What others know about you does not matter; only what God knows counts. Live and be aware of this and you'll be free.
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Holding Onto Jesus
Communion experience. Jesus is my anchor, my rock, and my salvation ~ I must not lose him. Then I realize that he will never leave me. And I don't even need to try to hold onto him ~ I only need to remain passive and be completely open to him.
Keeping Safe
Both God and the evil one pull us stongly, but we are absolutely safe if we abandon ourselves completely in God.
Simple Logic
Since God can take away my sins, it follows that he must know all about me and what's in my heart.
Friday, November 6, 2015
Complete Fulfillment
Communion experience. The Lord of heaven and earth entered me! What more could I ask for? I just wanted to "die" in him forever!
Our Life Goal
Today's Gospel acclamation, 1 John 2.5: Whoever keeps the word of Christ, the love of God is truly perfected in him. I just want to say that it's so beautiful: to perfect the love of God in us. Indeed, the goal of life for us is to be able to love others as Jesus loves us.
When to Accept Christ
An unbeliever should not wait, expecting that somehow God will let him know without a doubt that he exists and is calling him, for that moment will never come for almost all of us (I have in mind exceptions such as the call of St. Paul by Jesus). Faith is required. If you cannot possibly dismiss Jesus completely from you heart, the time is ripe for accepting him. Once you take the leap of faith, your doubts and uncertainties will diminish over time. They will totally vanish when you attain union with the Lord. Faith is absolutely the key.
Jesus, a Stumbling Block?
In Luke 12, Jesus said, "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." Jesus is still a stumbling block to many today. Why? If he is not truly God, then it wouldn't matter whether you accept him or not. It's precisely because he is God that you find him hard to accept. Ironic, eh? I choose to believe in him because he is so extraordinary, for I do not want an ordinary god.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Our Only Hope
Communion experience. Christ is our only hope to deliver us from this life to eternal freedom. All other avenues are dead ends.
We Matter to Heaven
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 15, we learn from Jesus' parables that there will be great joy in heaven and rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents. This is important for us to know. It shows how much God and the whole heaven love us and are rooting for us. Wouldn't it be great that we repent and aim to become saints? If we do not and continue to sin, imagine how much sorrow we shall cause in heaven!
Welcome Your Problems
We face all kinds of problems in life, but think how wonderful it is that they give us the chance to consult the Lord about them! Getting the Lord involved intimately with us in everything ~ that's the idea. This is walking with God as his obedient children.
To Love Through Knowing
If you truly love someone, you want to truly know the person. It's easy to be concerned about the person's welfare, pray for the person, or offer help in some way. To want to know and understand the person is to show your great love for him or her. Each of us probably knows people who love you, but how many of them do make an effort to get to know you well? For those of us who seek union with God, it's because we want to know him, as we love him.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Learning to Love 2
To love meaningfully, you must have the Lord in your heart. Seek union with him for rapid progress. Love God first and he'll make you love others.
Learning to Love
Christ is love. If you want to learn to love, follow his example. Let Christ be reflected in every little gesture of yours, in responding to others ~ starting with members of your own family. Do not skip any opportunity and you'll be storing up treasures in heaven.
Conditions of Discipleship
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, we hear three of the most challenging statements from Jesus. To the gathered crowds, he 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." "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." "Everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple." How do you react? Of course, surrender yourself to Jesus and all conditions are removed.
Evengelize, We Must
Today is the memorial of St. Charles Borromeo. The Gospel acclamation, 1 Peter 4.14: If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of God rests upon you. We must be bold in bringing the gospel to others, not to worry about whether we might offend anyone or not. Of course, we should abandon ourselves in the Holy Spirit first and root what we say in love always. We are not doing our work, but doing God's work for him, leaving the outcome to him.
Heart, Our Core
God knows us thoroughly because he knows our hearts. To know God, we must also know his heart. Consecrating yourself to his Most Sacred Heart is a good start. God hears us only if we pray to him from our hearts, and we do not hear him if we harden our hearts. To convert others is to let God convert their hearts. Without a heart, I would be speaking gibberish to you now.
Perfect for Us
There is no blood relationship between God and us, yet God the Father is our perfect father, God the Son our perfect brother, and God the Holy Spirit our perfect comforter. God is perfect for us.
Jesus Most Inspriring
If I have a best friend and find out that he is also the best friend of some other people whom I don't even know, I probably would feel betrayed and may even get angry with him. With Jesus as our friend it is completely different. Even though I know that he loves everyone else just as much as he loves me, I still feel that he is my most personal friend. How come? I believe it's because he loves us selflessly and this love makes us selfless too. In fact, I want everyone to experience his love. Moreover, I'd be elated if everyone else loves him even much more than I love him. You see, his selfless, personal love makes us forget about ourselves to center upon him alone. What a great, inspiring Savior!
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Discerning Voices
When God the Holy Spirit speaks to us, your hear his gentle voice in the quiet and stillness of your heart and you are humbled. By contrast, when the Evil One speaks to you directly or through some false prophet, he boosts your ego to make you believe that you are the important one and will be rewarded. This is the difference.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Being Tested
Our life is a test period. How we perform during this period determines if we qualify for heaven or not later. The Holy Spirit who dwells within the Church guides us. Christ judges us at the end. And the Father gives out the reward or punishment.
Seduced by the World
I have just begun praying the Novena to St. Jude for a special intention. I read in the Meditation part that in the Epistle of Jude, the Apostle denounces the heresies of that early time and warns the Christians against the seduction of false teaching. So many of our Christians today have been seduced by the teachings of so many false prophets. I thought of those who tend to overlook their minor sins by not even repenting them ~ they have been seduced by what the world teaches, and this is not OK. One should never be sloppy in living the spiritual life. God's mercy is infinite, but it is not to be abused.
Abandonment God-Centered
Abandonment in God involves us, but is centered upon God. We simply vanish in him.
Perfect Short Prayer
Thomas finally saw the resurrected Jesus and exclaimed, "My Lord and my God." This is not merely addressing him, it's more expressing his awe at seeing him. This is a most fitting prayer for us to say, complementing the Lord's Prayer.
Reality of Jesus
I see anyone postponing acknowledging Jesus as being extremely foolish because he is our creator, he loves us, and he can make us live happily ever after. If there ever is reality, he is it. To accept (reject) him is to accept (reject) ourselves also.
Mark of a Free Soul
Worldly attachments are very much like leeches, weakening you as they cling to you. If you are very much attached to the things of the world, you are not ready for leaving this world yet, and your departure may not be so peaceful or joyous. Feeling happy about dying at any time then is the true mark of a free soul.
Aiming High
If you expect to spend some time in purgatory, you are not aiming very high. Love the Lord with all your heart and aim at becoming a saint, then you might very well skip purgatory altogether.
Living Christian
For the faithful Christian, life only gets better as time passes, and reaches its absolute best at the end. For him or her, hope is ever present. Living Christian is the best way of life, irrespective of the person's social status, wealth or poverty, education level, his anything about him in the world.
Sign of Saintliness
The marked difference between saints and not-quite-holy persons. Saints, who see the continuity of life, live for the next life first and the present life second, while the latter live mostly for this life.
Challenging Proclamations
Today is All Souls' Day. The Gospel acclamation at Mass came from John 11: I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will never die. In the Gospel reading from John 6, Jesus said, ". . . I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me." Such bold and challenging proclamations! They either are the truth or complete fabrications ~ we must decide. Under such circumstances, to ignore these claims is no better than to reject them.
Continued Healing Needed
Last night I dreamed that I was lost, couldn't find the way to get back to where I needed to be on time. So what's going to happen now? ~ there was that panicky feeling. And I realized that I needed God to continue to heal my past, my subconscious, my heart and my soul.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Petitioning God Calls for Surrender
In praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, we petition the eternal Father for mercy on us and on the whole world. It struck me today that if we're to beg God for mercy, we need to submit ourselves to him first. Therefore, praying the Chaplet offers a chance to abandon ourselves to God once more.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Our Creativity vs God's
The 21st century technology is quite amazing ~ just examine what a smartphone can do. Then I look at a single blade of grass and realize how much more natural and amazing its creation is, making what we have achieved look contrived, elementary, and artificial. God's effortless creativity is on an entirely different level. Let us remember that he also created us, and we should be grateful to him for that and remain forever humble before him.
How to Be Free
We need to be with God 100% of the time. Let him in on and consult and ask him to bless everything we do, including what we think and say. This is not to put ourselves under his control; on the contrary, it is to strengthen our union with him and experience even greater freedom! If you think that God is going to enslave you, you'll never be free. He is in fact our greatest liberator. You are free only if you are spiritually free and only God who is the truth can make it happen.
Perfect Match
Communion time thoughts. We who are finite creatures are so feeble, frail, and prone to fail physically, mentally, and morally on our own. Therefore, what we precisely need is an all-powerful, loving God to help us in every way to save us. This we find in Christ the Lord.
Friday, October 30, 2015
*Beauty of Union With God
This was all I could think of this morning. Here are some descriptions. In union with God, you and God become one, totally inseparable. You are God are in each other and belong to each other. Wherever God is, you are. You are aware of God dwelling within your heart. You and God share the same joys and sorrows; are in perfect harmony because his will and yours are the same. You enjoy his perfection, holiness, and beauty. It's eternal love. It's reality, no fantasy. Without union, your spiritual journey will be laborious. With union, it becomes effortless because God carries you all the way. Union is possible because it's all God's doing with your consent. Union with God is the ideal and perfect state of existence for us because it is precisely what God desires.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
One Reason for Gratitude
Communion thought. Jesus is the one who makes us holy ~ how can we not be grateful and love him?
Be Good to Enjoy God
We are capable of doing both good and evil, while God only knows how to love. If we let God's love transform us to become all good, then we and God can become one, dwelling in and enjoying each other.
Source of Joy
It is a great joy to learn from the Lord. When my heart hears his voice, I am edified and fall in love with him even more. How good it is to know him!
"Mind Control"
I want God to take charge of all of me because the mind still flashes its own inappropriate, silly or impure, thoughts at various times. Even though they are involuntary, they nevertheless disrupt my inner peace.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Getting Personal With God
Communion antiphon, John 14.23: Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him. Indeed, the Lord came to me in the Holy Eucharist to make me his home! I felt so blessed to be called to his supper. Millions and millions of my brothers and sisters in Christ also get called to sup with him; but no matter, I felt my call so personal as if I was the only one invited.
Choose Love Over Sin!
Today is the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. The entrance antiphon: These are the holy men whom the Lord chose in his own perfect love; to them he gave eternal glory. God is love. It's love that sustains our very existence. It's love that the soul needs for healing. And it's love that will get us into heaven. Love is also the answer to all our problems. Without it, everything collapses. With it, we possess God! Love is all around us, but people do not see it because sin has blinded their hearts.
In Tune With God
To be in tune with God is to be aware of his presence, ready to communicate with him at any time, and not go off on my own to do what I want to do. Sinning easily gets us out of tune with the Lord and we no longer feel his presence nor hear his voice, and we sin even more. The Lord is ever present; so if we lose him, we are the cause. Being in union with him is the most effective way of remaining in tune with God.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Glorious Freedom
In today's first reading from Romans 8, Paul mentions the glorious freedom of the children of God. That caught my ear, for the children of God are no longer bound by their life on earth. As death has no power over the resurrected Lord, the children of God also has been given life for ever. They are gloriously free because they are shielded by the love of God which nothing can separate from them.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Longing for God
Communion experience. God exalted me as he made me yearn and long for him. I desired to give myself to him as much as to have him for myself.
We Have No Covers
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 13, Jesus points out the hypocrisy of the leader of the synagogue. Let's remember that no one can hide or escape from the Lord. He sees and knows everything about us ~ we are completely naked, exposed, and transparent to him. Let's keep this in mind as we live our lives. Believing otherwise is to believe that God is not all-knowing, making us look like fools.
Joy of the Lord
I felt great joy at Mass this morning. How could I not when you possess Christ, the source of joy, already? The entrance antiphon from Psalm 105 read: Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face. The Communion antiphon from Psalm 20 was also into joy: We will sing out our joy at your saving help and exult in the name of our God. It amazed me that I felt the same way about God as the psalmist did three millennia ago.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
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