazing perceptions of the universe and our even more amazing God.   

Food That Sanctifies Us

        Communion experience. The Holy Eucharist I have just received is not only something from heaven, but also nothing short of being the body of the Lord! And this is the food that raises us to holiness.   

Recipe for Peace

        Do everything to please God alone to the exclusion of all else, then you'll have peace.

All About Surrender

        The word "surrender" is usually associated with unpleasant circumstances ~ for example, we surrender the city to the enemy, the thief surrenders the stolen goods to the police, one surrenders himself to a life of imprisonment, you surrender your office to someone. But there is one exception: when you surrender yourself to God, you gain unrestricted freedom (and eternal life to boot)!

The Authentic God

        Read through all the Gospels and you see that Jesus always spoke and acted with authority. Many attempted to trip him up with questions and he always had the right answer. Of course, there are many others in the world who speak with authority, but they do it only as experts on a particular subject or in a certain area, never as the all-knowing God himself! ~ this is the huge difference.

Mercy and Justice

        God's mercy is great. Jesus went through his Passion, died on the cross, but he never complained or condemned anyone. On the contrary, he prayed for those who put him to death. Everyone, including the ones who hammered the nails through his hands and feet, can be forgiven if they only repented and believed. Jesus asked us not to judge anyone as he never did while on earth, always leaving open the door to salvation. But there will be a final judgment, for mercy with no justice served is not true mercy.

Passion to be Welcomed

        Remembering how Jesus rebuked Peter for wishing that he's not going to suffer greatly and be killed? We must realize that Jesus, in carrying out the will of the Father, welcomed the cross; gladly suffered and died for us out of love. [How I wish that all nonbelievers see this.] To feel sorry for him is not what God wants from us. Instead, we should praise God, thank him for what he has done for us, and rejoice that we are so loved by God.

Best Unity of All!

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11 at morning Mass, Jesus drove out a demon that was mute. The crowds were amazed and some of them said that he drove out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Jesus said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?" It is true that every nation, government, political party, organization of any kind, or family divided will remain weak and eventually disintegrate. A person alone can also be divided if he is unhappy about life and dislikes himself, and will fall in time. Only unity can produce strength and stability. And this leads me to see that the best (and most profitable) unity we can have is union with God! Such unity will make us so strong that no evil can touch us in this life. Since it's a unity not of this world, it will extend into our next life for all eternity too.

In Christ Is Freedom

        Why do we have fears, worries, get anxious, or feel self-conscious? Answer: because we are still attached to ourselves, still think we are somebody, don't fully trust in God yet, and care about what others think. Galatians 2.19, 20 provide the clue to the solution we need: I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me. When Christ displaces us in us, nothing can affect us negatively anymore. The wicked will only make us feel sorry for them and we'll be able to forgive our enemies. No longer shall we be concerned about our own image; we simply do what the Lord wants us to do and let what follows follow. With God taking over our lives, we are set free.

Importance of Humility

        Without humility, one cannot have inner peace, love others truly, and be holy.

Saving the World

        Transformation of the world must start with the transformation of each one of us. And our transformation starts with following Christ, becoming humble, loving, and holy as he is. We may not witness notable success in our lifetime or even lose our life in the process, but we must take this path as it's the only right way.

The Resurrection Effect

        The Resurrection of Christ still fills the Christian today with hope that vanquishes all despair and with joy that dissolves all sadness.  

Joy of a Healed Soul

        As always, before we receive Communion at Mass, the priest says: 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 say: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. This morning, I felt great joy in asking the Lord to heal my soul because a healed soul is close to God, enjoying still greater intimacy with him.

At Thirst for God

        Last night after going to bed, I had the intense desire to pray to God for anything. Today's Response to Psalms 42 at Mass, verse 3 from the psalm, confirmed my feeling: At thirst is my soul for the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God?  

Why Faith Is Beautiful

        My first thought at Mass this morning was that the most beautiful aspect of my faith is believing in the Lord without having seen him. 

Unrealistic Living

        God is our most solid reality and there is no escape from that. Anytime you try not to face him, you're trying to avoid reality. If your heart is troubled for whatever reason, don't do anything to forget your trouble or get yourself distracted temporarily. The right thing is to turn to God right away and lay everything before him to get his guidance and help. Escaping from reality is wasting our precious, limited time on earth. Live realistically by living every moment with the Lord and in the Lord. 

On Being Well-Known

        I am a well-known person, well known to God, that is. Being my creator, he knows everything about me. He is the only one who understands me perfectly, and this gives me great comfort. Being love, he cares for me and watches over me, making me happy. To hide from such a God is to be the biggest fool in the entire universe.

For Our Sake

        Do you know that it's for our sake that God wants us to be saints?

Safe from Evil

        Communion experience. I felt absolutely safe in the Lord because I knew he would shield me from all evil. This does not mean that evil will vanish; it only means that evil can no longer touch my soul.   

Jealousy, a Deadly Sin

        This morning's first reading at Mass from Genesis 37 tells the story of Joseph and his brothers. Their father Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons; out of jealousy, the brothers plotted to kill Joseph. Indeed, jealousy can be a deadly sin, deadly to the those who are jealous, that is. Therefore, feel sorry for anyone who is jealous of you for whatever reason and pray hard for the person. For only God can change a jealous heart.

God Creates Joy

        Today I rejoice that Jesus has come and redeemed us, that he welcomes us to enter the most intimate union with him, and that he'll have the most beautiful dwelling places prepared in heaven for those who love him. How can I not feel happy? 

Incredible Meeting

        Communion experience. As I received the Holy Eucharist, it was the meeting of the infinite and the finite, the high and the lowly, the mighty and the weak, the holy and the guilty, the pure and the defiled, the perfect and the imperfect, the wholesome and the sick, the merciful and the one who needs mercy, the selfless one and the selfish one ... such an incredible meeting! 

Heaven Is Serious

        The Gospel reading at Mass came from Luke 16, which tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man died and landed in the netherworld, while Lazarus the poor man died and was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. I see quite a bit of the rich man in most of us. For example, he dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day ~ we might have enjoyed dressing and eating well at one time or another. After the rich man learned that there was a chasm permanently separating his side and Lazarus', he begged Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers at his father's house, lest they too end up in his place of torment. So there was kindness in him, as in most of us. Of course, his request was denied because Abraham told him that they already have Moses and the prophets to listen to. Well, we have Jesus, the Son of God, to listen to ~ but are we listening? We can be pretty nice people, but without love and paying God attention, we also risk landing in the netherworld.    

Heaven, an Enticing Place

        I've never been to heaven, but these few things I am sure will no longer exist in heaven: (1) the toiling necessary for making a living, (2) the burden imposed upon us by the physical body, and best of all, (3) evil. The list can go on and on. Without even mentioning the existence of one good thing, heaven already sounds most enticing. 

Network of Hearts

        First we let God change our hearts, then we are ready to change the hearts of others. I see our hearts forming a network for the Lord to use to reach the hearts of all his children. 

Choosing Sides Now

        Here's another simple view of mine, and I believe in it with all my heart. God will be victorious over evil in the end. Therefore, I choose sides right now, making God my ally, and my eternal future is assured. [I must admit that I did not see it this way before I knew the Lord well, so it's now the view from a mature believer.]

Letting Evil Make Us Holy

        Of whom is the Devil most afraid? God, of course. Why? ~ because God is holy! Therefore, the more you encounter evil in your life, let that stimulate you to grow even holier. For in God's holiness are we secure from all evil.

God Desires Union with Us

        Again, Matthew 5.48: "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Since God is always holy and perfect, the only way for us to become one with him is for us to become perfect. In the verse above, the Lord indicates his desire to be one with us. 

Speaking to the Heart

        God only looks at our heart because what's in the heart defines (also defiles) the person. He may speak through our mind to reach the heart, but more often we hear him directly in our heart. The words of Jesus are always intended for the heart to hear. If there's no change of the heart, we fundamentally are still the same person. To be heart-to-heart with God, we also need to aim at the heart of God. 

Fundamental Calling

        We discern what God wants us to do. Are we called to be married or become a religious? Should I go into engineering or social work? We are called by God to enter different vocations or professions, but there's one call that's the same for all ~ that is the call for each one of us to become a saint.                

Obedience Leads to Success

        Today the optional Memorial of St. Patrick was celebrated at morning Mass. The Gospel reading came from Luke 5. Jesus called Simon Peter the fisherman to catch men. But before Jesus did this, he, sitting in Simon's boat, asked him to put out into deep water and lower the nets for a catch. Simon had worked hard all night and caught nothing, but he did lower the nets at Jesus' command. The result was that the catch was so great that the nets were tearing. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful men." There are various lessons we can draw here. What I learned was that "if we obey the Lord in all things, he will lead us to many souls whom we in turn can lead successfully to him."   

Sweet Memories

        I went to the seminary chapel for morning Mass today. That was where I started attending daily Mass in November, 2007, for a number of years until our church was built. That's where the Lord drew me close to him by changing me. That's where he taught me things all the money in the world could not buy. That was how I fell deeply in love with Jesus. The chapel is being renovated, so the Mass was held in another room. It didn't matter ~ all the sweet memories came back and my heart was flooded with joy. I am truly grateful that our heavenly Father could be so good to me. 

Changed Existence

        Today's wonderful Communion experience. I no longer exist on my own; I am now free in Christ.

More Good News (Time to Face God)

        Many left the Church because they got themselves into some jam and don't know how to get back. The good news is that no matter how difficult a situation they might be in, God through the Church has a solution for them. The Lord is here to lift our burdens off us. For him, there are no cases hopeless and nothing too far gone. God's love is unchanging; we're the ones making life hard for ourselves. If you can't face yourself anymore, it's time to face God. 

Wonderful News

        We are the only creatures in the universe that were made in the image of God and given the possibility of attaining union with him in this life!

Exceptional Prayer

        God does not always answer our prayer exactly as we had expected, but there's one exception ~ that is when we pray to become a saint.