Jesus Unburdens Us

        Everything is hard if you do not know Jesus ~ there are just so many things to deal with, spiritually or otherwise. But if you know Jesus and let him take charge of your life, you are unburdened and everything becomes easy.

God to Be Leaned On

        In the Gospel reading from Mark 10 at Mass, we learned that a blind man kept crying out, asking Jesus to have pity on him. Jesus called him, and he threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. The Lord asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied, "Master, I want to see." Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately, he received his sight. 

        Indeed, it's "ask and you'll receive." We must be used to asking Jesus for help, or it won't be easy for us. Yesterday I saw a woman sitting on the sidewalk, leaning against the wall of a bar restaurant. She looked very much in distress, so I got down to talk to her. She teared up quickly while telling me some of the horrible family problems. I suggested praying to Jesus for help, but I could tell that it's not something she would readily consider doing. It made me realize that it's important for us to develop the "natural habit" of turning to God for help anytime we are in trouble, for God is to be leaned on.

Our Arranger

        Trust in Jesus to let him arrange everything, big and little, present or future, including our death, for us.

Our Edifier

        God changes things for us, but he often changes us instead so that we might be able to deal with what we face. Nevertheless, all will be for our good and edification.

Our Deliverer

        I was away for a couple of days, so here are some thoughts I had I am now posting late. Last Friday I just knew that Jesus can absolutely deliver anyone from any spiritual quagmire they might be in if only they will submit themselves to him for help.        

Perfect Guide

        Going back to my early days, I see the times when I was not sure what I should do. I tried this, tried that, wasting years as a result. Many of today's youths also lack guidance. In college, they don't know what they should major in and often get into all kinds of trouble. We all need good guidance, and that perfect guide is Christ, I can testify. From him, you learn to know right from wrong. By following him with trust, you always have peace, no more confusion, anxiety, or wasted time. He guides your heart directly and you know that he's leading you toward eternal bliss.        

Perfect Saint

        Today is the optional Memorial of St. John Paul II. Many of us have our favorite saints and John Paul II is one of mine. Then I thought of Christ, the greatest saint of saints and the only perfect saint. It becomes clear that he's the only one we need to imitate.

Beautiful With Christ

        Today's Gospel acclamation, Philippians 3.8-9: I consider all things so much rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him. I think it so beautiful "to be found in Christ," and equally beautiful "to find Christ in us."

Continuity of Scriptures

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 17 at Mass reads: To you I call; for you will surely heed me. O God; turn you ear to me; hear my words. Guard me as the apple of your eye; in the shadow of your wings protect me. Here is the God of Christ, the Father he prayed to. I absolutely feel comfortable praying to this same God as a Christian. The New Testament has now joined the Old, completing the Scriptures. Then I realize that to the unfulfilled Jews who do not know the New Testament, their Scripture comes to an abrupt halt and they still remain unfulfilled.

Direct Learning from God

        When you learn from spiritual writers or speakers, you are learning from what they have learned from other spiritual writers and/or speakers. Learning from the great saints who have learned directly from God is superior. Better yet, be in union with God and learn directly from the Lord yourself. Then what he places in your heart will be all you need to know to become holy. The direct route is the fast track.

God Our Only Deliverer

        Communion experience. The Lord let me know that Freedom comes only from abandoning ourselves to him, not to any other prophet, another teacher, or any other human.

Choosing Final Destination

        There can be no greater contrast between two places than that between Heaven and hell. In heaven you enjoy eternal bliss, and in hell you suffer eternal torment. We shall all end up in one or the other place. (There is no reincarnation. Turning into another person, an ant, or whatever in our next life is pure wishful fantasy.) Our life on earth is extremely brief, so choosing your eternal destination becomes top priority. Don't be enslaved by material possessions, for we are just passing through. Steer firmly toward heaven to ensure that it'll be "home, sweet home" for you.

*Power of Sin

          Sin has no power over God; it has only power over us! When sin destroys our soul, we are destroyed forever. To continue to sin is heading straight toward a place where the suffering of the souls makes me shudder. Jesus has changed everything. Acknowledge that he is our savior and we are saved. With him, sin loses all its power over us. We can respond to God or remain an eternal fool.

Discerning God's Calling

        All Christians want to know God's calling or vocation for them. Know that his ultimate calling is for us to be one with him because when we attain union with him, we will know his will. This is the fast track to discerning what God's specific callings for us are.

Standing Before the Lord

        Today's Gospel acclamation, Luke 21.36: Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man ~ Jesus said this. That we shall stand before him one day is inevitable. Sins weaken us, so to be vigilant is to be sure that they are taken away by the Lord as soon as possible. Of course, if you are pure enough to receive Holy Communion, you should have the strength to stand before him. Nevertheless, the best preparation is made by seeking union with God. When you attain it, you'd want to go to him in earnest so as to meet your most beloved.   

Again, God Is Real

        Throughout history to the present, there have been many who yearned for God, experienced a calling, believed in him and followed him joyfully even to death (for example, the Christian martyrs). If we just happened to be on earth by some kind of accident with God nonexisting, I don't believe what I described above could ever have occurred. Intuitively, I again know that God exists and has made it possible for us to know him.

God Ever-Present

        When I got up around six this morning, I did not turn on any light and saw that it was still quite dark outside. In this quiet darkness, it was easy to sense your loneness. Yet immediately I knew that Jesus was present, more certain than I knew that the sun would soon rise.

Jesus, Savior and Sanctifier

        Communion reflections. When Jesus went on the cross, he carried all our sins upon himself. We surrender to him and we become clean. When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, all his love enters us. We surrender to him and we become holy.

Formula for Happiness

        Learn from God how to love and you'll be lovely to him and happy yourself.       

Spiritual IQ

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus told the crowd the parable of the rich fool. The fool is the rich man who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God. He says to himself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!," not knowing that his life will be demanded of him that night. Here's someone who probably has a lot of business acumen, but a low spiritual IQ. Obviously, a high intellectual IQ can get you into a university, but you would need a high spiritual IQ to get into heaven.   

Journey of Faith

        I still remember when I first became a Christian, there were instants at which I sensed the existence (not presence) of God to keep me going in my journey of faith. As I persisted, my faith grew, but I was still amazed by others of stronger faith. When I asked the Holy Spirit to baptize me during my involvement in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement, things started to happen. I actually experienced the presence of God and his power of transforming us. When you let the Holy Spirit take over, your spiritual growth soars without effort on your part. Those were the memorable four and a half years of my life. Finally, the Lord withdrew and the time had arrived for me to surrender to him so that his graces might pour freely into me. Now I do not have to make myself believe anymore ~ the faith is automatically in place as I enjoy his presence within me and about me. Throughout the entire process, God remained gentle, patient, and loving. He truly respected my free will in order to make my faith meaningful to me. What a great Lord!

Ever Present Urgency

        Today I particularly feel the urgency for the world to turn to the Lord before it's too late. Since Jesus can come at any time and we can die at any time, that urgency remains ever present. Every moment we have is precious, an opportunity for us to glorify God and not to be squandered in sinning against God. Both good and bad things happen. It is only when bad things happen that we wish they have not happened.   

No Fair Again

        Communion experience. I felt great joy in receiving the Lord, so beautiful, loving, and holy; yet so many ignore, reject, or even blaspheme him. Where is fairness? Know that when we hurt the Lord, we end up ultimately hurting ourselves the most. When we love him, we love ourselves too and become happy.

Unfair to God

        When we wish to speak to God, he is all ears and jubilant. Then when he wishes us to hear him, we harden our hearts or play deaf. How unfair!

God Is Real!

        I have posted on this blog over 5,000 times for the sole purpose of letting all know that God is real, that he loves us and is longing for our love, and that he is to be experienced and enjoyed. I am not forcing myself in any way to say all these things for his sake ~ it just comes forth from my heart naturally as the Holy Spirit directs and inspires me. And it's a great honor and joy to serve the Lord, our Father, our brother, and our teacher. I'd like to emphasize that God wants to be one with you all; he wants you to experience his love, his power, and his holiness. There is nothing more exciting than letting him transform you into a new creature, good enough to enter heaven. As the father said to the elder brother of the prodigal son in the parable, "Everything I have is yours." This is the kind of relationship God desires to have with you. We are so privileged and blessed that we can get to know our God so intimately through Christ. Let him break you down and build you up again, and you'll know that I am speaking what I know to be the truth.

OK With God?

        If you think you are OK with your boss or a family member or friend, you are OK. But if you think you are OK with God, then you are not OK if you are not sure about it. With God, it's no light matter. You can't "earn" salvation if you are casual about it. God means business because he and his words are totally trustworthy .

Sweet Union

        Communion experience. I have heard much beautiful music, but no music can possibly express the sweetness of union with God in the Holy Eucharist. All I could do was enjoying the Lord in deep gratitude.

Warnings From God

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." To me, these sayings could only have come from God himself. The warnings are well for us to remember. We must never, never blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, for he is God!

Abandonment in God

        Total abandonment in God is entering the Lord to discover his wonders and experience true freedom, with the Holy Spirit teaching you everything. It's entering the kingdom of God to be one with love and beauty. God is all ours to enjoy, now and forever!

How to Live

        The first verse of this morning's entrance antiphon from Galatians 2 at Mass: I am crucified with Christ, yet I live; no longer I, but Christ lives in me. The whole process of living can be summed up this way: Do I live or do I let Christ live in me? We have our free will. We feel the tug from God, but we turn away or resist ~ this goes on throughout our whole life. It's our choice to live triumphantly and free in God or to hide and cling to ourselves. It's just so hard to let go of oneself ~ the crux of the matter. Happy is the one who can abandons himself completely to God.

Imminent Judgment

        I was driving home, passing a cluster of movie theaters, which made me think of the many immoral films that had been shown there in the past and the many people involved in producing and making those films. Then I thought of the imminent judgment from God we'd face, either right after we die or at the Second Coming of Christ. You really don't have to be a prophet to realize this. Personally, I choose to get ready for that moment now so that I may continue living in peace.

Never Homeless

        In the news today: Pope Francis greets some of the homeless people the Vatican is taking care of. When sometimes my hair grows a little too long and I stop shaving for several days, others remark that I am beginning to look like a homeless person. Well, even if I become truly homeless in this world, I know I am not, because anyone belonging to the Lord already has the most beautiful home awaiting him in paradise!

Belonging

        Communion experience. I entered the circle of belonging to the Lord.

God Knows!

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12.1-7, Jesus said to his disciples, "There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops." Later he added that nothing escapes the notice of God and even the hairs of our head have all been counted. Indeed, the big difference between God and us is that he knows everything while we know almost nothing. This is reality whether you like it or not.

Joy of Salvation

        Today's response to Psalm 32 at Mass reads: I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation. This joy should characterize the Christian who has encountered the Lord and been saved. It is a joy only God can bestow and the world in general needs but does not know. This joy will reach its zenith when the saved one sees the Lord welcoming him or her home in the coming life.

Use of Contraceptives

        It should be clear that God gave us sexual desires to assure that procreation will continue. To use any contraceptive solely for the purpose of enjoying sex is to thwart God's purpose and to be purely self-centered. If everyone does this at all times, humans would become extinct in a few generations. You don't have to be a theologian or scholar to see that the teaching of the Church against the use of contraceptives is right; you only need to cast aside selfcenteredness and think with a clear, cool mind. This teaching fits in perfectly with the other teachings on marriage and the sanctity of life.

Made Free

        As I got up this early morning, it was still dark outside. Looking out the window from my bed, I saw the tall trees silhouetted against the dim sky. I realized that I am living in a dark world, yet have no fear because I am linked to God, free from the world and no longer bounded by its darkness. It's a great feeling, made possible by Christ the Lord.  

Be a Saint!

        In Matthew 5.48, Jesus said to his disciples, "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." So why don't Christians aim high? Why do we not aim for becoming saints? God deserves nothing but our best from us. I caught a little bit of a program on EWTN giving out good, helpful information to help your grow spiritually, but why do we not hear any speakers directly urging people to become saints? You don't need a saint to talk about becoming one ~ we need to know it because this is what the Lord asks of us! Aim high for God who is high and for whom everything is possible. Sainthood is the vocation call for every one of us Christians!         

Existing Within God

        Communion experience. I desire to be conscious of God alone, not even myself, in my existence. This would be ideal. The goal is to be completely engulfed by him in his love. All in all, an exciting process.

Christ Mighty

       Today is the memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus. John 14.6 is the Gospel acclamation at Mass: I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me. I believe all Christians are familiar with this verse ~ what a mighty statement! In fact, all his deeds and words are mighty, culminating in his Resurrection and Ascension. There is no one else mighty and holy like him. He alone is worthy to be God and is God! Ignore him and you remain lost!

Grateful to God

        Communion experience. I am most grateful to the Lord, for only he can take away my sins and only he can heal my soul ~ he gives me great joy! I love my Lord and my God.

Sin Deafens the Heart

        God speaks to our heart constantly and it's beautiful to hear his sweet, gentle voice ~ but your heart must be pure and undefiled to hear him clearly, for sin makes it lose its hearing.

On Judging

        At Mass this morning, a visiting priest made the distinction between judging someone's action and judging the person's intention. It is all right to judge someone's action to be wrong and correct him, but the intention is left for God to deal with.  Jesus asks us not to judge ~ here "judge" implies "criticizing without love." It all goes to the saying: "Hate the sin, but love the sinner."

What Totally Matters

        Where you go after you die matters. Whether you go to heaven or not absolutely matters. Therefore, believing in Jesus or not totally matters!

Works Matter

        Today's response to Psalm 62 reads: Lord, you give back to everyone according to his works. God knows everything we do and everything we do matters to him and to us ~ this is the point. Happy is the one who always does God's will.

Being Alive Forever

        I am alive now because God sustains all life. But if I let him dwell in me now (as in union), I shall be alive for ever!

Conserving Energy

        One exercise book recommends that when you exercise with weights, do not show any strain on your face, but direct all your energy to lifting the weight. This makes sense in petitioning God too. It's natural for us to pray hard, wasting much energy on wondering if God has heard us or when and how he is going to respond to us. The superior and right way is to put all your energy into trusting in God and not any on feeling anxious and unsettled. In other words, pray from the heart, trust, and let it go. 

Bittersweet Christian Life

         As I prayed the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary today, I realized that they are all about what the Holy Mother experienced and that hardship accompanied her joy each time. (1) Annunciation ~ with the joy of learning that she had been chosen to bear the Savior came the great responsibility of nurturing and rearing him. (2) Visitation ~ visiting her cousin Elizabeth involved arduous long-distance traveling. (3) Nativity ~ with no room at the inn, Mother Mary had to give birth to Jesus in a manger. (4) Presentation ~ Simon foretold that a sword would pierce her soul. (5) Finding Jesus in Temple ~ the temporary missing child must have caused distress in the mother's heart. 

        After reflecting upon the above mysteries, I saw that the our Christian life is basically bittersweet. The bitterness are the hardships that are either necessary or brought about by sin, and the sweetness, the ever presence of Christ in our lives.

Connecting with God

        It is not always possible to get someone to listen to you, yet you can easily penetrate the heart of God our Father with what comes from the depths of your heart. Be sincere and trusting and the Father hears you. Communication at such a deep level generates great delight in the heart.

Key to Freedom

        There is only one who deserves all our love, and it is Christ the Lord. Recognizing this is the key to reconciliation with God, our inner peace, and our eternal happiness.